Planning Commission Meetings

Updated 11/28/2023

All Planning Commission meetings will be using a re-occurring Zoom link, unless the public is notified otherwise:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83264377267?pwd=a2lqbUR3ZmU2WkZ1aEU3U00xZjhiUT09

Posted October 23, 2023

DRAFT MINUTES

MAIDSTONE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

Thursday, October 19, 2023, 7:00 pm

Held by Zoom Video Conference

Members present (via Zoom): Bruce Barker, Bob Champagne-Willis, Chris von Alt

Other members of Town Government present (via Zoom): Town Clerk and Lister Amy Pear; Lister, Auditor, and Health Officer Sandra Gray; Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard, Zoning Board, and Planning Commission Mary von Alt

Also present (via Zoom): Andy Champagne-Willis, Jesse Noone of Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA)

At 7:01 pm, the meeting was called to order by Chris von Alt, Chairman. Chris welcomed Jesse Noone of NVDA, our regional planning commission. Jesse’s availability for participation in the meeting was limited, so everyone agreed to begin with discussion of the FY24 Municipal Planning Grant application, with which Jesse is involved.

Update on progress with the fy24 municipal planning grant:

Chris discussed the grant application requirements with Jesse Noone of NVDA last week and also with Jenni Lavoie, Contract and Grants Specialist in the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, which oversees the Municipal Planning Grant. Chris said Jenni told him that the fact that Maidstone does not have a town center will not be held against the Town, but as that is worth 20 points in the grant scoring criteria, Chris is concerned that we will start at a deficit of points. The budget and work plan are worth 35 points; details of the tasks in the work plan and how money is allocated in the budget must be worked out. Chris has a Zoom meeting scheduled with Alison Low and Jesse Noone of NVDA on Friday morning during which he will discuss this. A discussion ensued that included Jesse talking about possibly writing the Town Plan for Maidstone, about researching data and reviewing previous Town Plans, making community visits, and attending meetings. The amount of $8,000 was referred to as the potential cost of Jesse’s work for Maidstone. These are some of the details that will be addressed in the Zoom meeting with Alison and Jesse tomorrow. Amy asked Jesse if he had any information about why Maidstone’s Town Plan of 2016 had not been approved by our Regional Planning Commission (NVDA) as required by State law; she wanted to make sure that the Town is aware of any errors made that resulted in the Plan not receiving approval. Jesse was not aware of exactly what happened. All parties now involved are aware of the importance of approval of Town plans by the Regional Planning Commission, so will work to ensure that happens with Maidstone’s next Town Plan.

Bob raised the issue of the need to revise the Town’s Zoning Bylaws. That is Phase Two, said Chris, the rewriting of the Town Plan being Phase One; revising the Zoning Bylaws should be the focus of a municipal grant application next year. Jesse said the need to revise the Town Plan and utilize it to inform the Bylaws is important information to be included in the current Municipal Grant application, as will be the Town Survey. He thinks our Draft Town Survey looks great and will be very informative; it can be added to the grant application as a supplementary document.

The Selectboard has signed the FY24 Municipal Resolution for Municipal Planning Grant, naming Scott as the primary and Brad as the alternate Municipal Authorizing Official. Both will have to create GEARS accounts (Grant Electronic Application and Reporting System accounts); Amy and Bob will create their own GEARS accounts and will assist Scott and Brad, if that is helpful. Chris suggested contacting Jenni Lavoie prior to creating the accounts, as she was very helpful to him with his GEARS account.

APPROVE 2023-10-04 MINUTES:

Bob made a motion to accept the minutes as presented for the 2023-10-04 Planning Commission Meeting; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor.

Discuss and finalize the 2023 Draft Town Survey:

The 2023 Draft Maidstone Town Survey, incorporating questions suggested by Planning Commission members, was distributed by the Administrative Assistant to the Commission members, the Selectboard, and the Town Clerk prior to this meeting. Commission members and the Town Clerk reviewed the survey in preparation for this meeting. Discussion focused on several survey questions; everyone analyzed wording of the questions posed and of possible responses from the perspective of how they contributed to achieving the purpose of the Plan. That purpose is to elicit input from residents and property owners, through responses to and comments about questions regarding the vision we all have for Maidstone’s future, and how the Town’s government can best serve residents’ and property owners’ needs. The Survey will inform the writing of the new Town Plan, with the Planning Commission working to ensure that the people’s vision is reflected in and implemented through the Plan. New wording was decided upon; Mary will revise the Survey as needed.

Bob made a motion to accept the 2023 Draft Town Survey as revised; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor.

Amy and Mary will work together to implement the distribution plan of the Town Survey agreed upon at the Planning Commission meeting on October 4, 2023.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Chris spoke with Zoning Administrator Mike Otis just before the meeting tonight. Mike was not able to attend the meeting, therefore asked Chris to bring up a question that has been posed to Mike by Nature Conservancy. The Conservancy is investigating the purchase of a piece of property owned by Mike Tanguay in Brunswick, VT; that property extends across the border between Brunswick and Maidstone. An abandoned railroad track exists that may or may not sever the property into two separate lots, one in Brunswick and one in Maidstone. Whether the property is divided into two lots by that railroad track or needs to be subdivided by the subdivision process stipulated in the Maidstone Zoning Bylaws must be resolved before the purchase can be made. Bob said the bigger issue is that the same situation exists along Route 102, where there are a number of properties that include land on both sides of the highway. The problem is that it is only through the survey that is required by going through the subdivision process that the true acreage of a property is known. Whether or not Route 102 legally subdivides properties that include land on both sides of that road, and whether or not an abandoned railroad track with its inherent right-of-way legally subdivides a property with land on both sides of that track are questions for which answers must be sought. Amy told the Commission that Town Hall gathered all of the information available about the property and gave it to Mike Otis today; she suggested that more time is needed for Mike to have the opportunity to review all of that data. After discussion, the Commission members agreed with Amy and concluded that more information is required.

SET DATE FOR NEXT MEETING:

The Commission did not set a date for the next meeting; that will be accomplished at a later date.

Action items:

Mary will make the changes to the Draft Town Survey that were decided upon tonight and will send that updated Survey to Commission members and the Town Clerk for a final read. Commission members may be asked to complete a practice Survey to test the entire online process.
Amy and Mary will work together to implement the distribution plan for the Town Survey agreed upon at the Planning Commission meeting on October 4, 2023.
Chris will meet via Zoom with Alison Low and Jesse Noone of NVDA on Friday, October 20, 2023, to discuss Maidstone’s application for the FY24 Municipal Planning Grant.

ADJOURN:

The business of the meeting having been concluded, Bob made a motion to adjourn; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 9:09 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary von Alt

Posted on October 20, 2023

APPROVED MINUTES

MAIDSTONE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

Wednesday, October 4, 2023, 7:00 pm

Held by Zoom Video Conference

Members present (via Zoom): Bruce Barker, Bob Champagne-Willis, Chris von Alt

Other members of Town Government present (via Zoom): Town Clerk and Lister Amy Pear; Administrative Assistant to the Zoning Board, Planning Commission, and Selectboard Mary von Alt

Also present (via Zoom): Jesse Noone of Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA)

At 7:00 pm, the meeting was called to order by Chris von Alt, Chairman. Chris welcomed Jesse Noone of NVDA, our regional planning commission.

APPROVE 2023-08-24 MINUTES:

Bob made a motion to accept the minutes as presented for the 2023-08-24 Planning Commission Meeting; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor.

Continue to work on revising the Town Plan, discussing and acting upon as NECESSARY:

Jesse Noone of NVDA attended the meeting instead of Alison Low, who had a scheduling conflict. Jesse Noone very recently worked with the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) Committee to develop Maidstone’s newly adopted LHMP.

The meeting began with a discussion of Vermont’s FY24 Municipal Planning Grant, through which individual communities may apply for up to $30,000 for “local planning initiatives that support statewide planning goals” (https://accd.vermont.gov/community-development/funding-incentives/municipal-planning-grant). Chris shared his screen to display information about the grant. The discussion included but was not limited to the following:

Maidstone did not receive confirmation of our municipal planning process from our Regional Planning Commission (RPC), which is NVDA, by the deadline of September 30th. Jesse said he will look into this to find out if the planning process the Town went through for the LHMP can be backdated and recognized as fulfilling this requirement, and if the Town is eligible to apply for the grant.
The Municipal Planning Grant requires that the Town provide local funds for municipal and regional planning purposes or that the municipality has voted at an annual or special meeting to provide local funds for municipal and regional planning purposes. Bob said that Maidstone has a Planning and Zoning Fund that was established some years ago, which fulfills this requirement. At this time, he reported that the Fund has $4,839.21 in it. It was decided to ask the Selectboard to authorize use of the Planning and Zoning fund to advance the process for creating a new Town Plan.
How likely it is that Maidstone will receive this grant was questioned. Bob said that in his experience thus far, Vermont’s scoring criteria for awarding municipal grants tends to ignore Essex County and, in some instances, Maidstone in particular. Chris pointed out that the Program Description clearly states that “Projects related to recovery from the Vermont Flood of 2023” have priority. Jesse did not have any further information about that, but expressed his opinion that this grant should not be used for that purpose.
Chris said that he thinks the Town should apply for the grant even if it is not likely that it will be awarded to Maidstone; he feels applying for this grant will put the Town in a better position for success with future grants. Bob and Bruce agreed that we should proceed with this grant application.
Jesse spoke of various ways that he can help the Town with the grant application as a consultant from NVDA. Various issues for which grant funding might be sought were briefly talked about, such as flood hazard regulations, and housing-related policies to comply with the recently passed Act 47, Vermont Housing Opportunities Made for Everyone (HOME). He feels that Maidstone’s needs definitely fit with this grant.

Continuing to share his screen, Chris displayed a list of Recommended Actions for the Planning Commission to take, which the Commission then discussed. Most of these Recommended Actions concern the Town Survey that will provide public input into the new Town Plan: how to make the survey available, how to create it, how to announce it, the number of questions that should be included, and the budget needed to print and mail surveys. It was decided to use Google Forms for the survey and to try to keep the number of questions to about 20. Printing can be done at Town Hall, Bob said. A multi-pronged approach to survey distribution will be used, mailing a copy of the Survey to all residents and property owners and including an envelope, emailing a link to the survey to everyone on Amy’s Email Blast setup, posting a link to the survey on the Town website, and having paper copies available at Town Hall. Amy will look into making labels from the LHMP distribution list. Announcements will be placed in the Front Porch Forum, posted on the Sandwich Board at Town Hall and in newspapers as possible, emailed, and included on the Town website. The Town’s Planning and Zoning Fund is a possible source of funding this operation.

The issue of what questions to include was raised. Jesse suggested including questions about housing, such as seasonally vacant housing; how much housing has been built in the last 20 years and where; the needs to address for year-round housing such as water, wastewater, and essential services; and why people have chosen to live year-round on the Lake. He said questions about what people like and do not like are helpful. He then cited Brownington where many people said they no longer knew their neighbors; re-engaging people in the community, thereby building community capacity, became a strong focus of the Brownington Town Plan.

A number of survey questions have already been suggested by Commission members, plus the 2006 Town Survey is available as another possible source. The Commission decided to have the survey questions completed at the next meeting, which was decided to be scheduled on Thursday, October 19, 2023.

ACTION ITEMS:

Jesse will find out this week whether or not Maidstone is eligible to submit a Municipal Planning Grant application, and will inform the Planning Commission. If the Town is eligible, Jesse will in plan to work with the Commission on completing that application.
In preparation for applying for the grant, a line item will be added to the Selectboard Agenda for the meeting scheduled for Monday, October 9, 2023, stating, “Request from the Planning Commission that the Selectboard authorize use of the Planning and Zoning fund to advance the process for creating a new Town Plan.”
Mary will put together a document listing all survey questions suggested thus far and send it to the Commission members as soon as possible; the members will review the questions, record their approval or disapproval of the inclusion of each question, and add questions if they wish. That review of survey questions is due back to Mary by Tuesday, October 17th, so that she can prepare a complete list of questions for the Commission to review and decide upon at the Thursday, October 19th meeting.

OTHER BUSINESS:

There was no other business.

SET DATE FOR NEXT MEETING:

The Commission decided to meet next on Thursday, October 19, 2023, at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

ADJOURN:

The business of the meeting having been concluded, Bob made a motion to adjourn; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:51 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary von Alt

Posted October 4, 2023

APPROVED MINUTES

MAIDSTONE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

Thursday, August 24, 2023, 7:00 pm

Held by Zoom Video Conference

Members present (via Zoom): Bruce Barker, Bob Champagne-Willis, Chris von Alt

Other members of Town Government present (via Zoom): Administrative Assistant to the Zoning Board, Planning Commission, and Selectboard Mary von Alt

Also present (via Zoom): Alison Low of Northeastern Vermont Development Association; Ed Tully

At 7:02 pm, the meeting was called to order by Chris von Alt, Chairman. Chris welcomed Alison Low of the Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA), our regional planning commission.

Chris reminded meeting attendees that the Rules of Participation are in effect; this is a public working meeting, but not a meeting of the public. Public participation will be welcomed as scheduled on the Agenda and during the meeting, as possible.

APPROVE 2023-07-20 MINUTES:

Bob made a motion to accept the minutes as presented for the 7/20/2023 Planning Commission Meeting; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor.

Continue to work on revising the Town Plan, discussing and acting upon as NECESSARY:

A discussion among the members of the Commission and Alison Low addressed the survey of people who reside in or have property in Maidstone that the Commission plans to conduct in order to elicit public input in the creation of the next Town Plan. Topics discussed included, but were not limited to, the following:

Does NVDA have a survey template that Maidstone could use? Alison said NVDA does not have such a template, but she suggested looking at surveys conducted by other towns, mentioning Craftsbury and Sutton; she then emailed her copies of those surveys to Bob for distribution. The Irasburg survey was discussed as a resource at the last Planning Commission meeting; Bob expects a Word file of that survey to be sent to him;
How to make the survey available to all people who reside in or have property in Maidstone. Online surveys have the advantage of more efficient aggregation and analysis of responses, but some people are not comfortable with responding online or do not have easy access to the Internet. Alison said that in her experience, online surveys receive a lower level of response than paper surveys. Chris asked about sending a card to inform people of the online survey and provide the address; Alison said that she has observed that if you send somebody a postcard and they have to go online, they probably will not take that step; however, if you send a hyperlink, they are more likely to fill out a survey. The eventual consensus was that multiple forms of the survey and access to the survey should be provided in order to facilitate a robust response;
- The Town does collect email addresses and could send out one or more email blasts to encourage responses to the survey;
- The Town’s Facebook page can be used to promote the survey;
- Front Porch Forum is useful in this regard, said Alison. Chris has some experience with this publication.
How to write questions that are clear and concise, that address topics about which the Commission wants to gather input, and that have clear response options that will not discourage people from responding by being too complex and time-consuming;
- Alison suggested that less pointed questions be used in general, with pointed questions reserved for topics about which the Commission perceives a need for specific information. She said that open-ended questions can be used in surveys;
The importance of including a comment section in response to each question. Both Bruce and Bob spoke of the value of the comments in response to the 2006 Town Survey;

Alison’s view that demographic questions should only be asked if the responses will be used in survey analysis. There may be value in identifying whether the responder is a year-round resident or seasonal, considering becoming a year-round resident at some point, a landowner or renter, etc.;
Chris’s concern that important topics such as growth and the zoning regulations in effect in some sections need to be viewed in context and do not lend themselves to limited survey questions. Alison suggested that inviting people to an open community forum, a round table discussion, might be an effective way to facilitate an in-depth conversation about some topics;
The challenge of creating survey questions that address the Required Elements. Alison’s advice was to pick the questions that the Commission thinks are really relevant to Maidstone, questions that people will be really interested in providing answers to;
Chris said that while there are Elements that do not lend themselves to survey questions, there are others that pose hard questions that must be discussed for the benefit of the community in the long run. The Required Elements are there for a reason; there is a need for people to be educated about some of the stuff that is going on - for instance, #9, the energy section that requires the Town to create policies as well as programs to implement those policies. The State has committed to reducing emissions. Household insulation plays a role in those emissions. Do we need programs to help people with energy improvements/resiliency? Renewable energy policy is part of that Element. How do people feel about development of commercial renewable energy sources in Town? These are issues that need to be discussed.
- Efficiency Vermont’s Energy Burden Report for 2023 about the high amount of money Vermonters are spending on energy, and about how people who really could use help with this “energy burden” are not receiving either the information about available programs to reduce costs nor the help itself. The Town has a responsibility to inform its citizens about such programs. There is interest at the Town level in implementing energy efficiency and resiliency at Town Hall through the Municipal Energy Resilience Program (MERP) grant. Programs to help citizens need to be publicized.
- Chris pointed out that as much as one would like to link to the past, things are changing rapidly now. We have a responsibility to try to bring awareness and achieve consensus about how people want to deal with these issues. The Town could help a lot of people who have a large energy burden that is difficult for them to afford.
The State mandated approval process requires two public hearings; Alison suggested that we host public gatherings to discuss the proposed Plan earlier in the process, perhaps including a potluck at Town Hall. That elicited a positive response from everyone. Alison cited the example of Brownington, which held a community breakfast after conducting a survey and analyzing the results. A member of the Planning Commission presented the results of the survey, which everyone then discussed.
Chris spoke about the importance of maps in recording and conveying information, his work with Geographic Information System (GIS) maps to record and visually display Town data, and his interest in incorporating and manipulating data from the State. Alison suggested he contact Tracy McIntyre, the GIS specialist at NVDA.

Bob raised the issue of the Town needing guidelines on how bylaws must be written/revised to adhere to new legislation signed into law regarding municipal zoning requirements, including those affecting Accessory Dwelling Units. Alison explained that the State had been working on guidelines that were intended to be available this summer, but that such efforts were sidelined by the need to respond to the flooding disaster. Guidelines will be forthcoming at some time. Meanwhile, she pointed out that not everything in that legislation goes into effect right away.

Bob asked for more information about the availability of municipal planning grants. Alison confirmed that the online application for the Municipal Planning Grant for fiscal year 2024 opens on September 1, with grant applications due by November 1, 2023. Such a grant could help to cover the costs of a Town survey and additional public events, as well as hiring someone to help put together the Town Plan. She said she would share a link to the program and to funding priorities and examples of what was funded in last year’s grant. Alison also suggested that the Commission view other Town Plans in the NEK that are available on NVDA.net. The State also has a directory of Town Plans and Bylaws.

One of the Required Elements in the Town Plan is a flood resilience plan. In raising this topic, Bob said there has been an issue in the past with Maidstone not being in the National Flood Insurance Program, and that there seems to be a big hesitation in Town to move forward with anything that would require flood insurance. Alison said that she thinks there is some misunderstanding about the National Flood Insurance Program. She continued, “If you are selling a house that’s in a floodplain, and the person who is buying the house is trying to get a federally backed mortgage, [that buyer] has to get flood insurance in order to get that federally backed mortgage, whether or not the Town participates in the National Flood Insurance Program. If the Town does not participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, the buyer cannot buy flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, but must buy flood insurance through the private insurance market.” Private flood insurance is more costly. Alison pointed out that a buyer’s need to buy private flood insurance could make it more difficult to sell a house in Maidstone’s floodplain. One benefit of the Town participating in the National Flood Insurance Program is that property owners and people buying property in Maidstone would then be allowed to buy flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, rather than have to deal with the private insurance market, through which flood insurance would be more costly and possibly not available.

Bob asked if participating in the National Flood Insurance Program is independent from the requirement that flood resilience be addressed in the Town Plan. Alison did not respond directly to this question, but said that since the Town does not participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, she would definitely recommend that we include a discussion of what that means for people in Maidstone; this might give us the opportunity to dispel the notion that by adopting flood regulations, the Town would be forcing people to get flood insurance.

Chris said that as he understood it, the resistance to being part of the National Flood Insurance Program sprang from the inaccuracy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) flood maps that incorrectly portrayed some properties as being in a floodplain. New, corrected maps have been promised, but are not yet available. Chris does not think that there will be a problem with joining the National Flood Insurance Program once the new maps are available.

Mary asked if Alison would be willing to come to a Selectboard meeting to explain the impact of Town participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, as it is the Selectboard that must vote on the Town’s participation. Alison said that she would. Chris said that Jesse Noone of NVDA had explained this issue to the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) Committee (Brad McVetty, Bill Sanborn, Sandy Gray, and Chris von Alt), but that he himself agreed it would be a good idea to address the flood insurance issue publicly at a Selectboard meeting, as it is in the Town’s best interests to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Alison highlighted another important impact that a Town’s participation in the National Flood Insurance Program has, which is on the Town’s eligibility for additional money from the Emergency Relief & Assistance Fund (ERAF), to cover the costs of public infrastructure damage in the event of a federally declared disaster. After declaration of a disaster, the federal government contributes 75% of the cost of damage to public infrastructure in a town, including roads, bridges, and culverts; the State of Vermont provides an additional 12.5% of that cost, IF the Town meets the following eligibility criteria:

Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program;
Adoption of the State’s current Town Road and Bridge Standards;
Adoption of a Local Emergency Management Plan (LEMP);
Adoption of a FEMA approved Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP).

As soon as Maidstone adopts the LHMP, it will meet three of the criteria. If a town does not meet all four criteria, then the percentage that the State contributes to the Town drops to 7.5% of the cost of damage to public infrastructure. Alison said that in the past, some Vermont towns have indicated that they were not concerned about a drop of 5%, but that now, faced with the high costs of flood damage this year, people are realizing how much that 5% can actually be; she cited, as an example, 5% of $1.2 million, which is $60,000.00. Alison added an “interesting observation from past flooding experience” - that some of the usual places did not flood this time, but places that have not had floods before did sustain significant damage, a change from the experience with Hurricane Irene. Chris referred to “water bombs”, the name now being used for extreme rainfall events that dump an enormously excessive amount of water in a region within a short amount of time. These water bombs are unpredictable and erratic in location.

Ed asked if we all would have to get flood insurance, but received the response, “No.” The FEMA maps that need to be replaced include incorrect designations of some properties as being in floodplains. If a property includes land in the floodplain, but the house itself is not in the floodplain, Alison said that the property owner could probably obtain a Letter of Map Amendment in which an engineer verifies that the house is not in the floodplain, therefore does not need flood insurance. (NOTE: According to FEMA, A Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) is an official amendment, by letter, to an effective National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) map. A LOMA establishes a property's location in relation to the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).

The discussion then extended to briefly mentioning zoning issues such as when a parcel includes land in two zoning districts, the consequences of road frontage oriented development, the value of forested areas for wildlife, the State goal of reducing/preventing strip development, and any interest in having a town center in Maidstone, issues raised but not discussed in depth or resolved.

ACTION ITEMS:

Alison will send copies of surveys from other towns.
Chris will experiment with an online survey.
Mary will gather survey questions from various sources, including Maidstone’s 2006 survey, for the Commission members to mark up/modify/indicate approval, etc., to bring to the next meeting.

OTHER BUSINESS:

There was no other business.

SET DATE FOR NEXT MEETING:

The Commission decided to meet next on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

ADJOURN:

Bob made a motion to adjourn; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at

8:53 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary von Alt

Posted August 25, 2023

APPROVED MINUTES

MAIDSTONE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

Thursday, July 20, 2023, 7:00pm

Held by Zoom Video Conference

Members present (via Zoom): Bruce Barker, Bob Champagne-Willis, Chris von Alt

Other members of Town Government present (via Zoom): Town Clerk Amy Pear; Zoning Administrator Mike Otis; Lister, Auditor, and Health Officer Sandra Gray; Administrative Assistant to the Zoning Board, Planning Commission, and Selectboard Mary von Alt

Also present (via Zoom): Laurie and Bob Snowman, Burt and Carol Kline

At 7:02 pm, the meeting was called to order by Chris von Alt, Chairman.

APPROVE 2023-06-21 MINUTES:

Bob pointed out that a survey is not required as part of the process of creating/revising a Town Plan, but is one option for obtaining community input. The minutes will therefore be amended to include that accurate information. Bob made a motion to accept the minutes as amended for the 6/21/2023 Planning Commission Meeting; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor.

RULES OF PARTICIPATION:

Chris reminded meeting attendees that the Rules of Participation are in effect; this is a public meeting, but not a meeting of the public. It is a working meeting, so the discussion will mostly be among the Commission members, but public participation will be welcomed as scheduled on the Agenda and during the meeting, as possible.

Continue to work on revising the Town Plan, discussing and acting upon as NECESSARY:

Bob told everyone that according to the official State method for developing/revising a Town Plan, we are at Step One, which is conducting a community assessment to gather and evaluate information about current conditions, resources, and trends that tells us where Maidstone is now and where it appears to be heading. Bob has shared maps and charts via email that he found and downloaded that provide wide-ranging data about demographic, housing, land use, etc. Bruce has shared maps via email that he found and downloaded regarding land use, natural resources, constraints, energy, etc.

Bob addressed several areas that are and will continue to be driving factors in trends occurring in Maidstone:

Land use restrictions on certain parcels: About 70% - 80% of the land in Maidstone is protected through Vermont’s Current Use program or through State ownership with its inherent restrictions. Current Use enrollment is recorded at Town Hall in the Land Records and stays with the property for perpetuity, regardless of ownership. Bob described the process of withdrawing from Current Use as onerous; a significant tax penalty is incurred when land is removed from Current Use. Burt questioned what happens when a property is thrown out of the Current Use program, but that answer was not totally clear. Bob said that there is not a lot of room for change in land use when such a large portion of the land is already restricted, though people do have the option of removing their land from Current Use. Chris shared his screen to display the Current Use map that Bob had shared, and pointed out that the map did not provide a detailed view that included smaller parcels; to be in Current Use, said Bob, a parcel must be 25 acres or more in size.

Property taxes: The 2023 property taxes will be considerably higher than last year’s. The Town is doing a Statistical Reappraisal for 2024; on the 2024 tax bill, Maidstone properties will reflect their fair market value based on the market on April 1, 2024. Bob anticipates that a number of properties will double in value on the Grand List. (As an example, he cited a property on North Road valued by the Town on the Grand List at $28,900, which recently sold for 2 1/2 times that amount.) The education portion of the taxes will therefore double for those properties. The municipal tax rate may be adjusted to approximately half of the prior rate, keeping the municipal taxes about the same. The impact of this large increase in property taxes may be an exodus of people from Maidstone, similar to the effect of the sale of leased properties on Maidstone Lake by Champion in the late 1990s..

Short-term Property Rentals: (this topic was addressed later in the meeting, but is a trend, so is included here by M. von Alt) Bob said Maidstone is experiencing an increase in short-term property rentals throughout the Town through Air BnB, VRBO, etc., as well as individual arrangements. No data is collected about such rentals; they are not separately or differently handled than other properties in our property taxes. The State Park’s campsite rentals are short-term rentals that significantly impact the traffic and roads in the Town, but the State park does not generate revenue for the Town and does not pay property taxes; instead, the State sends the Town annually a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), the amount of which is determined at a reduced rate in comparison with the Town’s property taxes. The Commission members expressed concern about who would take responsibility for actions of short-term renters that negatively impacted the Town, and questioned what sort of controls the Town might impose on such rentals. Bob spoke of the measures that Killington has put into place, now that the Town has a majority of its properties being rental in nature, measures such as a rental registry and regulations addressing safety. In general, the feeling was that this is an area that needs consideration. The possibility of a Local Option tax that might include some sort of tax on rentals was mentioned.

A survey will provide input from the Maidstone public regarding where they want the Town to be in the future. A discussion about such a survey ensued that included the following topics:

the questions on the 2006 Town Survey and the various options for answers:
the inclusion and value of comments from the public in that 2006 survey:
consideration of using questions from the 2006 survey, as well as additional topics for which questions should be designed to gather input including septic systems and rental properties:
the questions on an Irasburg Town survey shared by Chris via email as an example:
what questions to include on the planned 2023 Town Survey and what answer options:
the importance of clear, concise questions and answer options to encourage participation:
how to administer the survey in order to maximize participation and the accurate reflection of opinion:
the need to address the Required Elements as well as the State’s Planning Goals:
the fact that not all Required Elements can be addressed through survey questions.

Each Commission member, at the previous meeting, had been assigned four of the twelve Required Elements listed in the State Planning Manual for Municipal Plans. Each discussed their Elements to the degree that they had been able to address them; some of the Elements refer to tasks that the Planning Commission must undertake; some of the Elements prompt relevant survey questions. Chris shared the screen to display the document he had created in response to his assigned elements, including questions he had created to be included in the survey. In particular, he drew attention to two of his assigned Elements - an Energy Plan and Economic Development. Chris pointed out that currently the Town requires a Certificate of Occupancy, a fact that has elicited much discussion and questioning of whether or not the Town should continue to require that in its Bylaws, as the Certificate, by State law, requires that applicants submit documentation from the State that they have received a Residential Building Energy Standards or Commercial Building Energy Standards certificate of compliance. Chris suggested that Maidstone’s Certificate of Occupancy bylaw should be considered In light of the new State law requirement to “develop a policy on the conservation of energy, including programs, such as thermal integrity” for inclusion in the Town Plan. Town policy encouraging commercial and/or individual renewable energy installations should also be included in the survey. He suggested that the survey include a question about whether or not people want economic development in Town, another Required Element. Bruce went through a document that he created examining his assigned four Elements, linking applicable Vermont Statutes, and including which 2006 questions still were applicable and suggestions for expanded and/or additional questions. (Both documents are attached in the Addendum.)

At the conclusion of the discussion, several Action Items were decided upon:

Bob will contact Alison Low of NVDA (Northeastern Vermont Development Association) about means of administering the survey to ensure accuracy and maximize inclusion of residents and property owners;
Bob will talk with the Town Clerk in Irasburg to find out how they conducted the survey; the Town Clerk has already agreed to send Bob a Word version of the survey they utilized;
Each of the Commission members will continue to further develop their suggested survey questions and send them to Mary, who will compile them in one document with the corresponding Required Element and any tasks stipulated in the Elements;
Mary will send that document to the Commission members for their review, revisions, and additions prior to the next meeting.

Public Comment:

Chris invited the public to ask questions or make comments, but all attendees said they had no questions or comments.

OTHER BUSINESS:

There was no other business.

SET DATE FOR NEXT MEETING:

The Commission decided to meet next on Thursday, August 24, at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

ADJOURN:

Bob made a motion to adjourn; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:47pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary von Alt

PLEASE NOTE: As the Addendum is quite lengthy, it is not included in this posting. If you wish to receive a copy of the Addendum, please email sbasst05905@gmail.com.

Posted 7/21/2023

APPROVED MINUTES

MAIDSTONE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

Wednesday, June 21, 2023, 7:00pm

Held by Zoom Video Conference

Members present (via Zoom): Bruce Barker, Bob Champagne-Willis, Chris von Alt

Ex-Officio Member present (via Zoom): Selectboard Chair Scott Lovell

Other members of Town Government present (via Zoom): Town Clerk Amy Pear; Zoning Administrator Mike Otis; Administrative Assistant to the Zoning Board, Planning Commission, and Selectboard Mary von Alt

Also present: Jim Bennett; Ed Tully

At 7:00 pm, the meeting was called to order by Chris von Alt, Chairman.

APPROVE MINUTES:

Bob made a motion to accept the minutes as presented for the 4/19/2023 Planning Commission Meeting; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor.

RULES OF PARTICIPATION:

Bob and Bruce had no comments after reviewing the Rules of Participation that were emailed to the Planning Commission, the Selectboard, and all who had requested notification of Town meetings. Chris explained that all discussions between or among the Planning Commission (PC) members can only occur during meetings held in public, in accordance with Vermont’s Open Meeting Law. The meetings therefore must focus on the work the Planning Commission is charged with accomplishing, i.e., updating the Town Plan and amending as necessary the Town Zoning Bylaws to ensure that they accurately reflect and serve to implement the Town Plan. As Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) verified, meetings are in public, but not of the public. The PC is therefore asking people to be respectful of the time in a meeting. A period of time for public comment and questions is scheduled towards the end of the meeting. Bob pointed out that the Planning Commission welcomes questions, but may not always have answers, as much of the PC’s business involves legal matters; the PC will not answer questions about legal matters at this meeting, but will consult with the proper authorities and address them at the next meeting.

Discuss and decide upon process and methods for updating the Town Plan:

Bob has scoured the Town Vault with the Town Clerk and found copies of the pre-Town Plan from 1973 as well as Town Plans from 1993, 2007, and 2016. The Town is currently operating under the 2016 Plan, which expires on February 1, 2024. The new Town Plan must be in place before any amendments are proposed to the Zoning Bylaws, as the Bylaws are intended to reflect and implement the Town Plan.

Bob has found the survey that was sent out in 2006 in preparation for the 2007 Town Plan. A survey, although one was not conducted in 2016, is one method of community outreach to solicit public input. At the end of the process, when the PC has created a proposed new Town Plan, there is a State-mandated 60 day period for public comment before the Plan is turned over to the Selectboard for their approval process. Bob has spoken with Alison Low, the person at the Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA) who deals with Town Plans; NVDA is Maidstone’s regional planning commission for all zoning matters. Alison says it is optimistic to think we can have a Town Plan in place by that 2/1/2024 expiration date, given the lengthy approval process, including warned public hearings, required by Vermont law.

Recent legislation has changed the language regarding the twelve (12) elements that must be included in all Town Plans, Bob reported. Formerly, Town Plans “could” be consistent with state-wide planning goals; now the law states that Town Plans “shall” be consistent with state-wide planning goals. Vermont’s Regional Planning Commissions, including NVDA, are in the process of working through what this means for Town Plans.

Bob went over the elements that the State says must be addressed in a Town Plan, the twelfth of which concerns the Town’s flood resilience plan. Although this presented a hold-up in the past, flood resilience was put into the 2016 Town Plan. The Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) that is currently being worked on may provide some help in this area. The US Flood Maps are being updated. Another consideration is the fact that the Town does not participate in the National Flood Insurance Plan. (For the list of elements, please see the Addendum below.)

The survey questions must address the elements, ascertaining where our Town is at this point in time and where the Town wants to go. The 2006 survey questions are helpful, but need to be updated, as things have definitely changed in Maidstone since then. Bob pointed out some of the changes: a decrease in agricultural activities; adopting the lake roads as town roads; an increase in population, with more residents now at the Lake than previously; fewer school age children and more older residents. A brief discussion ensued about the change in the amount of agriculture, with Ed Tully participating, voicing his support for continuing to include consideration of agriculture in the Town Plan, with which the Planning Commission agreed. Bob pointed out that one of the required elements is preserving what we can, which directly applies to agriculture. Ed also voiced his concern that affordable housing be addressed, which Bob said is one of the elements that must be considered in the formation of a Town Plan. Bob said that logging was another aspect that must be included in the Plan; Chris said the preservation of natural areas is another. Chris stressed the importance of including flood resilience, as it is required to ensure that the maximum amount of assistance is available to Townspeople in the event of a flood-related disaster. Bob reiterated the role that the LHMP plays in that. Bruce spoke about the importance of examining and analyzing the old and current Town Plans for adherence to the twelve elements, and determining what we need to do to thoroughly cover each required element.

After discussion, it was decided that each PC member would take four elements and craft survey questions to address these elements. Bob will take the first four, Bruce will take the next four, and Chris will take the last four. They will each prepare proposed survey questions and bring them to the next meeting. On June 13, 2023, Bob emailed the PC, attaching the State Municipal Planning Manual that includes the list of elements.

Bob will share the demographic information he has gathered and will send the link to the website on which demographic information for Maidstone is available. (Note: according to that website, Maidstone has 106 households.) Bob will assemble the responses proposing survey questions. Mary will create a document comparing the components of the historical and current Town Plans. These will then be discussed at the next meeting in July.

Ed asked if the PC should not meet at Town Hall, which he feels would encourage more participation in formulating the Town Plan. Bob said that public meetings will be held at Town Hall after being properly warned, during that 60 day period that is specifically held to elicit public input. Chris said that currently these are working meetings, open to the public, that are preparing for that 60 day period of public input. The PC has not heard anything concerning a request to hold meetings at Town Hall, prior to this comment by Ed. Travel to and from Town Hall requires more time on the part of all attendees. The Zoom meetings are open to the public. Ed asked if Chris thought 60 days was enough time; Chris said that is the minimum time required by law; if necessary, the process may take longer. Ed asked if the Town Plan should be included with the survey; Bob said the the Town Plan is on the website and hard copies are available at Town Hall, so people can read it.

Discuss camping trailer use at the Lake and possible action needed (Request from ZA):

Zoning Administrator Mike Otis has heard from various people that someone is considering renting out three trailers near the boat launch. He will look into this, but suggested that the current 25 foot setback from the lake that is required for camping trailers in the Bylaws should perhaps be reconsidered.

Discuss legal responses from VLCT to questions asked by Planning Commission:

Bruce presented questions asked of the VLCT legal team with responses, interpretation, and analysis. These will inform both the analysis of amendments needed for the Bylaws and the consideration of zoning permit applications. (For the Questions and Responses document, please see the Addendum below.)

ESTABLISH DATE FOR NEXT MEETING:

After discussion, it was decided to hold the next meeting on Thursday, July 20th, 2023, at 7:00pm. Each member will create questions to include in a survey, addressing their four Town Plan elements, including consideration of Town demographics. If possible, these questions will be given to Bob in advance, who will create a document incorporating all of the proposed questions, which he will then share with the other PC members. If done in advance, this will give everyone the opportunity to consider the questions before the meeting. The hope is that it will be possible to create a survey soon. If possible, the survey will be discussed at the Maidstone Lake Association meeting/picnic in order to elicit more input. Bruce said a raffle was used in conjunction with the last survey. Mary said creating some interest in the survey is important - at the MLA picnic, by doing a raffle, by publicizing how impressed NVDA was with Maidstone’s LHMP survey response.

ADJOURN:

Bob made a motion to adjourn; Bruce seconded the motion. All voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned at

8:53pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary von Alt

PLEASE NOTE: As the Addendum is quite lengthy, it is not included in this posting. If you wish to receive a copy of the Addendum, please email sbasst05905@gmail.com.

Posted April 24, 2023

Due to technical difficulties, I am not able to upload the Draft Minutes of the Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. If you would like to receive a pdf of the minutes, please contact me at sbasst05905@gmail.com to request a copy. Thank you.

Town of Maidstone

Planning Commission Meeting

Wednesday, April 19, 2023 @ 6.00 pm*, via Zoom

*as soon as Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting ends

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86393393065?pwd=RVdhSmt6cTFJU2hBSTBvbzRZYjh3QT09

AGENDA

Call to Order
Approve draft meeting minutes for the 3/8/2023 Special Planning Commission Meeting
Discuss nonconforming lots, structures, and uses
Discuss Certificates of Occupancy as handled by Maidstone Zoning Bylaw and Vermont Statutes
- Discuss, and act upon as necessary the Draft Certificate of Occupancy
- Discuss and act upon as necessary the Draft Revised Zoning Permit Application
- Continue discussing Bylaw revisions/amendments suggested thus far
Establish next meeting date
Other Business
Adjourn