Town Plan

The Brattleboro Planning Commission will meet at 6:00 PM on Monday, February 2, 2015 in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center. The agenda is as follows:

A. Meeting called to Order

B. Approve Minutes of January 14, 2015

C. Announcements

Night work on the new bridge will resume at Route 30. Night work will be conducted Monday night, February 2nd thru Friday night, February 6th.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

For those who did not come to the meeting with Brattleboro’s  Development Review board last Weds the 21st, you have another chance. The Retroactive Site Plan submitted by ZB Properties will not be reviewed until Feb 18th. It was postponed. I will post another announcement when the meeting gets closer.

I did learn that public comments and supporting documents can be entered into the record at that time. In other words THIS IS IT. If interested landowners or the public wants any input pertaining to the approval or rejection of what has been done to this property (282 and 486 Western Ave). This is your only opportunity to do so.

Night work on the new bridge will resume at Route 30. Night work will be conducted Monday night, January 26th thru Friday night, January 30th.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

I’ve been trying to follow recent threads on town politics and process, (amendments, charter revision, RTM v Selectboard v Open Meeting, committees, juristictions, budgets) it’s pretty exasperating to not be able to pin-point what is what, or when or why. And who is driving the train, and where do ordinary citizens fit in?

To the best of my discernment here’s how it works here.  There’s no straight line between any two points, and no item, article or initiative, will be judged based on its own merit. By affixing and conflating two and sometimes more disparate issues or events, a crucible for divining the true will of the people is prepared.

If you want to see how a developer (ZB Properties) can clear cut their land located at 382 Western Ave, create a public eye sore,  devalue adjacent property values and then AFTER-THE-FACT apply for a site plan, come.

Come, this Wed – Jan 21,  to the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municiple Center at 7PM. Watch ZB Properties apply for a “Retroactive Site Plan” and observe how the town’s Developmental Review Board conducts planning-in-reverse.

Night work on the new bridge will resume at Route 30. Night work will be conducted Monday night, January 19th thru Friday night, January 23rd.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

that the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation has “unofficially rejected” the (lower) Living Memorial Park location for a possible Brattleboro skatepark.

The story says the town might still face rejection even if the Act 250 permit for the Living Memorial Park was revised and accepted and the Whetstone Brook banks were stabilized, and hints that the project has returned to the stage of evaluating other possible sites. Elm Street may also face similar state obstacles as a location, according to the story.

The Brattleboro Planning Commission will be hosting a series of events in January and February to introduce its comprehensive revision of the town’s land use regulations.

“The Planning Department has been working with the Planning Commission and Brandy Saxton of PlaceSense to design an outreach and public comment process that offers people many opportunities to comment and better understand the intent and purpose of these proposed regulations,” Brattleboro Planning Director Rod Francis said.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is currently involved in a project with multiple large planning/engineering companies to gather public input regarding existing infrastructure concerns as they relate to bicycling. The state has limited funds to make improvements so they want to focus what they do have available in the locations that people use the most. In order to prioritize specific routes they are using WikiMapping to allow people to go onto a map of Vermont and put comments on particularly tricky sections of road OR entire routes.

There is not a guarantee of funding or projects at this time. It is simply a means for VTrans to gather information on where the biggest problems are and prioritize them. Let’s get Brattleboro heard!!!

The PCL+FIGG Team will conduct the next on-site “trail talk” for the Public on Saturday, January 10, 2015. There has been a lot of progress at the I-91 Brattleboro Bridge project site, which will be shared with attendees. The talks will originate at the West River Trail near the marina. The trail talk will be led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor) and Garrett Hoffman, Design Manager for FIGG (bridge designer).

Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail trailhead on Saturday, January 10, 2015, at 8 a.m. and the talk will begin at 8:15 a.m. Participants will walk the trail to the I-91 bridge site, so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.

Night work on the new bridge will resume in the vicinity of Route 30. Night work will be conducted Monday night, January 12th thru Friday night, January 16th.

The next trail talk is scheduled for January 10th at 8:00 AM.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

The draft Zoning District Map and Section 2 of the zoning bylaw have been published for review. The Zoning Districts and Standards sections contain specific rules for what property owners can do within each district. These are substantial changes, with a highly prescriptive approach to land use control and very detailed requirements for changes to your property. Property owners are advised to take part in these discussions.

Section 3 and Section 5 have yet to be published and will contain general standards and presumably the Subdivision Regulations