 made the motion and Gordon seconded it and we were on page one we had had no problems with page two Grada had brought to our attention a matter under item number five at the last sentence to establish the district at least two towns need to put the matter to and include the new the word town public anything else on page two page three hearing no further corrections then I was in favor of approving the minutes of June 21 22 say aye and he opposed Jeff doesn't agree to be with us at this point no anyway this is right now is the time for public comment on any item that members of the audience wish to to bring up and if there's anyone in the room or on remote that wishes to make a public comment this would be the time no one no one wishes to make public comment this time there'll be lots of time later on for public comment so next on the agenda is a resolution for our retiring highway form and mark Russell I haven't seen marked a long time but so let's take up the resolution first and then we'll have Aaron Eric and introduce Mark and as well as Bruce resolution listen select board whereas Mark Russell begin to work at the highway division of the Public Works Department on March 3rd 1995 and a service highway form and since April 30th 2016 and whereas in July 8th 2022 mr. Russell will retire having served the community of Wilson for over 27 years and whereas mr. Russell's dedication and leadership to the highway division has served the community of Wilson extremely well over his career and he has impacted and mentored dozens of employees with a calm demeanor and assertive voice and whereas the amount of time mr. Russell spent coordinating and taking part in winter operations and operational needs of the department at all hours of the day and night on weekends and on holidays over the course of his career cannot be understated and whereas mr. Russell has been a driving force for operational success of the Williston highway division and a model of integrity and dedicated public service to the community of Williston now therefore we resolve the Wilson select board hereby thanks Mark Russell for his over 27 years of dedicated service to the community and the people of Williston and wish him the very best in his retirement is there a motion move we adopt the resolution thanking Mark Russell for his service to Williston as presented is there a second second is there any discussion on the motion if not all those in favor of the motion say aye aye any opposed so we have passed the motion Eric I'll turn it over to you to introduce Mark who's here tonight and Bruce sure thanks Terry thanks for the board I just want to say mark he's retiring this week we hate to see him go wishing the very best in his retirement coming up he's as a resolution states he's served the community with immense dedication for over 27 years and public works highway division and that's a lot of years and hours plowing and other emergency services to the town for public works many hours managing our staff is road foreman many hours just dedicated boy that to our town and marks one of the best you'll find out there with his dedication in public service and we just really wish him well into this next chapter job well done thank you mark Bruce one of the words thank you so much mark and we'll have a this resolution sign by the select board and get it to you for sure so thank you so much for your service yeah next this is a good night because we have lots of good things to do today and this next item is the town clock room dedication and so I'll read the resolution that we have before us whereas the town clock clock was manufactured by eHoward company of Boston Massachusetts and it was delivered August 16th 1899 and installed on August 30th 1899 in the steeple of the Williston Methodist Church which is now the Williston Federated Church and whereas the town clock clock has run faithfully since 1900 with only minor repairs thanks to the committed stewardship of community members to aid in this operation and whereas William F. White served as custodian in a winder of the town clock clock from 1997 to 2017 he continued to aid in this operation until his death in November 2020 and whereas Mr. White they made an invaluable contribution to the community in his stewardship of the town clock providing meticulous support and ingenuity to ensure its continued operation including modifying the mechanical system to engineer a stationary bicycle drive attached to the clock movement to raise the 1500 pound strike weight in a stone filled wooden box in the church steeple now therefore be it resolved the Williston Select Court hereby names the room that houses the mechanical components of the town clock the William F. White town room as an ongoing recognition of mr. White's many years of service to the community of Williston I've heard the resolution is there a motion I'll move to adopt the resolution naming the room the houses the mechanical components of the town clock the William F. White town clock room as a remembrance and ongoing thanks mr. White for his many years of service to the community and stewardship of the town clock this is a second second sorry discussion on the motion hearing none allows in favor of the motion say hi hi any opposed so tonight we have Ursula White thank you thank you we'll have all of the board sign this resolution and get it to you certainly and we thank you for supporting Dylan and all of the years that he did this for the town so thank you I just want to add I had the privilege of working with Bill my first couple of years here with the town and I enjoyed my my time spent with him immensely just a wealth of knowledge to the town clock and I think just knowing that it's kept time for over a hundred years hundred and twenty years and just the meticulous detail and dedication he had to our town clock we were able to make a video about the clock a couple years ago we have on the town's YouTube channel to really share that story with folks and I just really appreciate my time spent with Bill and thanks to the board for for honoring his his service with with this resolution thank you so much to be initially appreciate it we'll move on then to the Chittenden County Communications Union District and Eric you'll lead off and Regina Mahoney from CCRPC will be joining us by remote yep I got Regina connected right now I saw Jeff but it looks like it didn't quite connect for him so I'll keep watching for him can get connected here it's a good test I'm asking Regina to unmute now unmuted hey thanks Regina we had a we had a zoom issue starting the meeting here so I'll have to walk down security a little bit I'm gonna see if I can let you share your video too if you want I'm not can't figure that out on the fly so I think we'll just roll with this then keep that's okay so this evening I provided the board with a memo a little bit of a lengthy memo apologies just on the CUD piece here to follow up on our first discussion Regina and I were able to have a call to with folks from the Bennington Regional Planning Commission to get their insight on CUDs is there a kind of a good case for us to look at because if Wilson and Chittenden County decide to stop the CUD that would be a model that that would be similar here but I can tarry if you like I can kind of walk the board through the memo I'm not a whole thing but I made some notes earlier to start the conversation and really interested in feedback from the board this evening on additional questions the board has the board like to continue this discussion at its next meeting later later in the month and at that point potentially consider a next step actions including if it's a question you want to put to the voters but for this evening we can kind of update where we are and just continue the conversation so as a reminder communications union district or a CUDs a new government that enables multiple communities to work together to bring broadband Internet access to those currently not served after analysis working with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission it was determined that forming a CUD is the best current passport path forward access federal funding funding through the Vermont Community Broadband Board to assist with this work as a reminder as of May we believe Wilson has about a hundred seventy three addresses that don't have access to broadband level Internet access that's a download speed of 25 megabytes per second and then upload speed and forming a CUD requires the votes of two communities at a town meeting others can join after by action by their local select board or city council so currently that I've asked the town attorney to review the statute for CUDs and he'll be able to the board prior to the July 19th meeting just asked for his read on potential liability or any potential risk for the town to look at and considering this option here so what I what I took with one approach in the memo is trying to think okay the town decides and the voters support forming a CUD then what happens what would be the process that would unfold and how is it unfolded in other CUDs around the state so first would be forming communities with appoint delegates to the district and established bylaws just established and framework behind this new government then if additional communities want to join the option would be for a vote of their select board or councils and the CUD would have to decide where it was in its process and if other communities would be amenable to having them join at that point and after forming and kind of going through this pro forma for the new governments the board of directors we need to decide on a pathway to evaluate options for delivering this broadband access universally to address us in this geographic area like the reviewing work done by prior member by the show member communities previously we've seen in other CUDs they've taken approach of conducting a feasibility study to understand how to structure the project and the best approach to utilize and there's some pre-construction grant dollars available at the state level to assist with it with a feasibility study on this route a next step we've seen with peers is issuing an RFP for a provider to identify how to achieve the universal service in the CUD to then allow the district to evaluate its options moving forward so after an RFP process and a preferred provider is identified by the CUD it could then negotiate with that provider a contract to provide fiber service to the address as it serves and establishing this partnership would then unlock access to apply for the state grant funding to utilize as a component of the capital cost for this additional fiber construction for the build out so then the CUD can seek state grant funding for construction and Act 71 broadband grant program that the Vermont broadband board ministers allocated $116 million in funding with rolling allocations that are now occurring for this program funds were initially allocated by Vermont community broadband board by the number of underserved row wind mileage in the town in promotion portion the overall amount of the state they try to get a starting point for how some of these grants may be made and willson there's 15 miles so willson's kind of initial look here would be about $250,000 identified and in CUDs in the state these funds have been pooled as they've applied for them a couple have received awards to date there's discretion of the board administers these construction funds so these funds and then originally identified under this methodology it's it's up to the board's discretion ultimately how to award them and these are this $160 million with state-level ARPA funding that was allocated so it does have a timeline for allocation the end of 2024 and to be spent by the end of 2026 hence this moving right along with at the state level the department grants and we heard feedback from the Vermont community broadband board that a November vote to establish a kid a Chittenden County CUD signals the interest these grant funds and Chittenden County member communities as that board is looking how it wants to allocate that funding with that so after grant funding is sought and hopefully awarded a build-out and funding plan to then be undertaken and so working with a partner as the operator the fiber network the funding and financial plan would then need to be developed they also have a pre-construction grant program to be used to assist with the network and finally the network can be built and become operational sounds a lot easier than it really would be there's a number of steps here and a lot of fluidity and ways this could go you'll see in the memo we we've talked with Bennington County to see how they they progress and went through this over a couple years then I'll speak a little bit more about the financial picture here a local small internet service provider conducted a preliminary estimate for Chittenden County towns earlier this year to help determine you know what is the cost to connect these addresses Wilson's estimate was just under six million dollars two point four million to reach the underserved road miles and another three million to connect five with these locations and this is all preferences is just one preliminary estimates and then it could end up being a higher cost once this is analyzed further currently the Vermont community broadband board has an RFP to try to find a consultant to help answer this question for Chittenden County to understand what that cost would be which is the overall picture here the Vermont community broadband boards intent with a construction grant program is for the grant dollars to cover 60% of the cost and the remaining 40% to come from other sources and what we're finding in Chittenden County is these pockets of underserved addresses will be quite large as we've seen with that preliminary estimate we saw for Williston that means Williston's up to $250,000 in the grant allocation methodology by the DCBB cover about four and a quarter percent of the cost based on this one estimate today and that's just for Williston this ultimately it means the funding gap needs to be filled with additional private equity from the provider other grant sources for the potential for the CUB to raise funds using revenue bonds this methodology used for this grant funding has been more effective throughout the rest of the state because these underserved roadway mileage is greater in communities outside Chittenden County thus leading to the proportionate share being closer to 60% target for that grant funding. So just a few points I'll close with and then open it up for discussion here. We know the total cost of the universal service for the underserved addresses in Chittenden County it's going to be well below that 60% target for the grant funding from the Vermont Community Broadband Board and it's going to lead the CUD the need to solicit proposals to see if there's a viable funding financing option to make up this funding gap from the provider. During this build out to reach the underserved addresses it results in addresses where the fiber passes with the opportunity to access fiber internet as well. Forming a new government entity without a specific plan of how to accomplish this mission at the start it's not ideal that we finding is the nature of this government structure on the scope of work. Planning funds can be only accessed through a CUD and not the community from our community sorry these planning funds can only be accessed through a CUD from Vermont Community Broadband Board. The challenge is a CUD must be created to access this federal funding that's passing through but assurances cannot be made to the select board or voters on the outcome until the CUD forms and allows the new government be able to access funding and issue RFPs determine a possible pathway ahead. So there is this possibility that something will not work out right now and the right partner will not emerge through the RFP process and asking the voters to possibly support the creation of a CUD these are factors for the select board to consider whether Wilson would want to be part of a CUD through the voting option or select board action if the CUD wasn't be created. The CUD is not committed to do anything if the right scenario does not present itself financially. Forming the CUD is not a done deal to bring high speed internet to all Wilson addresses rather it's the first and currently best step forward access and leverage federal funds and the work collectively with area towns and established provider. Move this project forward. So I'll pause there and Regina was there was there anything I left out. So questions for from the board tonight we're looking to see whether or not we have consensus on moving forward with proposing a vote, a townwide vote on this. So questions for Eric. But when when do we have to make the decision on whether to put it to a vote so it can be on the ballot in November? August 9th. Yeah, August 9th would be the deadline for the secret of state's office to get on the general election ballot. There's probably a little more time if the board wanted to print separate local ballots but that kind of for that larger handling and reduced cost in August time. So we would if we were to agree to go forward tonight and we would have to then pass this by legal counsel I believe and and then come back with a probably a short special select board meeting early in August in order to do an issue on the November ballot. If we were to do a separate ballot then that would of course increase our cost but I'm not sure how much but Sarah can tell us that. Yeah probably by a few more weeks I don't have to get confirmation from the town clerk just once you need to order that separate ballot and that process but probably by the end of August the board would need to make a decision. I know that we talked earlier about the towns that are considering this as well and I think you you said that at least one town is not going to pursue it. Yep the latest I heard the Colchester Select Board met last week and the Colchester Select Board decided that they were not going to proceed with the CUD for a vote or looking to join at this time but should one be established they may relook at it but that was our feedback from Colchester. We know Essex and South Burlington have planned meetings this month which I think Regina's planning to attend from the RPC as well and we received feedback that Westford Westford's Select Board is in support of the CUD but they haven't taken a position whether they want to hold the vote or join but they're they would like to be part of the CUD. If we I'm sorry if we hold a vote and the voters reject it and then the the CUD is created anyway can we then vote to join it? That's a good question. I can check with council on that that's a good scenario. I I think the way the statute the statute provides a select board without authority to join so might be other. Well the reason I'm I mean I don't know any of this but I mean it one of the concerns I have is that this it's a slightly confusing issue to create a new government and then the government is going to go seek funding for broadband kind of like the rural electrification administration that and then I think voters might say well wait a minute this is more money is this going to be a tax increase or they're hidden fees and if they if they're confused they're going to say no and then if they say no and I'm in favor of this I want so far I want to know a couple more things legally but but I'm concerned that if we don't if we don't present a good educational process that it'll go down just because people when in doubt say no. Anyway that's I don't know where that takes us but those are my thoughts. I'm I'm in favor I think I would agree that this there's a lot to it and if there's a way to and I know you've already boiled this down the best that you could tonight even to present it to us but I think just initially to voters of like what it is what it means and what's not only the process but the cost associated to an individual taxpayer would be huge. We don't have a crystal ball that far down the road right now I know but the more we can get out there for education I think would be really really helpful. Yeah I mean my my big concern and I had shared that with Eric was that the cost of of building the infrastructure would then make it cost the service actually cost prohibitive to the the folks that would then be receiving this broadband and it sounds like you know from from experience from from Bennington and so what the cost is high but not so terribly high and that there are some programs for low income housing to connect as well with at a much lower rate and so that's promising to me and I have heard from some folks in town you know who are affected by this and really feeling you know the import of having broadband more now than ever and and so I you know I really want us to be responsive to them and to their needs and so I would like to see this on the ballot I would ideally like to not have to I think if we have to do a special election for this we're going to get even less support when I think this is something that we should all be supporting for our neighbors Jeff I know that Jeff was back on the remote remotely but I wonder if he wants to weigh on us don't see him on there still no more looks like it's kind of he wasn't well yeah and well I too would like to see this go forward and certainly we have more questions and we can resolve those I think before we get to August 9th when we need to make a decision yeah we should have the legal analysis for the board before the July 19th meeting and if there's any other questions the board has that would be helpful for me to get you any additional information for that next meeting just let me know we can prepare that good so if there are more questions certainly get them to Eric as quickly as possible so we'll move on then to the community center and library space study steering committee and Eric has put together a draft for us for the the charge for the the steering committee as well as a resolution that has one minor type all in it so Eric want to talk about that yeah and I I think Jane as Karen's is going to join us in case we have questions for the library board yep I will just get connected here a lot of activity on Zoom with people joining I'm unmuted Eric okay thank you Jane so just as a reminder for the board we are preparing preparing a request for proposal for the FY 23 capital project to undertake a scoping study for the community center facility and assessment of the Dorothy Allen Memorial Library you received a preliminary overview at your last meeting and as Terry mentioned I've prepared a draft committee charge which is and a resolution the resolution is required by the town charter and standing up any temporary committee on this draft charge reiterates the the purpose for this group that was served as a steering committee for this project to help guide the consultants work and the staffing would or the membership rather would be a member of the select board member the library board of trustees and a member of the recreation and parks committee for community members that were appointed by the select board staff by the manager library director recreation and parks director and the steering committee will have the duties and responsibilities that would include champion community engagement efforts to solicit feedback and comments from community members to aid in development of these possible programmatic elements in these facilities for consideration the committee would also advise the project consultant on development of possible alternatives for a community center and library space based on analysis of these possible elements for inclusion in each space and taking that community engagement or advisement while considering possible constraints that that would come up provide periodic updates to select board and library board trustees on their work and final review draft programmatic elements and possible space alternatives in coordination with the consultant from pros and cons in each to prepare a final report and presentation for the select board library trustees is the final final deliverable I've given the board two options to consider in terms of leadership of this group one is to have the group should you choose to establish it elect a chairperson advice chairperson or another consideration would be to establish co-chairpersons as the designate from the select board and the library board of trustees so and any feedback from the board I'll take on this proposal or questions and certainly staff can rework this if the board wants to have some additional staff work completely any questions for Eric rearing the charge and then your preference for the option one or option two I think the charge sounds great as a member of the select board potentially someone who would be would be on this I would say the officers should be folks that that were elected by the the the committee itself rather than just de facto but that would be my preference your privilege will be option two yes I agree with that okay it looks like we have option two as part of the charge and there's no other questions on the charge and we have the resolution there on this the third whereas there's just a one word whereas to undertake this project the steering committee made up of community stakeholders so I if there's any questions or comments regarding the resolution that I'm looking for a motion move to adopt the resolution and charge as presented to establish a steering committee for the community center and library assessment project let's do a second second is there any discussion on the motion hearing none all those in favor of the motion say aye aye I have any opposed so we have taken care of that we're within a few five minutes of the opening of the public hearing and perhaps Eric you could do the minister's report let's say a whole lot but I want to start out by offering a big thanks to everyone who made our independence day festivities possible over the past weekend it was great to have everything back pre-pandemic and a couple new additions with the with the food trucks for the fireworks thank all our staff and volunteers the community to help make that possible a lot of work goes into it I think the Rotary Club are organizing the Deb Beckett Memorial 5k race as well so it was a it was a good year it was good weather for a lot of good feedback from the community so it's great to be able to offer that to folks the most in every year and I also have an update from public works on the Talcott road work to replace the to repair the culvert there we should have the road reopened by the end of the week is what I'm hearing right now so a lot of people will be happy about that they've been working hard the last few weeks so we are hoping to have that reopened by the end of the year and you might see some signs around the village that the planning department has put up and that is part of a village walking tour the historical and architectural advisory committee and the planning commission are working on some village bylaw amendments drafting and community engagement part of that work so you'll see there's some brochures I think station one is right out front of the town hall you can also have a virtual tour online as well as a way to provide feedback so I'm going to do the full loop of the tour but I know our planning office put a lot of hard work into setting that up so encourage the community to take part in that in that effort right we're expecting some of our planning commission members and also Matt Lanjane the director of planning to join us for the public hearing I'll send Matt a message to let him he'll be here first night for some yep okay the planning mission is calling a meeting to order next door so pending their arrival I will open the public hearing at this point and read the the warning for the public hearing the Wilson Select Board will hold a public hearing to receive comment on proposed changes to the existing Wilson unified development bylaw to create a foreign based code overlay district in the Taft Corners area and establish an official map for the entire town pursuant to 24 VSA section 44 42 and the Wilson unified development bylaw public hearing will take place on Tuesday July 5th 2022 at 715 in the Beckett McGuire meeting room Wilson Town Hall and we are here and before we go into it we have quite a number of people in the room can I get a show of hands as to how many people plan on speaking tonight looks like about seven or eight okay and likewise on the remote set up can we find people who plan on speaking tonight remotely yep um a bit folks uh watching remotely if you wouldn't mind just raising your virtual hand to just help us um get an idea of how many how many folks want to want to speak up we've got two hands raised online Terry there's 34 people overall on zoom just two up to three now I think we'll have more circle in here as we go but I know there are 34 people on zoom right now okay to to this here so probably a estimate of around 10 people or so overall for comments so far so so right now we're expecting perhaps about 20 people to join so um number of things for the ground rules for the public hearing obviously we're looking for civil discourse to have people respect the process and each other when you are called to speak please come up to the microphone identify yourself and likewise on remote you please identify yourself there we'll try to keep us as orderly as we can to keep people at the microphone or on on remote as well as we can I'm going to impose a time limit of no more than three minutes each to speak that you speak shorter if you wish to but no longer than three minutes each and that would give us at least an hours of presentations the part of the ground rules also will be people will be able to speak once before speaking and if we get through everybody and there's people who wish to speak a second time we can consider that but we'll let them see what time we have at that at that point in time so we're waiting for Matt to up the press Eric you can just start off there actually it's Terry actually I received a message on my phone from Jeff fierce yeah he has tried repeatedly to participate via zoom and he's having huge technical problems so he's not going to be able to do it okay but he wants everybody to know that he will watch the video video recording of the meeting and we'll be aware of what everybody's saying good thank you for people who arrived and might not have signed in please do so before you leave that would be helpful to us as well planning commission is en route from the annex so they're the planning commission and map a lot of you are in route from the annex that's en route okay we'll wait until they arrive and then we can start off with you introducing Matt and the process that and the memo that he has written regarding the process and what we might expect to be able to do yep let's pull that so for for the board this evening and you open your public hearing you will have an option if you want to continue the hearing to to a later date if there's still additional public comment to take or if the board will like to leave it open or the bar can also close the public hearing at this evening either is recommended the board make a motion either way or for how it likes to proceed after after taking public testimony this evening welcome to members of the planning commission there's seats over here as well a few over on the other side as well all right welcome thanks for your director of planning you know that Matt Melange is here and lead off with Eric do you want to say a few words before Matt goes over as the memo yep Matt's going to a walk through for everyone in the room and listening at home just a brief overview of the transmittal of of this development bylaw amendment before the select board thank you so as Eric said I'm going to begin with an overview that is probably pretty familiar to the board and most folks in the room but this is the first public hearing on the proposed tap corners form based code overlay district associated zoning bylaw amendments and townwide official map together as a package in support of the taft corners vision as developed by Williston citizens and our consultant team about a year ago the form based code is a slightly different way of doing zoning it is related more to how buildings are designed and how they're placed on their sites and how those sites are arranged on a pre-planned master planned grid of walkable bikeable pedestrian friendly streets and all of those components that I mentioned in the beginning work together to create that arrangement of walkable blocks attractive buildings primarily served by access to the rear through alleys and leaving streets clear and the form based code contains components related to the maps I mentioned related to how the public realm the area between the building and the street is to be designed related to where parking loading and other building functions are to be placed where building uses are to be allowed whether their ground floor or also allowed on upper floors than those building form standards including height with depth maximum footprint and architectural standards i.e. how the building is dressed with windows doors required balconies elements including roof pitch screening of rooftop mechanical equipment etc. So it is a complete zoning package that addresses all aspects of building and site design and then go so far as to pre-plan how those sites would be arranged within a grid of walkable streets that would interface with the existing streets in the tap corners area. So the select board has had a number of informational meetings on this topic chose at its last one to warn tonight's public hearing which begins the process of considering the adoption of this code. I have prepared in addition to the overview memo that you've had for some time to new memos tonight. One discusses the hearing process and simply reminds the select board that the step that follows from the holding of a public hearing tonight is either a decision to continue that hearing to a subsequent date provided that the select board feels there needs to be more time to hear public comment or to close that public hearing at which point the next step is a meeting where the board might consider the adoption of the code by law amendments and map. And then in discussing that procedure remind the select board that if the select board chooses to make any substantive changes to the draft and under statute you don't have to change very much for it to be considered substantive there would need to be another worn hearing to hear that revised draft followed by a meeting and again consideration of adoption. So tonight can really be focused on hearing that public comment and giving lots of time and space for that to happen. The memo that I prepared that goes beyond procedures talks about some of those potential amendments. We spent considerable time at the end of June hearing from some of our major landowner stakeholder community about changes they would like to see continued dialogue with that community and tempted to summarize in that memo some of the high points of what those folks are asking the board to consider. We can we can talk about that during the meeting during the hearing sort of at the select board's decision. But I think most of what I've heard in my follow up conversations from that community are very similar to what the board heard on June 17. So some requests for some shifts of boundary of what of the growth center would be in the form based code overlay district and what might be left out and some some discussion of the regulating plan map that we would start with and how that street layout might be adjusted to create some more buildable area in a few spots. So we can circle back to that either toward the end of the hearing or as part of the meeting and work sessions that might follow from from tonight's hearing. And I also mentioned that the select board may decide it wants to make some changes to this draft based on what it hears from the public. Either has been hearing and writing or out in the community or what it hears tonight. And when I was writing this memo on Friday, I couldn't predict for you everything you might hear tonight and want to respond to. And in fact, I still can't. But we do know that building height has been a significant issue raised by a lot of members of the public certainly heavily discussed by the planning commission as well and many of them are with us tonight and can answer questions about some of the policy decisions they made in arriving where they did on building height. But I did want to touch on that a little bit before opening things up. People talk about form-based code. They say, well, it's really focused on the building form and not so much the use. And that's true. And it's not the only thing that form-based codes tend to look at a little bit differently than conventional zoning does. So today in the Taft Corners District, we look at height as a number of feet above average finished grade. And the maximum number is 52. That has to include the entire roof. It does not include mechanical equipment above that roof or any screening that's installed around that mechanical equipment. So you can actually end up with something pretty close to the 64-foot height limit that we're talking about in the form-based code. But height as measured in feet is not the only way the form-based code talks about height. It talks about it in terms of stories. And it measures it from a slightly different point on the ground. It measures it from what we call the clear sidewalk elevation, i.e. the sidewalk. And that can have some impact on how much overall height you experience. So in the most intense zone, zones in this code, you have a maximum height of five stories and no more than 64 feet to the top plate of that top story. The code also incentivizes the use of pitched roofs. In fact, requires pitched roofs as long as a roof is not being used for mechanical equipment or for rooftop solar equipment. So in that pitched roof, you can use dormers to make some of the space inside the pitched roof a habitable story above that five-story limit. So a lot of posts on Front Forge Forum and comment we've received has been a negative reaction to the idea of the six-story building. We talk about it as five plus an attic story because when you put that attic story in a pitched roof, its volume is smaller than the stories below it. It's living in a roof that's got some pitch somewhere between a 512 and a 1412 pitch. So just some things to put a little context around the idea of five stories plus an attic story or six stories. The Planning Commission spent a lot of time thinking about that maximum allowed height in those more intense zones and was really striking a balance between wanting to provide a lot of opportunity to share the high cost of land with a larger number of dwelling units and an opportunity to make housing more affordable in Williston and also balancing that increase in building height over what the current zoning allows against all of the things that are required in those architectural standards. 30 percent of units facing the street need to have a balcony. There's minimum amounts of windows that must be on that street-facing side of the building. Windows need to be inset by three inches. They can't be flat up against the wall, which reduces the massiveness of the building. Buildings need entrances every 70 feet along a street frontage. So those are a whole lot of things that cut down on the feel of the massiveness of the building. And lastly, in those zones where that larger height is allowed, building footprints are limited to 20,000 square feet. And this prevents the very large, either depending on who you talk to, the side scraper or the land scraper configuration where you have a very large building that maybe takes up an entire block face. You just cannot do that in a 20,000 square foot footprint. So planning commission and staff and consultant team in talking about building height was looking at something that was a meaningful increment above what's allowed today to try to create a little more affordability, but along with a whole load of architectural standards to make that an attractive building whose massiveness was not its defining characteristic, but rather that way that it was that it was dressed. So I'll leave that there. There can certainly be some follow-ups with commission members or myself about height. And the last thing I wanted to mention coming out of the amendments memo is just want to make the select board aware we are also undergoing legal review with Town Council on the entire code. Council has completed that preliminary review and has raised a few issues of things that might need to be worded differently or addressed slightly differently, but no major red flags of, you know, you can't do that with zoning in Vermont or anything like that. So we've had very positive conversations there. Any needed changes coming out of legal review could be made part of a subsequent draft that the select board looks at during that meeting process and at a subsequent warrant hearing if necessary. Go ahead. Thank you, Matt. So this is now the time for public two-way in on the proposed code. And so we'll go to our first speaker over here to come to the table and identify yourself in no more than three minutes. Thank you. I'm Elizabeth Logan. I'm a Winston resident and I have two comments. First, I understand that the code doesn't address and is not intended to address mixed income housing. And I'm wondering where this is being discussed. We have some Williston core values, one of which is compassionate, fair, and equitable service, which states that services should be delivered in a manner that's fair, equitable, and reflects compassion. If this is one of our values, I'm wondering why we're not taking every opportunity to welcome and encourage rich mixture of people from a wide range of economic and social backgrounds. The developers will not choose to create mixed income housing on their own. Perhaps this could be addressed in the code or in some other manner so that we have enforceable requirements that ensure more affordable housing. And Tafts Corners is a great place to start. We'll not have another chance like this to put our values into action for many years. We're overdue and insisting on a framework that's more inclusive, welcoming, and enforceable. My second comment is regarding environmental and preservation aspects of the code. I don't believe the code goes far enough to preserve and maintain our green space. In considering the green space, it's not accurate including wetland areas, inaccessible areas, and privately owned land if we want an honest picture to work with. Development seems to take precedence and the actual green space is encroached upon with every development, especially in Tafts Corners there's nothing left. By increasing the height of buildings, the views will no longer be available as well. Again, we need grit, determination, and enforceable code that limits encroachment and holds developers responsible for following plans that protect and even reclaim all usable green space. Thank you. Thank you. And staff will be taking notes I think as to the questions that are being asked. Anyone else in the front room will go there. We should speak. My name is Marcia Drake. We moved here in 1994 and on this side of the highway, it has sort of felt like there's been a free-for-all development and if perception is 99% of reality, I'm sure that's not actually what was happening, but it sort of has felt like that. And I feel as if there's finally a thoughtful sort of inclusive design happening here that's not going to please everyone, but it feels like finally the community has been asked and has gotten involved. And that feels so much better than what was happening before. The hate has definitely been an issue. I feel as if this actually allows more space for people to live without sprawl. And within that, perhaps there can be a percentage of affordable housing allowed in these taller buildings that seems that would be a part of what was talked about earlier in Williston being wanting to very much have more affordable housing. And to me, as much as those buildings may seem a bit high, the description of how they were thought through makes a lot more sense to me. And I hope that the Planning Commission will keep that into consideration instead of thinking about more sprawl. Good, thank you. Anyone else in the front room? Next gentleman. And then I'll get the first one in the lead. For sure, let it out. I'm going to take my mask here. Yes, please. I am brand thinking. Full disclosure. And I want to thank you for the opportunity to be heard. And I want to let you know I'm representing myself no organization that I'm part of. I've lived in Williston for over 40 years and seen things like the horse farm on task corners get replaced by building developments that is concrete. Then a promise is made to finally create a village town center. What we have now is called a compromise back then. A compromise from a pyramid and closed mall to what we have. Now a compromise. Come on. The community green at task corners is this strip mall that was bent into the shape of a donut with the wide concrete sidewalk in the hole. And then to a two lane road in the middle of that and then a green space. So when anybody's sitting in the green space or walking no matter where they look they see a strip mall. So tomorrow I'm going to splurge a little. I'm going to get a water bottle and I'm going to be driving the task corners from my home just off French Hill. I'm sure I'll be happy with my purchase but as always I have to admit I'll be sad to be at the big at the big box task corners again. As usual I'll want to leave as quickly as possible and then cheer up by driving away from Wilson likely to the town of Richmond. Listening to others speak we all know that my sentiment about task corners is typical. In the past town has given in too much to developers letting them act more as consultants rather than stakeholders for input. So please don't make that mistake again. The task corners form based code is an opportunity. Don't blow it by over compromising. I trust that the carefully task corners form based code also has an opportunity for stakeholders to make money. The need for more affordable housing in Wilson is critical but adding more affordable housing now to the task corner form based code as a requirement will only make the change of this development developer town agreement unlikely. I don't know how far back the town implemented incentive affordable housing inclusion but I know it was a while back. The town took a chance that the developers would buy into an incentivized affordable housing option but lost big time big time. How much new developing affordable housing has been developed since then very little if any I think it's long overdue to make affordable housing not incentive incentivize the compliant and zoning the longer the town waits and developing more affordable housing the more risky it will be probably to to succeed. I hope that the planning commission and the energy and community development department shortly act to bring more affordable housing that Wilson needs after the task corners form based code is approved. We are way past due. Thank you. Thanks. My name is Carl Fowler. I live at 178 Metal Run Road and although I have in the past been an officer of the Metal Run Association I'm here speaking for myself tonight and not in any way for the association. I applaud the form based code effort by the town and I hope you proceed with it and I hope as with the last speaker you do not overly modify it. The cat is out of bag and since so much of the taff corners area has already been developed and portions of it are of course sensibly protected that this is not going to result in a massive change in the feeling or style of the housing or the developed industrial retail units but it can at least make them more aesthetically pleasing and to the degree that it can concentrate development into a smaller area but encourage more mix it's highly desirable and again I simply applaud it. I am concerned about height of units but if I have to balance a three or four story building against having virtually no open space I'm prepared to accept a compromise. I am concerned about low income housing definitely we have very little of it we need more of it even for our children where they're going to live if they want to stay in town and we cannot allow form to ignore balance in the environment. The Supreme Court did us no favors last week by undermining the federal government's ability to regulate environmental codes but that design change did not necessarily affect towns and states. So if we come up with a plan like this which can produce a better aesthetic for the community I think it is highly desirable that there is one other consequence that needs to be looked at with this because the Taft Corners area is only a small part of the town and the rest of the areas beyond it will have a completely different set of rules applying to them there could be the possibility of a spillover of pressure into other areas of town that were intended to stay more open because of the desire to build and build and the lack of land to continue to build and build within the Taft Corner radius. Adjacent to the intersection of Mountain View and Route 2A an industrial way multiple neighborhoods are pending construction the church property hundreds of units 19-some units between our neighborhood metal run and Mountain View in the next two or three years 57 units from the church property across Mountain View Road these areas also need the attention to things that have been ignored so far neighborhoods becoming conveyances through traffic that formerly had cul-de-sac roads opening up of sewage lines and pumping capacity concerns regarding storm water and I encourage you while adopting the form-based code and I hope you will not to forget that the rest of the town has concerns about the pace of development and the lack of balance in that development as well and with that I thank you. Thank you anyone on the first row or on this side which was to speak my name is Donna Rosa I haven't attended all the form-based meetings but I have attended many I am disappointed to see the amount of development that has occurred over the years and will continue to occur in Williston and the negative consequences of high density development includes including loss of wooded lands increase in traffic which is already bad and stressors to our schools fire and police departments to name a few but I'm realistic to know that development will happen so then it's a matter of providing input to make it as palatable as possible we're talking now about development in the growth area of the town but rest assured as long as it is profitable profitable development will slowly expand to other parts of town maybe where you live I've said this before but I would like to say once again that I do not agree with the proposed height of the buildings that would be allowed with this form-based development ideally I would like to see buildings two stories and height definitely not more than three stories I know that some people will weigh the many negatives of this type of development by saying well tall buildings will provide affordable housing in response I'd like to say one developers are not required to offer affordable housing there are some benefits to them if they offer affordable housing as far as the speed in developing a project but it is not required to assume that more affordable housing will be offered is not a guarantee in fact I was at one meeting and to paraphrase the developer he said if it's going to cost me ten million dollars to build the roads to conform to this new code there goes your affordable housing number two with this form-based development and taller buildings it does not necessarily mean more apartments as the owner does not need to designate the use of the buildings it may be apartments but there's no guarantee saying it will be three what is affordable it's defined in accordance to calculations but I think most of us would say the end result is not affordable especially to those in need or maybe even to retired people seeking housing within their means four there are currently 24 affordable apartments in Finney crossing that have been available for a couple of years now how many of them are rented to retail workers working in Williston I don't know you don't know in fact the town doesn't even know there is no non-profit entity overseeing the town's designated affordable housing currently the building owner sends an annual spreadsheet listing the unit and the amount being charged for rent there appears to be a severe lack of oversight ensuring the eligibility of those renters amount being charged for rent etc for units currently designated as affordable housing I also think number five I also think affordable housing is a red herring at another meeting for a proposed development Ken Bellevue former Williston town planner who was working for the developer and speaking on his behalf said that store workers would be available would be able to afford to buy homes in the development that will be built at the catamount golf course when I followed up with him on that and asked you mean to say a couple working at Walmart would be able to buy a home here he replied well maybe the manager an argument one might make is that current regulations allow for four-story buildings so the new code isn't much more than that however I don't believe there are many four-story buildings currently in Williston you're running out of time one that readily comes to mind is the hotel being built in the post office parking lot I've said that from the beginning this is a hideous building some may say well it's because of the placement of the building yes but it is also the height in comparison to the buildings around it stands there are many reasons why we moved here 27 years ago one being we enjoyed the character of the town and had no desire to live in the city which it seems to be what Williston is evolving to in closing this board has a serious responsibility that will shape the future of Williston some of the longer term board members were involved in the changes to the town plan some that didn't read all of this but previously the town plan talked you know we changed the town plan to allow Finney crossing nobody likes that we allowed route 2 to change from residential to commercial and that's you know we're seeing the destruction of the forest there we're seeing big U-Haul buildings and other buildings to come so previously some of you on the board were responsible in that and I would urge you to take serious consideration before rubber stamping this proposal and I also have the rest of this if anybody would like to read it is that it to you Williston? thank you anyone else in the front room over here that wishes to speak tonight if not we'll go to the remote viewers for four or five people there so we have some more in the room to speak as well yep um first person uh Stephen G I'm gonna I'll let you unmute here just a moment hi my name is Steve Joe Keeney can you hear me? yes okay great yeah three minutes can I just have great I won't take that long I have to get the bed um I just looking at this and I'm wondering if the town of Williston is prepared to become the city of Williston what are they prepared to do I know we just took on a lot of new fire department and police department having more large buildings like this is going to take on more responsibility and so is the town of Williston prepared for that kind of you know growth is the town of Williston prepared to move large scale buildings like this into the Williston village is that acceptable where else is acceptable to keep on developing we have a lot of large houses being sold new houses and and and current houses that are being sold at really astronomical prices and looking at a lot of these houses these could have been much smaller houses and housing a lot more people in these neighborhoods like Brennan Woods and such and instead we built gigantic houses that people really probably don't need it's up to them to decide but why did Williston allow that so on a note like that now we're going to build a bunch of panel lack style buildings and we just opened to the public so everyone just keeps on moving and moving and moving here so is the you know is the popular is the greater population wagging the tail or is is the developers wagging the tail who's making the decisions and so these are just questions I would like to post and let everybody think about it what do we want to become do we want to be the town of Williston or do we want to be the city of Williston and have all the city troubles that come along with that so thank you thank you next on remote yep Lisa Brayden Harder just a second I'll ask it on mute can you hear me yes thank you so as Willistonians consider changes to the town's zoning regulations we as members of the Williston racial equity partnership support the form-based code recommendation by the DRB and staff those opposed to the changes often pointed that possible loss of a favorite scenic spot caused by the construction of taller buildings though we share this appreciation for the natural beauty surrounding our town we would encourage broader thinking on the issue we all want a thriving Williston community with neighbors of all ages and backgrounds housing plays a big role in this vision and therefore needs to be more inclusive the current focus on single family homes serves the top 20 percent of our monitors by income excluding many families with children as well as older Vermonters on fixed incomes as we plan for the future of our town we want to consider the employees of many Williston businesses as well our retail and manufacturing workers help create over 40 percent of our town revenues and double our population during the day but cannot afford to live here our town and school employees help us build this community but they have few housing options under the current zoning adopting the form-based code gives Barry Willistonian the chance to play a part in planning for the bright inclusive future of our town and the Williston racial equity partnership supports this change and we hope you will too and lastly I'd just like to thank the staff for their inclusive community input that they saw during this process so thank you very much thank you next on real Abe Harrison I'll meet you here in just a second thank you good evening I have had the luck and privilege to have moved to Williston just about a year ago and I say luck because of the amazing neighborhood we found and I say privilege because Williston is a wonderful town to be living in but I also say luck because as anyone who has lived through the real estate market in the past year it was really luck that we were able to find an available house and I also say privilege because we had the privilege of getting assistance from our family to be able to purchase our first home which is increasingly becoming the only way that anybody can purchase a new home these days as we all know there is a housing shortage in Vermont and the best way to address that shortage is by building more housing all kinds of housing no matter what it is any new housing will relieve the burden on our current housing market and make it more affordable for everybody and when given the choice of where and how to build that housing the best option is tall dense housing close to amenities most especially because it's good for the environment it is more efficient to provide power and services to many families on one plot of property instead of one family on that same plot of property and the closer that people live to their jobs to groceries to shops and other amenities the less dependent that they will be on polluting motor vehicles so I strongly support the proposals here today and I am excited for the future of Williston and I will simply say that as long as the easiest and most efficient form of building under laws and regulations remains single family housing the more sprawl that we will see in Williston the more it will benefit the wealthiest people in Vermont and in the country who are able to move here and the worse it will be for our environment and so the proposals that are here tonight are the best for Vermont and for our community thank you thank you next person on remote John Hemmelgarn just to just a moment here John good evening my name is John Hemmelgarn I am a Williston resident a DRB member and an architect the following comments are personal views and not those of the DRB my position on the DRB and as an architect do give me a unique perspective on the proposed form-based code though I support the proposed code there have been comments that the current process works very well because projects are frequently improved through the DRB review process these are kind words ones appreciated by me and the rest of the DRB if I would allow myself to speak for them just this one time we work hard to be professional and understand our role in the process I work professionally with many of the people who come before our board and frequently hear comments about the professionalism of both the staff and the board my professional experience in front of other boards tells me the exact same thing this board takes its role as arbiter of the Williston Development By-law the WDB very seriously and we try very hard to stay within the bounds of our charge therefore the DRB actually has limited ability to improve projects the opportunities we do have the steer projects is limited to very narrow range spelled out in the WDB I would liken it to one's ability to steer a raft ride at the amusement park by shifting one's weight as one of five people in the tube if you can convince all the others in the raft to shift together maybe you get a little extra speed or a splash or whatever you're looking for a single person acting alone has almost no impact finally and especially the small changes we are able to make have nothing to do with public satisfaction nor are they a nod to any general public guidance or consensus in fact it seems they may actually miss their mark as often is not given the mixed opinions one hears about any given project alternatively the form-based code allows the opportunity for far greater public satisfaction with any given outcome since it has been developed with a tremendous amount of public input input that is focused on aesthetic components quality of life and citizens everyday interface with their built environment this code will improve how Will Estonians feel about their town the form-based code is a far longer looking document than the current WDB as it assures each puzzle piece is much less dependent on the previously fitted pieces making the ultimate outcome much more predictable the best part is that this predictable outcome is one that has been discussed at great length and reflects the priorities and values of the general community any concern that this may slow development Will Eston may or may not be true my crystal fault is in the repair shop right now if this is the case I sense this might also reflect the priorities and values of the general community I am much more certain that Will Eston will continue to grow and that we are doing ourselves a great service by trying to have a greater say in the ultimate vision of that future in summary significant changes would be contrary to the rigorous public input process that was undertaken negating what I feel is one of the strongest reasons to adopt a form-based code public consensus on what we and Will Eston have decided is best for our town changing the code now based on the voices of a relative few would be contrary to the myriad voices heard throughout this process thank you for your time and for giving me the opportunity to express my personal thoughts on this matter yep it's the last one remote Terry I'm going to connect you okay great hi this is Terry Zittridge so I've spoken here before I'll maybe talk about the same things here so you know one of the things that I have found disappointing with the form-based code which in general I support most of it I had the opportunity to speak at length with Chapin Caner I think he's on the committee or board and he took me through the whole thought process here but the part that's disappointing and continues to be disappointing about our planning is the fact that affordable housing isn't put in and I hear people talk about the fact that well if we build six-story buildings they're going to be affordable I suspect the same thought was put into that other eyesore on the what is it the northwest corner of Tafts corner corners the tall buildings there I don't know what anybody was thinking or what the planning commission at the time was thinking it's just an eyesore it doesn't remind me of Williston so if we can truly get affordable housing in this I mean I'm all for building taller buildings if it means making housing more accessible and to more people to the people that work in Williston so I'll say that but if there is no affordable housing then I don't know why we need six-story buildings at Tafts corners so four years ago four to five years ago I'm not exactly sure the exact set of meetings but it was the last time I was engaged in the in the town plan update and I was pushing Mr. Ballinger to add some kind of affordable clause into that and it was forced affordability because it doesn't as the person who first spoke it doesn't seem like developers are very incented in Williston to build anything but I'll call them McMansions you know they're not mansions but they're they're in the higher range of single family housing and at the time and I can't quote it exactly although I could probably look up the video that I was told that it didn't make any sense because there wasn't enough developable land in Williston to make that useful well that certainly isn't true or was true or continues not to be true so so I'd really like to see affordable housing put into this somehow and if not then we should keep the building height to some reasonable level four stories if we're not going to make it affordable otherwise we're just selling ourselves out we're selling our views out to developers who are going to put high rent apartments in so and we don't need more of those and that's it thank you we'll go back to the room and then for a few people here the second row over here somebody who wishes to speak yes sir Jay Petrollo resident of Williston for about 30 years now I have some concerns about the current plan right now and if you look at history the early stages of the Manhattan project will be very brief Oppenheimer at all their initial fear for developing the atomic bomb was the chain reaction how would they stop the chain reaction and the idea was it would ignite the atmosphere and the oceans that the idea of nuclear fission would create these intense temperatures and how do you put an end to it so looking at this the future of Williston and what is the end game what is capacity and there are some current concerns one is Velco Vermont Electric Power Company and looking at the 2021 Vermont Long Range Transmission Plan on page six it specifically states that they're looking at up I just lost it up the current flow adjustments will no longer be effective and grid reinforcement will be required we're sending a lot of juice on antiquated lines and a visual is just looking at tap corners right now and more building more need for electricity and yes Vermont by 2050 claimed that 90% of all our energy needs will be met by non-renewables I'm sorry by renewables non-fossil fuels 50% right now is tied to Hydro-Quebec there's two transmission lines multi-billion dollar projects in the works one is currently a multi-billion project the Hudson Power Express Transmission Line directly from Hydro-Quebec to New York City that was approved in April 2022 and the most recent one in Vermont I don't know where that is right now connecting Hydro-Quebec and going through Alberg it's a thousand megawatt line so imagine it follows the spine all the way to tap corners so in this my question is where is capacity and what do we have in the works right now and controlling any type of growth second concern I'm going to bring up the 2020 census the median-based household income in Vermont is sixty three thousand four hundred seven dollars individual income is thirty five thousand eight hundred fifty four one resident pointed out a couple working in Walmart where would they live and how can they afford living in this town so if you apply the thirds the rule of thirds a median household income is sixty three thousand that means if you apply the rule of thirds for a mortgage they need to look for a house for 180 thousand and I believe the current median price for a house in in Wilson is over four hundred thousand dollars so right now the more building the more people we need to work in these places so I'm just asking what is when will we have the discussions of various levels of detail and and looking at mytapcorners.com says that architectural will be pleasing and I'm not quite sure that's a little vague what does that mean and what style Victorian style you know federal style so that's all I have to say right now thank you thanks anyone in the second row here yes I'm Marcy Cass I just want to say that the fireworks last night were really excellent totally excellent so I say I have to sort of like edit because so many people have said what I was going to say I I I will say that I even though I I'm so happy to be living in this town I think that it's full of great people who show up I mean but I but I have very low expectations I have to admit for what that what our town feels like which has been echoed I'm echoing what a lot of people have said but I I feel like if this if this form form-based code which I'm all in favor of if it doesn't proceed I won't be surprised so my my expectations are low but but you know I also I feel like there's a lot of great people in Williston so so that skews my expectations a lot higher I went to almost all of the my tough corners information zoom things and it seems like a really good plan to me it seems like it's it's a win-win for Williston I think it's a win for those of us who live here and it could turn our town into someplace we want to spend time and not just shop um and I think to me it could be a win for developers because it has the potential to increase revenue because of you know I'm building up now I have heard from a developer I believe in one of the hearings that it's going to be hard to rent living spaces that are above commercial spaces and um I want to say a few things about that because I feel like our world is changing I feel like like I don't think that's really the case I feel like our world is changing because more commerce is happening online and more people are working from home and so I feel like brick and mortar stores are an opportunity for social contact and um I mean I have my sister works at William Sonoma and um she she has been told that for some people this is their only social interaction when they come into a store and um I feel that way like sort of like post ish COVID you know going back and and shopping and I feel it's great to talk to people and um I want to say also about the some people have been saying they don't want you know oh it's going to be the city of Williston not the town of Williston and having concerns about the height of buildings and I so I used to live in New York City for 10 years before the 35 years I've lived in Vermont 26 of them in Williston and I I I felt like the sense of community you know on the Upper West Side and the walkability and the interesting nature of the neighborhoods was greater in New York City than it is in Taft Corners so I feel like preserving this like Vermont quality that's existing in Williston it's I think there's sort of like a disconnect of reality of what it really feels like and and I and I feel like so so my father was an architect and I feel like I have like a sensibility about buildings and it's not just the height of a building that makes you feel a certain way it's the placement it's all kinds of things you can have well you can you can have one thing that I'm really excited about is the potential to have some really cool buildings and that maybe someone mentioned open air spaces on the first floor that are covered so and flex spaces for indoor play in the winter and rooftop gardens and green construction and a new building that would look cool and would generate interest and I think that there's there's a you know instead of just worrying okay oh I I fear that the buildings are going to be too tall I feel that whatever it it would be great to work from a place of of positive like excitement that it could be it could be something that's that's really cool buildings that's really cool and I would I'd be happy to be on those committees thank you and any bells in the second row wishes to speak yes hello I'm Danielle Dusset I'm gonna be quick I would like to add my voice to support walkable bikeable pedestrian friendly streets in Williston I would also like to support previous speakers points about incentivizing affordable housing while preserving our green space in our community and finally I'd love to see solar panels and heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers in all new buildings in Williston thank you thank you any walls Kevin Thorley Williston resident member of the energy committee but you're speaking for myself first of all I'd like to thank the planning department for the thorough open and inclusive process they hosted I think it's a model for how work like this should be done moving forward the amount of effort they put in was really impressive I support the proposed changes today going to Taft's corner feels like leaving Williston the box stores and the heavy traffic are not conducive to the kind of community interactions that many Williston residents appreciate the current code supports the needs of many people in northern Vermont maybe even northern New York but it doesn't support the kind of community that the residents of Williston like and deserve Williston is growing and while that growth and its impact on town services taxes etc should be discussed I don't believe this plan is part of the problem I believe this plan could be a part of the solution to ensure that growth happens in a responsible way that is aligned with the desires of the town residents this code supports a place where people want to live and work it will help to de-emphasize a car-centric culture in favor of safer and easier walking and biking I believe this code will also result in more small businesses frequented by residents who have easy access to those businesses without the need to drive there thank you thank you I can't see if anybody else is in the second row over there but I don't think so oh we're going to the remote no one else remote at this time Terry nobody else no one else at this time then we'll start on the third row and we'll finish just three minutes my name is David Martel I live in Williston and actually made a bunch of notes but after listening everybody's comments and stuff just kind of recap on some of this information so the first gentleman that came up the works for the zoning department he talked about the design of the building itself having the windows recessed and some other measurements where it's made from the sidewalk the reality is a building is a building it's 64 feet to the top of the fifth floor the additional sixth floor living space is going to have another 11 feet so you're talking about 76 feet a 1412 pitch roof is what you guys have in your documentation that allows for the the dormers to be on the building that's a very aggressive a very steep pitch roof so if you've got a building let's say 80 feet wide or Fort says 80 feet wide you're talking you're adding another 30 feet onto that building for a pitch roof with the dormers on of course so you're looking at a building you know you can say hey the windows make it look like it's not as big but it's still there and it's going to block a view now I hear a lot of people they talk about affordable housing now affordable housing beyond it's kind of like a pipe dream I think you're thinking more of low income housing because I don't think is there any low income housing in Williston anybody I don't think so okay so affordable housing if my sister's son lives in one of the Vinnie Cross apartments I think it's like almost $1,800 a month he works at a regular job making 17-18 bucks an hour girlfriend situation by about the same that's not affordable so right now my sister and her husband actually have to subsidize their income for them to live in that apartment that's not affordable housing that's to pay it they're relying on somebody to pay to help assist you to live into a housing situation low income housing is obviously based on your income that you have I think the buildings that's the Shah those are low income housing aren't they I think they are probably but the situation is you talk about adding more about taller building offering more affordable housing that's just not a situation that's going to happen if you consider affordable housing instead of paying $2,200 a month that you're only paying $1,800 a month well that is more affordable but it's not really affordable for anybody that's working at say Walmart Dunkin Donuts your local stores that are making under $20 an hour that's not an affordable situation so adding additional floors to a building which is going to ruin the aesthetics of Williston if you ask me when you're driving through and I notice a lot of people here they come from New York City they like the tall buildings the architecture being born and raised here in the fourth generation in Vermont I'm not a big fan of it I live in Vermont because it's a town I live in Williston because it's a town not because it's a city if I wanted a city I'd take a vacation I go visit the city but I like it here because it's actually a town all right we talk about the open space so as we mentioned in the last meeting that you folks brought up the how much is it going to cost to purchase this open space how are you going to acquire how's the town going to get it right now the people that own that open space they pay taxes that's tax revenue that's coming into the to the town of Williston if they develop it that becomes tax revenue coming to the town of Williston if you keep if you purchase it from the landowners what's the value of that remember the the folks they brought up it's like a million dollars and I think the the developers mentioned it's closer to like in between 10 and 20 million or something like that that's a lot of money then you also have who's going to maintain this property everybody likes like looking at open property in Williston see the beautiful fields the farmers got the horse farm everybody references that horse farm that was at Taft Corners it was beautiful the big red barn you had the horses outside it was just very attractive you take open land that's not maintained it turns into garbage it's brush it's nothing but butthorn trees brush it just it's not even walkable at that point so are we going to have a parks department working for the town of Williston that's going to be maintaining all this open property because open land doesn't stay open and my family owns a fair amount of land in Williston it's a full-time job taking care of it for a shogging maintaining the property if you don't it's worthless you're not going to be able to walk on it so what else I got here running out of time running out of time all right okay that's good yes I mean so the other thing I didn't like about the the new zoning regulation was it totally cuts out the select board which is actually very important and it also cuts out the input that the Williston residents can inject when these meetings happen so the reality is if you cut out the select board you cut out the Williston the people and the residents of Williston from having to say now you have just one department making all the decisions the last thing I want to say is people today they say hey look at Williston how bad is this right now well it's because of the current zoning rules regulations well you know what that comes down to people it comes down to yes you get the zoning department you get the select board and if nobody says anything and nobody participates this is what you get okay so it's important for people to come to town meetings listen and vote and speak their opinion let people know what they think it's very important all right that's it thanks we won't move back roll over here all right so my name's Hannah Kessler and I've lived in Williston for almost three years so I guess maybe like other people I get stressed out when I see the front page of the Williston observer and it's like new development new development I'm like oh my gosh this feels a little bit out of control but participating in some of the meetings and also reading through the entire form-based code I was really encouraged and I am ultimately in support of it I think concentrating growth in a single area allows for like a future of a realistic like public transportation walkable shopping and like a real town center that feels like a destination in a place which unfortunately like I can't say about the center of Williston right now it's something I go into when I need to when I need to go shopping like or pass through and I think that's how a lot of people's experience with it something I do want to echo is this comes with with the promise of kinds of concentrating development in this the center to preserve open space outside of it and so I want to echo the concern of like this kind of spillover effect this form-based code is concentrated in Tafts corners and so are there other protections towards kind of the areas around that we're thinking about additionally I'm concerned about the ability of the infrastructure both hard and soft from like roads to schools to support the growth plan and I just want to touch briefly on the height of the building's concern I was walking around Burlington earlier today and noticing the building specifically because I know it's coming here in five stories with an attic story you see them sometimes in Burlington but it seems a little out of proportion with the infrastructure in the green space that we're thinking about especially considering that these are buildings that were built a long time ago with with materials that aren't commonly used now like their architectural features and I don't think our developers are really prioritizing that I think the form-based code enforces enforces features that will help with that but they're just not they're not the same like architectural beauty that they kind of were going to be and so and additionally in the form-based code many of the I didn't see any renderings that included buildings of that height and only I saw one like picture example that did and so I just encourage maybe four four stories seems more in scale and that was what many of the renderings were and so yeah and so as this relates to kind of the affordable housing like developers will not make it of their own free will they'll be profitable of their own free will and so I just echo the other speakers who encourage not giving in too much to some of the developers I was listening to one of the town hearings and it was a chance for the developers to respond to this form-based code and one of them their first question was well I have this plan already in process can it be wavered in and it just showed me where their priorities are and potentially not in line with the views and values of the people who actually live here so to close like ultimately I'm in support of this form-based code reading the code makes me believe that the town is heading in a direction that makes it a place that like I'll want to stay like I live on 2a like I hear the traffic every single day but I think that the development is going to happen regardless and the form-based code is an opportunity to steer that development in a way that's cohesive and that builds a town or perhaps like a city if that's the scale that's like a place that's proud of like being and not like oh yeah I live in Williston where else stores are and so with some tweaks I think this form-based code can be the thing that gets us there as someone said earlier I want to visit my town and not just like shop there so thank you thank you sir a third row I think just one person on 30 want to speak anyone else on the remote wishes to speak nope no one's here anyone in the room who hasn't spoken yet that would like to if not then the public hearing then essentially is done for tonight we will not expect the select board to vote on anything tonight we will have a good discussion following the closure of the public hearing tonight which are certainly welcome to attend this is a public meeting and so with that I would look for a motion to close the public hearing move we close the public hearing is there a second second is there any discussion on the motion hearing that all those in favor of closing the public hearing say aye aye may it be opposed so we'll go on then to the development bylaw amendment discussion with the select board and looking at the process that Matt has outlined for us and where would you like to head for in the next couple of weeks before we meet again and Eric perhaps you'd like to start that out sure so the board's conducted a public hearing now and now it's back to the board really to think about your process and reviewing this development bylaw proposal before you staffs provided some additional information in your packets the memo from the planning director outlining some possible pathways to look at for changes with some items that have been raised previously you also have a report from the town assessor Bill Hinman who took a look at the code and helped address some of the questions the board had previously it also certainly helped Bill join a meeting in person at some point to if you have additional questions for him I think for the board you have there's no time pressure you can this is a big public policy discussion and ultimately next steps you'd like to take so for the board as a body decide kind of where the board would like to go next here and staff is right to support the board and have you'd like to start your discussion moving forward so board the thoughts who you might have one of my concerns is that Jeff is not here I feel like Jeff has a lot of questions yeah we can expect that he'll be reviewing he will I'm sure but it's a lot to process I want to say one of the catalysts for wanting to warn the public hearing previously was because I knew that and one of the things I love about our town is that we have a very passionate and engaged town and I want to say thank you to all the folks in town who wrote in who showed up online and who showed up here in person today regardless of you know whether or not everybody agrees on all the points this is what our community is about and you know really speaks to who we are as a town so yeah I think I mean I support moving forward with this process you know the the form-based code I think gives us a catalyst to contribute positively to the change that is inevitable for our town and and to really build on the sense of community that we see here tonight so it's a hot topic for sure thanks for everybody's input I think one of the many themes that came out but probably the number one is the building height and maybe this is a question for you Matt is we call it an attic other folks are calling on another story I just I'm still looking for like more clarification on other options of what that may look like for someone that might not use it as a residential space or if they do if you could just speak a little bit more about that I know we've kind of beat that ball around the room a little bit already but I think it would be good for folks here again so thinking about what would happen in that top most story of a pitch through building if you go into the building uses section and if you give me a second I'll give you the number it's sorry building functions on section seven take a look at the use table you'll see the allowed uses by story in the various designations on the regulating plan and there are some on the table that have a P which means they're permitted you know things like residential and lodging and in some zones there's an X meaning not permitted you see that for some of the other commercial uses like amusement and recreation and some are restricted like daycare meaning there's there's some conditions that might be applied to that in that case so you know the first thing is there are some rules about what happens in those upper stories although I don't know from the street whether you would really be able to perceive what was happening in those upper stories and it shouldn't be driving the design of the building the form standards should be driving the design of the building but architecturally what's happening is regardless of the roof pitch that's used and the code does allow a range of roof pitch you're building some kind of dormers to house that space if you want to make it occupiable and we have some standards for those dormers and the way they interact with the roof pitch to make sure that they are truly dormers and not sort of pretend dormers on a wall that's masquerading as a roof which is sometimes what you get is I think when people get concerned that that attic story is just going to be an extra story pretending to be a roof there's some really strong standards in here that prevent that so wherever the board might land on maximum height if you allow that attic story it makes it worth someone's while to build the pitched roof that's part of that uniquely Williston theme running through this code while also you know making sure that what happens up there is a is a pleasant design that's harmonious with the building okay thanks can I ask I have one more don't know who brought it up earlier but it doesn't matter so the kind of the target of the focuses of this form basically is tap corners that's the population the populated area that we want to consider what about landowners that are beyond that district that potential developers might be wanting to approach them because they're not getting what they want they are I'm sure the planning commission has probably talked about that I just wondered if you share some of that conversation sure so you know when you look outside the boundaries of the growth center we have some districts that allow some commercial uses obviously we have a two very large districts that allow industrial uses we do have still some sort of traditional retailing allowed at a smaller scale than taft corners up in the gateway north along route 2a towards the Essex line some travel services allowed under more conventional zoning around exit 12 and portions of essentially the what was once the big box zone the Home Depot and Walmart zone on the other side of I-89 so there's opportunity for more traditional forms of retail commercial development outside of the borders but in limited places and on the residential side really once you get out of the form-based code overlay zones the residential form drops to the RCD the residential zoning district with a maximum density of five units per acre predominantly you know what we used to see entirely single family home pattern now we see single family along with duplex triplex even some fours and sixes in some of the newly proposed developments in town much more of a two-story pattern even though we allow 36 feet of height in those other residential districts we have yet to see it almost ever and then of course you have your very small and highly regulated historic village which is a mixed-use district as well in which if you saw the signs my staff put up through the village over the fourth another area we're focusing some planning attention on very soon thank you does that answer your question yeah yeah sort of for now okay so other the building height is it now we look at the maximum building height is 52 feet that's correct and that I didn't understand the term it includes that goes to the roof from what sideway from the average finished grade so we look at where the dirt hits the foundation and we take the average spot where the dirt hits the foundation and we measure up from there so if you imagine a building on this on a slope you know you go halfway down the slope and you measure from there but sometimes what we see in that average finished grade is you've got your sidewalk down here and then you've got kind of a mound covering part of the foundation and then you're measuring from the top of the mound to the roof so from the sidewalk you may be looking at a 52 foot building but it really from the sidewalk level is feeling more like a 58 foot building because of that grading so now we're going to measure from the sidewalk under the form and measuring from the sidewalk the new the new maximum height is 64 feet in the in the most intense zones the new maximum height 64 feet it's to the that top plate that's where the fifth story ends okay and that and when we say when people say sixth story sixth floor that's really only if you carve dormers into the the roof it doesn't add to the 64 feet well you know you do come up on top of the 64 okay it's your roof pitch needs to start at that 64 foot height or sooner and then you're allowed to put something in that roof area so if the roof if the pitch starts at 64 feet what's the top of the roof a roof and how deep a building a very steep very tall pointy roof could add you know 40 or 50 feet above that 64 if somebody really went nuts but they're only going to be able to create occupiable space in that attic story you know 64 plus 12 or so but is is there anything in the in this code that would stop them from building a crazy roof that would be make it so that from the sidewalk it's a hundred feet tall just the maximum 1412 pitch so it's you know you couldn't build a church steeple under this code but there is not currently an absolute limit on height beyond the limit of the maximum height of the building plus the steepest pitch of roof that you could put on it and you said these are these would be in the most intense areas can you without without acronyms and colors and maps sure can you give me a description are we talking like behind Hanifords are we talking on the other side of Walmart where there's an empty field what what are we talking about so around maple tree place around Hanifords and down into taff corners park by bed bath and beyond et cetera and in the portions of Blair park that are closer to routes to and to a and coming around towards Finney crossing where night and day lane and Zephyr road begin to come in from route to a but only for the first 50 or 60 feet you have that taller building frontage so along your major state highways and in your more intensely developed areas in the taff corners core and then going down the hill towards Gardner supply and then um the reason I'm asking this question is going to be kind of obvious I think but the some of the some of the sentiment on front porch forums seemed to me anyway to imply that if we didn't if we didn't pass this form based code that the land that's open now will stay open and nobody will be able to develop it is that is that accurate no what would be accurate what's what would be accurate is the lands within this overlay district are in one of four different current zoning districts including the taff corner zoning district which is the most intense district in town it's where we do allow the 52 foot building height we then flank that on one side with mixed-use commercial the big box zone and then on the other with mixed-use residential essentially the cottonwood crossing zone and up by the highway we have a little bit of the gateway zone that pokes down towards this overlay district and so in in the predominance of this area we just have a a maximum 52 foot height three to four story buildings allowed vague intentions towards wanting pitch roofs but an intention in the bylaw that's been in actual decisions that's all I have for now thank you okay anyone else just a few people had you know touched on it and certainly it's something you know when when formulating the energy committee and things like that we've talked about but you know I think it would be helpful to just just briefly provide an overview of what the the thought is of how this will increase you know the incentive for affordable housing and also for more environmentally friendly you know builds sure so on the affordability metric the most the most basic principle here is that more dwelling units share in the high cost of lambs so you can distribute the cost of the parcel the building is going on across more dwelling units and there's just an economy of scale that happens when you do that it makes a more efficient use of land and sets the stage for the potential creation of more affordable housing as I've said several times and as is reflected in the overarching issues section of the Taft Corners vision document there is more work to do on affordable housing and and as I've mentioned recently we are teed up in the unified program work plan with the CCRPC Regional Planning Commission to begin the work that would allow the town to consider requiring an affordable component in some new developments this fiscal year so we're going to be kicking off some more work around affordability on the efficiency side you know an environmental benefit the energy efficiency gains that you get when dwelling units share you know their floor with the roof of another unit and their side walls with the side walls of another unit are really significant on the order of more than doubling the efficiency of that unit as compared to building it as a single family home so thermal efficiency for heating and cooling really changes when units start to share walls and floors with one another the other part is of course where and how you locate those units when you put them in a place that's walkable remember about 20 percent of our trips happen because we're going from home to work the other 80 percent are split fairly evenly between trips we make because we need to like going to the grocery store and trips we make because we want to like going to see a friend when you have a compact walkable community you still might have to jump in a car to go to work hopefully you can jump on a bus and go to work because we've created a community that's in a situation that can support real transit but you're going to be able to walk to the grocery store and Taft Corners it's one of the great things about Taft Corners is it's really easy to get to a grocery store and one of the most exciting things about working in Williston these last 14 years is yes there was a horse farm where Finney Crossing is now and now there's Finney Crossing and now on my way to the evening meetings I come to I wait for people to cross route two with grocery bags because they're walking back from Shaw's they've made that trip without jumping in a car that trip has become far less carbon intensive because they live near a grocery store I saw people tonight under an umbrella at Folinos eating outside together maybe they all drove there maybe they didn't maybe they maybe they met up there because somebody lived at Finney again the opportunity to shift what have traditionally always been obligated to be car trips into bike walk or bus trips is really leveraged when you create a compact walkable community in a place like this so I think we're probably at the closing point for tonight on this discussion thank you all so much for coming this is not a closed discussion at this point if you have more input for select board please feel free to email to Eric he will get all the information to us and if you have questions that come up send those to Eric as well and he will forward that to Matt and my planning staff so thank you very much and we're almost at the end of our meeting thank you sure any other business spring forward tonight that was enough going going then we are adjourned