Conservation Action Plan Underway
by Dorrice Hammer,
September 23, 2010, page 5.....

The Charlotte Planning Commission met with the Selectboard and other town boards September 16 to discuss the development of a Conservation Action Plan (CAP). After reviewing the history of town conservation planning and implementation as well as statutory and case law, the discussion centered on what the Town has and what we don’t have, i.e., mapping and data. The group exchanged ideas on the primary needs for this plan, such as providing applicants with a clear sense as to what will be required of them during the development review process; providing the Planning Commission with clear direction as to how to protect resources or minimize undue adverse impacts on areas of high public value; and providing helpful information to conservation organizations such as the Charlotte Land Trust. The Planning Commission will meet to distill what the CAP will include as its vision and problem statement. The 2008 Town Plan will be examined to see what is missing and what still applies. The combined group will re-convene after the Planning Commission has completed its summary.
Selectboard Chair Charles Russell said after the meeting that it is important to involve all members of the community in determining what areas of town are of high public value. He said that the maps and districts that are developed become regulatory, and can cause the permit process to be expensive and lengthy for landowners.