Planning Commission
Monday, December 12, 2022
Board Members: Leon Ward, Megan Amundson, Phil Peterson, Greg Boshart
Town Staff: Leslie Perra, Interim Town Manager
Attendees: Paul MacDonald, Diana MacDonald, Rich Heileman
Attendees via Zoom:
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Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM.
Minutes from November 14, 2022
Approved by unanimous consent. Motion carried 4-0-0
2022 Working Zoning Revisions
Peterson has drafted language redundancies.
Boshart has been reviewing building height. He feels a better way to handle this is to highlight this as a waiverable item and provide examples. Give full access to first responding vehicles around structures. Instead of trying to identify lots or absolute dimensions, where this makes sense give quantitative criteria where this should be supported. Maybe give incentives for mixed use and multi-family, if that is what we support, but maybe up to 20% more in certain circumstances. There is a lot of work to build these 3D models and it is better to have the applicants present these. We could come up with three or four other criteria to promote taller buildings, where it is appropriate and for what reasons. That includes muilti-family, multi-story buildings. Boshart will come up with three or four criteria that would support this concept. Amundson agrees with this. Peterson agrees with this and it ties into conditional use criteria. Boshart stated that this is part of the waiver criteria.
Re-drawing of the Historic Area
Boshart states this is only associated with the town plan and until that is updated it is irrelevant.
RV/Campers
Ward noted Florida has the most RVs in the country and there are many rules around these. They have a 180-day limit that you can live in an RV. They also have no more than one recreational vehicle parked on a property at any one time. If there is more than one a permit would be required. Recreational equipment shall be stored in the rear of a yard no closer than 5 feet from a property line. Ward read definitions from other municipalities in Florida. Amundson asked what the goal was on this. Ward stated there is nothing in the current ordinance addressing RV's on residential properties and how long they can be used for. He used Florida as a guide as they have a lot of experience in this. The RV could stay on the property year round, but could not be lived in for more than 180 days. Amundson asked if this could be changed from behind a house to near the rear boundary. Discussion took place about parking in the rear or side of the property. Boshart also recommended that the front could be used if it is by the house. This could be regulated in the table, but would need to have text around it. This will continue to be worked on.
Accessory Dwelling Units
Accessory Apartment
Peterson mentioned there are two issues. Hurley had recommended that the one bedroom requirement be deleted from apartment. This has not been addressed. The cross reference between the accessory apartment and ADU and the definitions in the back of the ordinance should be changed. The accessory apartment subsumes the ADU we want this the other way around. The accessory apartment is a subset of the ADU. Boshart agrees.
Boshart reflected on the Owner Occupancy requirement for the ADU and is fully supportive of removing the owner occupancy requirement. Ward agrees with this. Amundson recuses herself from moving this forward. Peterson, Boshart and Ward agree with removing the owner occupancy requirement for the ADU.
Parking Minimums
Amundson needs a few more weeks to spend with our zoning map and the research she has done to provide a concrete recommendation. Generally speaking Amundson feels we have a lot of parking, we are not anywhere near capacity, we don't need to do any parking management to keep people flowing through parking. Removing parking minimums in our high density areas will be a real boon, allowing for more density that we want for the development we want moving forward. Bennington has done this in their downtown area. Since doing this they have been able to permit high-density housing development that would not have been permitted with prior parking minimums in place.. Developers are not required to provide parking, but they know what parking they need to provide and the onus is on the developer. Municipalities our size are doing this and are having success. There is an economic study done in Toronto around removing parking spots for outdoor café use and it was an economic driver by leaps and bounds, during the pandemic. Manchester receives no tax benefits from parking spots. As a municipality there is very little incentive for us to push for parking spots, as there is no benefit from them. Amundsen thinks this is a win on every level for us if we do this in the right places, and reducing it in high-density residential areas is a benefit. Next month Amundson will present where she thinks we can reduce or eliminate parking minimums. Parking would be a submission to the DRB for projects. There are benefits to this as we have more continuous sidewalks and biking paths.
Running Project Updates
Sewer Line Extension
Perra stated the sewer line extension will go out for bid in February and it will include Phase 1 & 2 together. Phase 1 has two options, one to the daycare and the other closer to town hall. Phase 2 gets us to the trailer park. The RFP is for phase 1 and 2 together. There is a grant we are applying for that has to include both phase 1 and 2, as it will include the new hotel/spa as this area does not include affordable housing. The grant could also be for the daycare facility, if they wanted expand. We are applying for the bond and not taking from the sewer reserve fund. The bond is for $1.1 million to get the project started. We could apply for an additional bond if we are not awarded the grant.
Bonnet Street Crosswalk
This was supposed to be completed a few weeks ago.
Housing Initiatives
Peterson is recruiting people for the Housing Task Force. The form is on the Housing Forum page on the town website. Peterson also provided an update on the Inn at Willow Pond and the inability to hook up to town water and sewer. Shires Housing is interested in being a part of the Housing Task Force. Peterson and Chamberlain will not be a part of the group. The Housing Forum will report through the Planning Commission.
Neighborhood Development Areas (NDA) Reconfiguration
Peterson stated we have an NDA and the riverway runs through it. Since we allow building within that river corridor that cannot be considered an NDA area. We are asking for a determination from the state to include in the NDA the flood and hazard zone, that is a FEMA flood hazard zone. We haven't received a determination yet. The advantage of an NDA would allow us to have multi-family housing without having to worry about Act 250 as an NDA designation gives an ACT 250 exemption.
Town Depot Street Properties
Perra stated the RFP was released on 12/12/22. It is an open application process. We are not renewing any lease for the Depot Street properties. Cone Road is not an option for the town at this time.
Town Plan
Perra signed the planning grant request. Peterson stated, if we receive the grant, we would then need to go out and search for a consultant / writer and we could go out to BCRC and others. We do not know when we will receive word on the grant.
Bikeway Design Study - Joint Village/Town proposal
Rich Heilemann, Planning Commissioner Chair for Manchester Village was to submit a grant for Main Street bike/walking path. Heilemann has been talking with Kyle Emge on a joint study with the Town and the Village. The initial grant is through Transportation Alternatives. They will not apply for the 12/14/22 grant. They will apply for a different grant this spring/summer that is a bike / pedestrian scoping study grant. It is for $60,000 with a 20% match. This would be a shared responsibility between the Village and the Town. The scope is from Hildene to Prospect Street. Emge recommends that the study be from Barnumville to Hildene, however this is a large section and may be difficult to get approved. Heilemann and Emge have been working on what would be the best scope for the project. The initial discussion was from Union Street to Depot Street. Peterson suggested that we could take best practice from a smaller scope and apply that to other areas of town. Amundson mentioned that it would be difficult to use the scope of one area and apply it to another because the traffic flow and street design of each area is significantly different and would require different solutions for bike safety. Heilemann mentioned it would be difficult to have this done all at the same time. Amundson mentioned the Federal Government is looking for larger projects that will move the needle in safety, not incremental changes. Ward agrees that we should have a larger study. Perra asked if the original proposal was to go to Ways Lane. Heilemann agrees that the scope should be larger, but we need to discuss this. The Planning Commissioners would like to see a larger scope for the grant, preferably from Barnumville to Hildene. Peterson recommends we utilize BCRC on this. Perra asked if the $60,000 would include an actual plan. Heilemann stated this would give some alternatives to look at. Peterson asked Perra if we have a Town Safety Plan in place. Amundson stated the town does not have a Town Safety Plan. Emge has looked into this. Amundson stated we need to file one and it would open a lot of doors for federal grants. Peterson said this is a pre-requisite to doing a scoping study. Perra stated she did not know if the previous town manager ever started one. Amundson stated Emge spoke with John O'Keefe prior to his departure and there is nothing in place. Amundson stated it is not complicated and can be done in a few pages. Peterson recommended we get on top of this. Peterson recommended that Heilemann work with BCRC to include Emge and himself. Perra requested to be included on the details. Heilemann will try to schedule a meeting with BCRC before the end of the year. Boshart asked if the selectboard has been made aware of this. Perra stated no, but would put this on a selectboard agenda in the future.
Adjournment
Ward motioned to adjourn the meeting. Amundson seconded the motion. Motion passed 4-0-0. Meeting adjourned at 8:27 p.m.
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For the Planning Commission Date