Town of Bennington
                      Planning Commission
                   Wednesday, April 21, 2004
                           5:00 p.m.
                      Town Office Building
          205 South Street, Bennington, Vermont 05201
                            MINUTES
          Present:  Barry Horst - Chair, Bob Burgess - Clerk, Michael McDonough, Charles Copp,           Sharon Yorke
               Also Present   Dan Monks - Zoning Administrator, Meg Campbell-  Historic Preservation                Commission
Meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m.
Work Session - Land Use and Development Regulations Amendments
Urban Mixed Use District
Meg Campbell presented preliminary findings of the HPC regarding the historical significance of Benmont Avenue structures north of Leonard Street.  She indicated that most of the buildings have maintained their historic integrity.
The Planning Commission, by consensus, agreed to develop Design Standards for the UMU District that will protect the historic character of the district.
Big Box Issues
The Planning Commission discussed, at length, the merit of community impact statements and size caps to control big box development.
The general consensus was that community impact statements are a useful tool in measuring and controlling the impact of big boxes.
The Planning Commission directed the Planning Director to develop proposed bylaw provisions to address big box issues.  The proposed bylaw should follow the following general outline.
+ In all districts except the CB District, every retail store over 20,000 sq. ft.(new or expanded) must submit a community impact statement.
+ The community impact statement must be performed by an independent party to ensure an impartial study.
+ The criteria should be similar to the Act 250 criteria.  
+ In all districts except the PC and CB Districts, single retail stores shall be limited to 50,000 sq. ft.
+ Single retail stores shall be limited to 75,000 sq. ft. in the PC District.
+ There shall be no cap on retail store size in the CB District.  
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted
Daniel W. Monks
Planning Director
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