Town of Bennington Planning Commission MINUTES July 11, 2001 5:00 p.m. Town Office Building 205 South Street, Bennington, Vermont 05201 Members Present: Barry Horst - Chair, Bob Burgess - Clerk, Michael McDonough, Michael Lochner, Sharon Yorke Also Present: Dan Monks, Zoning Administrator, Dr. and Mrs. Guerrerro, citizens, Charles and Linda Putney, citizens The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. Minutes of June 13, 2001 - Bob Burgess moved that the minutes be accepted as written Sharon Yorke seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. Minutes of June 21, 2001 - Bob Burgess moved that the minutes be accepted as written Sharon Yorke seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. Other Business: By consensus the Commission agreed to deal with other business before the other items on the Agenda. Northside Drive - The Select Board had previously submitted a memorandum (attached) regarding traffic congestion on Northside Drive. The Planning Commission discussed the issue and directed the Zoning Administrator to draft a memorandum to the Select Board outlining the action the Planning Commission will take to address the traffic congestion issue. (See attached memorandum). The Commission agreed, by consensus, to meet on July 25, 2001 to continue the discussion on Northside Drive traffic congestion issues. New Highway Issues - The Commission discussed the fact that Stephen Lynch, the AOT Project Manager for the Bennington New Highway, had recently indicated that the eastern leg of the New Highway may not be completed until 5 to 10 years after the western leg of the New Highway. Mike McDonough expressed the sentiment that the Town should be prepared to deal with the traffic issues that may result if the western leg of the New Highway is completed 5-10 years before the eastern leg. There was general consensus that the Planning Commission should study the issue. In addition, the Planning Commission, by consensus, expressed its desire to work with the Select Board and the Bennington Economic Development Commission to actively promote timely completion of the New Highway. Zoning Bylaw Revision Project - The Planning Commission discussed the process for gathering pubic input on the Bylaw revision. The Planning Commission determined that there should be at least two initial public forums - one on August 27th and one on September 6th. The Planning Commission determined that the following format should be emphasized: The forums will follow an organizational outline prepared by Brian Shupe and the Zoning Administrator and approved by the Planning Commission. In general, the outline will be based on the Zoning Districts - working from the downtown core districts to the rural/open space districts. Broad issues such as open space preservation and downtown development will be included in the outline. Brian Shupe will do an overview of the appropriate portions of the organizational outline at the beginning of each Public Forum and summarize his analysis of the appropriate sections of the Bylaw. The Zoning Administrator and the Chair will work together to develop appropriate notices and advertising for the Public Forums. The Planning Commission agreed to meet again on July 23, 2001 at 6:00 p.m. to continue work on the Bylaw Revision Project. The Planning Commission then begun discussion of the Burnt Rock's Technical Review Summary, Statutory Considerations. The meeting was adjourned Respectfully submitted, Daniel W. Monks Zoning Administrator K:\Building & Zoning\Dan\Planning Commission\MINUTES\2001\07-11-01 Minutes.wpd