Town of Bennington
                      Planning Commission
                   Wednesday, April 28, 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 an overview of the HPC's Benmont Avenue Historic Integrity Survey and Report. She indicated that most of the buildings have maintained their historic integrity.
The Planning Commission, by consensus, reiterated the Planning Commissions' commitment  to develop Design Standards for the UMU District that will protect the historic character of the district.
Big Box Issues
The Planning Director summarized a draft Large Scale Retail Bylaw proposal (a copy of the draft will be inserted in the Planning Commission Minutes Book).  The Planning Commission discussed, at length, the proposal which included a community impact study requirement  and size caps to control big box development.  The Planning Commission suggested some minor revisions to the proposal to clarify the criteria of the proposed community impact study. 
Scenic Overlay
The Planning Commission discussed the concept of reviewing the impact on scenic resources of all new residential dwellings within the RC District.  The Planning Commission, by consensus, agreed to discuss this concept further after the Scenic Resources Inventory was completed. 
Election of Officers     
Barry Horst was re-elected as Chair and Bob Burgess was re-elected as Clerk.
 
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted
Daniel W. Monks
Planning Director
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