TOWN PLAN HEARING

CHARLOTTE PLANNING COMMISSION

7:00 P.M., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1999



Members
Present:

Vice Chairman Ed
Melby

Dave Brown

Jeff McDonald

David Woolf



Members
Absent:

Al Moraska

Jim Donovan

Josie Leavitt



Officials
Present: 

Planner Dean
Bloch




Guests Signed
in:







1. General Business, approval of Minutes: Some of the members who were at the meeting of the 23rd
of September were not present yet for voting on it, but a few verbal corrections were made to those of
October 7th. Jeff McDonald moved to accept the minutes of October 7, 1999 with corrections. Ed
Melby seconded the motion and it was approved by a vote of 4-0 with 3 members absent.

2. Ryerson/Finch Final Plat Review: Ed Melby said the Planning Commission was intending that the
Ryersons cut back the embankment to improve sight distances when they exit the driveway. Dave said
no one has done anything yet but they are waiting to see what is required before they start.

David Woolf suggested a change in the wording relating to the cutting: After the word "bank" on page 2,
"to the north of the curb cut, for its entire length along the west base." It will read, "The applicant shall
cut back the bank to the north of the curb cut for its entire length along the west face, from 12-to-18
inches with the least possible disturbance." David Woolf moved to approve the Ryerson/Finch written
decision. Dave Brown seconded the motion and it was approved, 4-0 with 3 members absent.

3. Other business: Dean Bloch reported that the Perry Subdivision folks have been talking about
coming in for their final application. He said they have to come in within 6 months or get an extension.
They want to submit on the 15th of October, but there are a few issues that still need to be addressed,
Dean said.

There is supposed to be an easement for the trail, and the trail they speak about is on Perry's next-door
property. Dean asked if Perry can sign a statement saying his intention is to put the easement there, but
that he will decide the exact location during the process. Dave Brown suggested that Dean reply to the
agent, Stuart Morrow, that the easement go along the hedgerow. 

Stuart Morrow had also questioned a requirement about a detail for the driveway on Route 7 (Item #1).
The Planning Commission decided the permit from AOT (Agency of Transportation) would suffice. 

David Woolf asked, if somebody buys the farm with a contract which includes a promise not develop on
it, is that enforceable? Dave said the person heading the farm would have to retain the development
rights, and that would have to be on the deed and the mylar. The reason he asked, is whether the taxes go
down when the development rights are gone from the property.

Dean Bloch said that there is a meeting being held in the Town Hall for that very reason. The listers and
others are having a meeting about the value being assessed when there are no development rights. In
most cases people are finding that values have not gone down. They want to work out a strategy to give
incentives for giving up development rights. 

Dean said sometimes the values haven't gone down because land in town is still valuable, even though it
can't be developed. Dave Brown said he was under the impression that if someone gets their taxes
reduced, there should be a penalty that if he develops the land , then he has to pay the back taxes as if he
did not have that exemption. Ed said that if someone sells land that is in agricultural use, then it should
change according to the new use, but not necessarily on other developed land. But the meeting about this,
Dean said, is tomorrow (10/15/99).

4. Conservation Commission Report, presented by Linda Hamilton: Linda brought in updated maps
on the wildlife habitat project. She said, "I'm very pleased that you hired Dean Bloch; he is good to work
with, competent, pleasant, cooperative and takes initiative. It is so helpful to have somebody of his caliber
in the Town Hall base." She said one of the things he came up with is this tax meeting to help people
understand. He is always looking for grants etc. and other financial incentives for the work the
Conservation Commission is doing, and he has also talked with the assessors and listers. The Municipal
Planning Grant is helping to fund the work on this mapping project and there is approximately $1400 left
until April.

The old information on the maps is out of date. The map that Linda displayed is in color, with striped
areas the parts that were on the old map.

The wildlife corridors are marked in dashed blue lines and that is almost complete, she said.

Linda has a large notebook with a lot of valuable information in it that is being constantly updated. Ed
asked if the map that is in the Town Plan needs to be changed, but Linda said it's still in progress and
there isn't time to get the complete information to them so asked that the present map be used there for
now. 

Dave suggested that it would be nice to have a book like that for the town library, and one for the
Planning Commission. Linda said some of the property information, i.e. "Where is the bobcat den?" needs
to be private, and she cannot divulge certain information without permission from the landowners. 

Dave said that depending on how long it takes for growth to come up, the land is constantly changing
uses. The habitat use changes, as a pasture changes to low growth, then to forest. Say the Nordic Farm
was going out, and the buyer will hold onto it: This land grows up, so Dave suggested there be some
grant money for someone to mow the hay on it, such as a nearby farmer.

Sometimes the little islands of wildlife habitat are important, Linda said, so they have to look at the
perimeter and the contiguous areas, and try to predict the forces and pressure. Most of the work to be
done is in the need to get quality maps; some of the present ones are not usable.

4. Town Plan: Ed Melby said if the Town Plan is to go forward, we have to see what the greatest
drawbacks are. The Historic District on Thompson's Point is the only one actually in the Zoning
Regulations. The others are only proposals that are in the State designations.

Other items that the Planning Commission has discussed can be changed by Dean Bloch. Ed said there
isn't a lot to be done. On November 4th the CPC can decide how to proceed on the other items.

The Railroad application has been postponed.

APPROVED BY THE CHARLOTTE PLANNING COMMISSION