The Charlotte News Your nonprofit community news source since 1958

Thursday, May 14, 2020 | Volume LXII Number 22

Vol. 62, no.22 May 14, 2020 Charlotte News The CharlotteNewsVT.org Vermont’s oldest nonprofit community newspaper, bringing you local news and views since 1958

Nature imitates nature

This cedar apple rust gall on a small cedar tree is reminiscent of another spiky sphere that’s all around us. “It reminded me of the coronavirus image that we see everywhere,” photographer John Quinney said.

THANK YOU

From all of us at The Charlotte News, a big thank you to our advertisers and donors. We greatly appreciate your continued support for our work in bringing you the news about Charlotte and Charlotters—as we have now for 62 years, and counting. We couldn’t do this without you.

Austerity for some is too much for others: Selectboard continues budget juggling, Rec stays on hold, and more

Chea Waters Evans

It was a long one on Monday, May 11, even as the Selectboard postponed several agenda items due to time concerns. At one point, Selectboard Chair Matt Krasnow asked who had the next item on the agenda and a patient Zoom meeting participant chimed in with, “Your dad! Otherwise known as Eddie.” Ed Krasnow, along with other understanding Charlotters, was willing to wait until the next meeting to raise his question before the Selectboard. Expenditure concerns, Ferry Road traffic, and the uncertain future of Recreation Department programs managed to make the cut Monday night.

Ferry Road

Public comment happened to roll into an agenda item: a Ferry Road safety audit. Dale Knowles, who lives on Ferry Road, said he’s noticed in the past few weeks that because of the coronavirus-related Stay Home, Stay Safe order, more children and families have been riding bikes and walking in that area. He requested that signs be placed in the area reminding motorists to slow down. Megan Price, a frequent advocate at municipal meetings for slowing traffic on Ferry Road, also mentioned the need to slow traffic in the area.

Last week, on his public Facebook page, Charlotte Crossings co-owner Mike Dunbar posted that he thought the town of Charlotte was delaying a Planning Commission hearing to discuss changing Land Use Regulations because the town didn’t want the regulations to change. He also posted a letter that his lawyer sent to the town alleging the same. The Planning Commission said the reasons for the delay are coronavirus-related and that the hearing will take place when it is safe to do so.

In April of 2018, the owners of the Route 7 property, Charlotte Crossings, which operates under Gemini Properties, LLC, were approved for a site plan for the property. The building has retail, office, and restaurant space. The current Land Use Regulations, which were adopted by the town in 2016, state that the regulations are “intended to ensure that site layout is safe, functional, and of a scale that is compatible with its setting and context, and consistent with these regulations.”

Since then, Dunbar, along with co-owner Debra Kassabian, have made changes to the original site plan that include increasing the square footage of the restaurant part of the building and adding parking spots. The Planning Commission decided that these changes required a new site plan; rather than going that route, Dunbar and Kassabian decided to petition to change the regulations. Regulations pertaining to parking lot locations. The Planning Commission does not support this change. According to the Planning Commission Reporting Form posted on the town website, they think reducing the current standard “does not set a good precedent because any future application within the Town promoting front-yard parking design will compromise the Town’s long standing intent to maintain aesthetic character of the area, and alter it into a strip-mall style of development.” The form also mentions that part of the Town Plan is to preserve vistas and maintain Route 7 as a scenic travel corridor.

Finish reading on page 3 of The Charlotte News.

Allegations of purposeful delay aimed at Planning Commission

Chea Waters Evans

During its May 7 meeting, the Planning Commission decided that LUR hearings are too important an issue to take place via Zoom teleconferencing and that Vermont open meeting laws require the commission to make the hearings available to as many Charlotters as possible.

In a Facebook post earlier this week, Dunbar alleged, “It is clear they are using COVID-19 to delay our work simply because they do not agree with it. Ever heard of the saying ‘never let a good crisis go to waste’?” He shared a letter his lawyer, Kevin Brennan of Brennan Punderson & Donahue, sent to Planning Commission Chair Peter Joslin stating that Dunbar was “shocked and disturbed” that the hearing was delayed and called the commission’s rationale for that decision “arbitrary, random, and unjustified.” The letter also claims that since other matters have moved forward with the Planning Commission, Dunbar is being treated unfairly. In a letter to The Charlotte News printed earlier this year, Joslin noted that there are approximately 80 potential amendments to the LURs and that the Planning Commission is in the process of reviewing them all and putting them on the ballot for the November 2020 general election. “These proposed amendments, by law, require two hearings by the Planning Commission and two by the Selectboard prior to putting them before the town for a vote.” He noted in an email to The Charlotte News earlier this week that, along with Dunbar’s request, the commission is also considering LUR amendments relating to East Charlotte Village and Act 143.

Though the results of the audit will not give VTrans the authority to change the speed limit, Chair Matt Krasnow said, they could always recommend other safety measures. Town Administrator Dean Bloch is going to schedule the visit for either July 23 or 28.

“We have taken guidance from the state, town counsel, and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, which, under current circumstances, does not recommend holding hearings for amendments to Town Plans or Zoning bylaws at this time,” Joslin said. Maura Carroll, executive director of the VLCT, said the issue is complicated. “So many things have come up in the course of these last couple months that people say, ‘You’d think this would be a simple question,’ but then some complexity just pops right into it.” The VLCT states on its website, “We do not recommend holding a public hearing during the public health emergency amid the stay-athome order’s restrictions on public gatherings. Instead, we recommend that the legislative body, at a duly warned meeting, extend the hearing deadlines by a certain amount of time.” from the Planning Commission has left him frustrated. “We routinely have to request information about the status of our requests and process,” he said in an email. “Open communication from the town would help guide and keep all parties informed. There is an impact on having to wait on several fronts, which could be avoided. More upfront guidance on the process and increased coordination between the various town boards…could alleviate this.”

The hearing delay is causing issues for his business, Dunbar said, “And, I want to ensure that the citizens of Charlotte understand that while there’s a process in Charlotte, it’s often mired in bureaucracy.” He also said he hopes the issue can be addressed quickly without further legal action. “I am hopeful that it won’t come to that. I am a reasonable person. I hope they are too. We’re all just trying to do our best here. But, their delay is holding up me doing business, and that’s not good for me, or for the town.”

Joslin said in an email that the commission has to weigh public safety alongside the needs of local businesses. “The Planning Commission regrets delaysthat the pandemic has caused but it is our responsibility to ensure that the public can participate and be heard in public hearings, and it is our responsibility to find effective ways to comply with state statutory requirements under current circumstances.”

The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled on Zoom for May 21. The link to attend the meeting is available on the Town of Charlotte web site.