Town of Chelsea, Vermont

Planning Commission

2023 June 29 Meeting Minutes

Meeting Information

Planning Commission Members:       Bob Brannan, Chair

Ed Kuban Gregg Herrin

Justin Sauerwein Neil Kennedy Shenia Covey

Selectboard Members:       Kelly Lyford

TRORC Representatives: Absent- Sydney Steinle Community Members:       None

Note that Sydney Steinle, the assigned representative from TRORC (Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission) was not present, but had provided general suggestions via email on topics to cover.

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order on 2023 June 29 (Thursday) at approximately 7:00pm, at the Chelsea Town Hall.

Old Business

Prior Meeting Minutes

Bob Brannan distributed draft minutes from the 2023 June 01 and 2023 June 14 meetings.

• Planning Commission members to review those draft minutes, and provide any comments at the next meeting.

General Readability

Gregg Herrin noted that he was not yet able to suggest minor wording and sequencing changes for the first few chapters of the Plan as discussed at the prior meeting, due to a revised working copy of the Plan only being available late on 2023 June 25.

• Gregg Herrin to deliver suggested edits of the first few chapters to the Planning Commission

members.

Compressed Town History

Justin Sauerwein noted that he had not yet had time to revise the History section of the Introduction chapter of the Plan, intended to provide a relevant but more concise history of the Town.

• Justin Sauerwein to deliver suggested History edits to the Planning Commission members.

Updated Demographics and Other Data

With Sydney Steinle absent, it was noted that the demographics and other data had not yet been updated.

• Sydney Steinle to provide updated demographics and related information for the first several

chapters, to allow Planning Commission members to review and provide comments and suggested edits for related text.

Public Input

It was confirmed that more public engagement is desirable, to collect feedback and to anticipate additional concerns from the townspeople.

• Bob Brannan to collect feedback through the Chelsea Facebook page and Front Porch Forum

community associated with the Town.

New Business

Appointment of a Secretary

It was noted that the Planning Commission is required to have a Secretary, and that the primary duties of that role are to capture and distribute meeting minutes. After discussion of the duties, required skills, and expected time commitments, Gregg Herrin volunteered to be secretary.

Shenia Covey motioned to appoint Gregg Herrin as secretary, Justin Sauerwein seconded, and all voted in favor.

Decision Summary: Gregg Herrin was elected as Secretary of the Planning Commission.

When meeting minutes or other relevant documents are available, they are to be shared with all Planning Commission members and Sydney Steinle from TRORC, with copy to Selectboard members Kevin Marshia and William Lyon, and also copy to Patty Swahn (Administrative Assistant).

• Bob Brannan to send electronic copies of prior meeting minutes to Gregg Herrin to maintain

consistent records.

Education Chapter

It was noted that the Chelsea Public School Facilities & Physical Assets section needs significant edits, including an overhaul of the introductory information, updated enrollment data, removal of the Recommendations for Capital Improvements section (since school facilities are no longer owned by the Town), and an update on the services provided by Brookhaven.

It was also noted that the First Branch Unified District may be seeking approval for a Public Universal Pre-K, housed in Chelsea.

• Bob Brannan to suggest edits for the entire Education chapter, including a shortened introduction, a

summary of the school facilities and governance (including Tunbridge elements, since Chelsea students go there too).

D  Kelly Lyford to provide updated enrollment data.

• Shenia Covey to contact Brookhaven to confirm or update services that they provide.

Utilities and Facilities Chapter

It was discussed that the current Utilities and Facilities chapter could potentially be split into multiple chapters, based on town-owned facilities (such as Chelsea Town Hall), town-owned utilities (such as the water and sewer systems), and non-town-owned utilities (such as internet). Since no one present was aware of the benefits or consequences of making changes, it was decided to await guidance from Sydney Steinle when she returns.

• Planning Commission members to seek guidance from Sydney Steinle about possible chapter

reorganization.

There was confusion regarding what has and has not been done with regards to energy efficiency improvements for Town Hall and other facilities.

• Justin Sauerwein to contact Karen Lathrop and/or Jesse Kay about energy improvements, and

confirm which items from the prior Plan have already been addressed.

There was discussion about possible ways to address space concerns as noted in the current Plan, with possible ideas about using the old town garage as storage archives, saving space through digitalization of records, and so on.

• Justin Sauerwein to talk to Karen Lathrop about storage concerns, possible improvements, and

ideas about digitalization (for incoming documents and/or current archives).

The Chelsea Town Garage section is completely outdated, since a new garage has been built since the time the last Plan was published. The old town garage does still exist, so should still be included in the chapter, but the section needs to be completely overhauled to reflect the current situation.

D Ed Kuban to propose an overhauled Chelsea Town Garage section.

It was also noted that many locations are described through non-permanent reference points (such as a business). This is a bad practice, since businesses may come and go over time, and new or unfamiliar residents may find those references unhelpful.

Decision Summary: All locations should be identified by an address if possible, and accompanied by a map where practical and helpful.

No one present was familiar enough with the Public Library section to provide meaningful input, so it was decided to reach out to a Library representative to provide updates.

• Gregg Herrin to seek assistance from Chintana Herrin or Kezia Frayjo.

The Public Lands section appears to exclude parcels like the land that the Town Hall sits on, the Commons, and possibly others. It is unclear if this is intentional.

• Planning Commission to seek clarification from Sydney Steinle regarding inclusion or intentional

exclusion of various town-owned lands.

Discussion around the Public Sewer Systems and Public Water Systems sections raised many questions about the condition, capacity, and other concerns of those systems. It was identified that a recent inspection of the sewer and/or water systems was done (possibly by Otter Creek Engineering), which may answer some of those questions. There were also questions raised about whether or not any water treatment is done, and whether or not there are any concerns about PFAS substances (per- and polyfluoroalkyls, also known as “forever chemicals”).

• Gregg Herrin to talk to Kevin Marshia about the system(s) inspection, fire protection in the village,

and yield of wells.

• Shenia Covey to seek more information regarding water treatment and PFAS chemicals.

There were no specific updates requested for the Solid Waste Management section, but it was noted that getting some additional perspective on the current situation would be helpful.

D Shenia Covey to seek more information about possible concerns or desires for the Solid Waste Management section.

Next Meeting

It was noted that Sydney Steinle will not be available until the end of July, but Planning Commission members expressed a desire to meet again in mid-July in order to continue progressing on the updated Plan.

Decision Summary: The next Planning Commission meeting will be on 2023 July 18 (Tuesday) at 7:00pm. The location is to be determined, since that time will overlap with a Selectboard meeting, creating a conflict for locating the meeting at the Chelsea Town Hall.

D Gregg Herrin to find out if the Town Library can be reserved as a location to host the meeting.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:15pm.

Town of Chelsea, Vermont

Planning Commission

2023 Aug 22 Hearing Minutes DRAFT

Meeting Information

Planning Commission Members:       Bob Brannan, Chair

Gregg Herrin, Secretary Ed Kuban

Justin Sauerwein Absent – Neil Kennedy Shenia Covey

Absent- Susan Hardin Selectboard Members:                                             Kevin Marshia

TRORC Representatives:                                      Sydney Steinle Community Members:                            None

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order on 2023 August 22 (Tuesday) at approximately 6:30pm, at the Chelsea Town Hall.

Public Comments

Comments and discussion focused on content provided as hand-outs to meeting attendees by Sydney Steinle:

• Copies of the current draft of the Town Plan
• Copies of a document titled “PC Hearing Flags” with considerations of modifications to the Town Plan, including updated graphs and data, specific changes proposed for various sections of the Plan, and tables with implementation details
• Maps as supporting figures for the Town Plan

Trail Project

A question was raised about alignment with any efforts the Town currently has to look at recreational trails within Chelsea. Kevin Marshia explained that so far there has just been one meeting where that topic has been raised, and that conversation focused on the town forest. David Paganelli, the Orange County Forester, indicated that the two forest parcels are ready to be harvested, and those funds could potentially be reinvested into having a trail system. The Town Plan should include wording to encourage recreational use of town lands.

Public Highway System

Bob Brannan pointed out that the content about bridges being in disrepair is no longer accurate, since the bridges referenced have already been improved, including sight distance, since the prior Town Plan was published.

Future Land Use

Kevin Marshia made a general comment that the Planning Commission should encourage development in the village area, but he flooding issues create a conflict of intent. At this time, there is uncertainty about what will happen to many of the homes on the north side of Route 110. After Irene there were several houses that were bought out by FEMA (out of 8 or 10 that were being considered).

Regarding proposed point #1 about development density, Kevin Marshia commented that it was unclear what a “principal structure” is, so it should be clarified if that includes something like a barn, or how that is impacted if a barn is converted into an apartment space. Ed Kuban commented that we should be favorable to development, since we need an increased tax base more than we need rural character.

Regarding proposed point #3 about farmland, Kevin Marshia commented that the suggestion seems overly restrictive without having a real impact one way or the other.

Regarding proposed point #6 about primary retail, Kevin Marshia indicated that this could be a real problem. If primary retail is not acceptable, it limits the ability for residents to be entrepreneurial and earn a living. Sydney Steinle pointed out that the Regional Plan already says it’s not acceptable, so it would put the Town Plan at risk of not being accepted if the Town tries to override that point. She also noted that the specific use has an impact on what is allowed, and the Regional Plan has clearer definitions of what “primary retail” means.

Regarding proposed Point #9 about new structures, Kevin Marshia commented that it would be nice to not just defer to the Regional Plan, which seems too restrictive. Sydney Steinle indicated that the best way to influence this point is to discuss the Regional Plan itself with higher level officials at TRORP. Gregg Herrin suggested that we could omit wording or have generic wording about deferring to the Regional Plan, without explicitly making statements that might be overly strict if the Regional Plan does get updated.

Justin Sauerwein asked if there is evidence that businesses would like to come into the village but can’t, and Kevin Marshia provided an example of a business that wanted to come to town but was controversially characterized as “strip development”, noting that this example was outside of the village extents. Justin noted that the “rural character” is impacted with businesses because it changes as traffic patterns change, and with a significant increase in traffic the area isn’t really rural anymore. He noted that the difference is that for farming, the primary traffic is related to exporting goods, not back and forth for retail or commuting.

Regarding proposed Point #11, Bob Brannon asked what area is referenced by “mobile homes in this area”. Sydney Steinle clarified that it is not referring to the flood hazard area, but is instead referring to the area noted as rural residential.

Review of Maps

Sydney Steinle brought paper plots of the various maps that are referenced in the Plan, and also displayed these maps onscreen.

There was discussion about land use, to confirm where the different types of land use were currently defined and displayed in the maps, but there were no specific questions or recommendations related to land use.

Sydney Steinle confirmed during the meeting that the town lands are accurately recorded, as Kevin Marshia was able to provide the SPAN numbers directly during the hearing.

There were several questions and comments related to various maps:

• Bob Brannan questioned whether or not the school district now owns some of the recreational fields
• Shenia Covey pointed out that the active Town Garage is now in a different place than what the maps currently show.
• Gregg Herrin asked whether or not the maps need to include all cemeteries, or just the major ones (for example, there are two small cemeteries located in the woods along Beedle Road).

Other Business

No new business was brought to the floor, since no public warning had been made regarding a standard meeting following the hearing.

Next Meeting

• Planning Commission to identify who is responsible for the line items in the implementation table.
• Planning Commission to review the rest of the changes as preparation for the next meeting. Decision Summary: The next Planning Commission meeting will be on 2023 September 07 (Thursday) at 7:00pm.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:00pm.

Town of Chelsea, Vermont

Planning Commission

2023 July 18 Meeting Minutes DRAFT

Meeting Information

Planning Commission Members:  Bob Brannan, Chair

Gregg Herrin, Secretary Absent – Ed Kuban Justin Sauerwein Absent – Neil Kennedy Shenia Covey

Selectboard Members:  None

TRORC Representatives: Sydney Steinle Community Members:                                         None

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order on 2023 July 18 {Tuesday) at approximately 7:00pm, at the Chelsea Town Library.

Old Business

Prior Meeting Minutes

Decision Summary: Draft minutes approved for the meetings held on 2023 June 01, 2023 June 14, and 2023 June 29.

Community Feedback

Bob Brannan confirmed that he posted to the Chelsea Facebook page and Front Porch Forum community associated with the Town to gather input. No one has provided feedback yet.

Introduction Chapter, History Section

Justin Sauerwein completed his review of the History section ofthe Introduction chapter, and recommended that the existing content remain as-is, with no additional edits required. The other attendees all accepted this recommendation.

Education Chapter

Bob Brannan provided paper drafts of a proposed rewrite of the entire Education chapter.

• Bob Brannan to email an electronic copy of the proposed Education chapter rewrite to all Planning Commission members, to facilitate easier review and comments.
• Planning Commission members to review the proposed Education chapter rewrite.

Utilities and Facilities Chapter

The idea of reorganizing the Utilities and Facilities chapter was discussed. It was agreed that in general it is more prudent to err on the side of fewer changes to avoid excessive work and increased likelihood of introducing errors during the short timeline available for getting the Plan approved.

Decision Summary: The Utilities and Facilities chapter will remain as one single chapter.

Justin Sauerwein contacted Karen Lathrop, the Town Clerk, and confirmed that all of the improvements listed in the Chelsea Town Hall section have been completed. As such, there is no need to include the list in the updated Plan.

Justin Sauerwein also discussed storage concerns with Karen Lathrop, and confirmed that there is still a challenge related to the Town Clerk, Lister, and Zoning Administrator all sharing a very small space.

They currently stagger schedules, but that also causes coordination challenges. Records could potentially be digitized, but many are still required to have some sort of hardcopy (but it can be shrunken). The vault is essentially the size as a walk-in closet, but the existing contents that need to be actively maintained are relatively small. It may be possible to consult the state guidelines for records retention, and possibly transfer some records to the Historical Society or the School District if they are not required for the Town to retain.

Sydney Steinle confirmed that all town-owned lands should be included in the Public Lands section, and any omission of parcels is not intentional.

Justin Sauerwein spoke to Alan Ackerman, the Fire Department Chief, and confirmed that hydrants in the village are in good working condition.

Justin Sauerwein spoke to Mike Whipple from the Water Department, who indicated that the yield of the Town’s wells is more than adequate for the demands of the system. He also indicated that there is a fourth well (not currently listed) next to the old Town Garage, which is no longer in use. It is unclear if this well has actually been decommissioned, or possibly just valved off.

New Business

Timing for Plan Approval

To meet the timeline for the current Plan not to expire, it would require that we send out notifications to neighboring towns and other stakeholders 30 days prior to a Planning Commission hearing, which

needs to be between August 21 and August 24. Final changes need to be made by September 8. The Selectboard hearing needs to be September 19.

The Planning Commission can suggest changes (including an entire rewrite) at the first hearing. While a hearing is required by stature, a forum is not required and is more about exchange of ideas. Decision Summary: Do not host a public forum, but do have the hearing as requried.

D Sydney Steinle to email schedule out to the Planning Commission.

Recreation and Parks Chapter

Various comments, clarifications, and edits were discussed throughout the review of the chapter. Changes will be incorporated in an upcoming revised draft from Sydney Steinle.

Health and Emergency Services Chapter

Various comments, clarifications, and edits were discussed throughout the review of the chapter. Changes will be incorporated in an upcoming revised draft from Sydney Steinle.

Natural, Scenic, and Cultural Resources Chapter

A question arose regarding referenced maps (such as “Map #3”) which do not appear in the Plan document itself. Sydney Steinle clarified that all maps are available on the TRORC website, and may also be available on the Chelsea town website.

D  Sydney Steinle to share links via email to the map section on the Two Rivers website.

It was noted that there are no cultural resources listed in this chapter, but the Historical Society would be a potential addition. Adding such a section would likely impact the timeline for overall Plan approval.

Decision Summary: It was decided in the interest of time to defer the idea of adding a section on the Historical Society until after this Plan approval cycle.

Agriculture and Forestry Chapter

Justin Sauerwein noted that many of the points noted as trends within this chapter are either incomplete or possibly outdated. It was debated whether the inclusion of updated trends in general added value to the document, or just created an increased likelihood that the document would become outdated sooner.

Decision Summary: For this chapter, the currently listed trends will be removed and no updated trends will be added.

Finalizing Reviews and Edits

Clean versions of the Plan will need to be distributed to other stakeholders as required by statute, such as the Chelsea Selectboard, adjacent town representatives, etc. Sydney Steinle can compile comments and changes for the rest of the document from Planning Commission members, as long as she receives feedback by 2023 August 07. She provided an example of the format that will be easiest for her to review and reconcile.

• Sydney Steinle to clean up tracked changes to remove minor edits like punctuation, and will distribute that to the Planning Commission members.

D Sydney Steinle to send a completely clean version of the Plan to the Selectboard and adjacent town representatives.

D Planning Commission members to send any edits to Sydney by 2023 August 07, so that she can compile the compile the list of comments and changes.

Next Meeting

Decision Summary: The next Planning Commission meeting will be on August 10 (Thursday) at 7:00pm in the Town Hall.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00pm.

Town of Chelsea, Vermont
Planning Commission
2023 June 14 Meeting Minutes DRAFT

Meeting Information
Planning Commission Members: Bob Brannan, Chair
Ed Kuban Gregg Herrin
Justin Sauerwein Absent – Neil Kennedy Shenia Covey

Selectboard Members: None

TRORC Representatives: Sydney Steinle Community Members: None
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order on 2023 June 29 (Wednesday) at approximately 7:00pm, at the Chelsea Town Hall.

Old Business

Determination of Energy Compliance Certification
The Planning Commission members confirmed that they had researched the Determination of Energy Compliance Certification, and reaffirmed with Sydney Steinle that adding this to the overall process is not likely to create undue delays.
Decision Summary: The Planning Commission will seek Determination of Energy Compliance Certification with assistance from TRORC as part of the process to update the Plan.

New Business
The Planning Commission proceeded to review and edit the first several chapters of the Plan, discussing updates and changes as they went. Individual changes are not captured as part of these minutes, but Sydney Steinle edited the source document in real-time.

Introduction Chapter
The Planning Commission discussed the importance of the town Plan as a tool for keeping the character of Chelsea, supporting applications for funding from State agencies, and addressing questions raised by businesses and individuals within the community. Sydney Steinle also explained how the Plan’s goals, policies, and recommendations are utilized in this process.
The History section of the Chapter was recognized as being in need of editing to make it more concise. Rather than attempting to edit such a large section as a group, Justin Sauerwein offered to propose changes separately for the Planning Commission to review and approve at a future meeting.
0 Justin Sauerwein to deliver suggested History edits to the Planning Commission members.

Demographics Chapter
The demographics of the Town as set forth in the existing Plan were discussed briefly, but it was noted that any detailed discussion of the text would be moot without having updated data available. Data updates are something that TR0RC can assist with.
□ Sydney Steinle to provide updated demographics data.

Economic Development Chapter
It was acknowledged that several businesses had closed since the Plan was last updated. Issues with the extents of the flood plain were discussed as hindering the ability of the town to attract businesses into the historic center of the village. The restrictions on any development within the flood plain deter businesses from locating in a large portion of the village and also substantially increases costs if one were to choose to locate in the village.
Because the flood plain appears to be overbroad, it has been suggested that efforts be made to revise the designation either on an individual property basis or have the entire map revised.

Housing Chapter
It was acknowledged that Chelsea, along with most of Vermont, has a shortage of affordable housing. The shortage is compounded by the flood plain designation covering a significant portion of the historic village by eliminating some housing altogether, or substantially increasing the cost of existing housing should individuals wish to sell those properties.
Changes to the flood plain designation were discussed as well as the new statutory requirement that mandates multi-family housing be included in areas currently permitting single family housing.

Public Input
While the intent of this revision of the Plan is designed to meet the compressed timeline and possibly seek increased public input and file an amended Plan at a later time, it was acknowledged that public input is important at all times. Consequently, it was recommended to seek input using Front Porch

Forum and the Chelsea Facebook page. Those avenues will be pursued as the Planning Commission and TRORC work to revise the Plan over the coming months.

General Readability
Gregg Herrin volunteered to make minor editing suggestions to improve the readability of the Plan, such as re-ordering list items and making wording changes to be more concise without changing the underlying intent. All were in favor of making such changes, for review and approval in future meetings.
□ Gregg Herrin to propose wording changes for the first few chapters to improve readability.

Next Meeting
Decision Summary: The next Planning Commission meeting will be on 2023 June 29 (Thursday) at 7:00pm, at the Chelsea Town Hall.
Sydney Steinle asked that the Planning Commission prepare for the next meeting with comments, edits, and suggestions for the next few Chapters.
□ Planning Commission to review roughly pages 26-50 of the Plan prior to the next meeting, covering
the Chapters on Education, Utilities and Facilities, Recreation and Parks, and Health and Emergency Services.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00pm.

Town of Chelsea, Vermont
Planning Commission
2023 June 01Meeting Minutes

Meeting Information
Planning Commission Members: Bob Brannan
Ed Kuban Gregg Herrin
Justin Sauerwein Neil Kennedy
Absent – Shenia Covey Selectboard Members: Kevin Marshia
TRORC Representatives: Sydney Steinle Community Members: None
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order on 2023 June 01 (Thursday) at approximately 7:00pm, at the Chelsea Town Hall.

Old Business
There was no old business to discuss.

New Business

Welcoming New Planning Commission Members
Gregg Herrin, Justin Sauerwein, and Shenia Covey (absent) were all welcomed to the Planning Commission, having been approved previously by the Selectboard. With the addition of these new members, the quorum requirement was satisfied (allowing the Planning Commission to transact business during the remainder of the meeting).

Appointment of a Chair
It was identified that the Planning Commission is required to have a Chair to oversee the team’s business and keep everyone focused on the most important issues.

Justin Sauerwein motioned to appoint Bob Brannon as Chair, Gregg Herrin seconded, and all voted in favor.
Decision Summary: Bob Brannon was elected as Chair of the Planning Commission.

TRORC Guidance
Sydney Steinle, the assigned representative from TRORC {Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission), presented background information related to the timeline and tasks required to revise the Plan. The revised Plan is scheduled to be filed with TRORC in November of 2023, but updates will need to be finished well ahead of time to meet guidelines related to public input, notification for adjacent towns, etc.
TRORC will assist in updating the Plan to match current statutory requirements, and will guide the Planning Commission in efforts to update content to reflect changes that have occurred in Chelsea over the past several years. TRORC will also be able to provide updated data for several sections of the Plan, although it was noted that updated floodplain maps will not be available in time for this revision. Since a TRORC representative is directly assisting, there is a very low risk of the revised Plan not being approved by the Regional Commission.
Acknowledging that there is substantial work to be done in a compressed timeframe, it was decided that the initial revision will have a primary focus on bringing the current Plan into compliance with changes in statutory requirements, and will seek to involve public input only in ways that do not endanger the timeline.
Sydney Steinle will also keep the official drafts as the work progresses, and will circulate updated content to the Planning Commission to ensure that everyone has current content available for review and discussion. When reviewing content, Planning Commission members are allowed to circulate proposed edits and comments to the group, but may not discuss those edits on email, since that would violate public meeting rules about having all discussion in a public forum.

Determination of Energy Compliance Certification
The Planning Commission will need to decide whether to seek a Determination of Energy Compliance Certification as part of this planning process. This has to do with things like solar fields, cell towers, and so on (not just energy). Having this certification is not a guarantee that the town can overrule something that a utility wants to do (like put up a new cell tower), but without this certification the town has no leverage at all to support any objections or redirections.
□ Planning Commission to research Determination of Energy Compliance Certification, and be
prepared to discuss at the next meeting to decide whether to pursue it.

Chapter-by-Chapter Updates
Sydney Steinle suggested that the most effective way to proceed is for her to assign sections of the Plan for the Planning Commission to review prior to each meeting. She will make suggested edits to the

sections in advance of the meetings, and the Planning Commission will review those changes along with any additional comments, suggestions, or revisions.
□ Planning Commission to review roughly the first 25 pages of the Plan prior to the next meeting,
covering the Chapters on Introduction, Economic Development, and Housing.

Next Meeting
Decision Summary: The next Planning Commission meeting will be on 2023 June 14 (Wednesday) at 7:00pm, at the Chelsea Town Hall.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00pm.