Plouffe Lane Raises Questions of Accessibility and Parking
by Edd Merritt
1/14/10, Page 5

How many of us remember turning off Carpenter Road onto Plouffe Lane in order to dump our garbage? It wasn’t that long ago that the Charlotte landfill was closed and the lane began to provide access of another sort – this time, to a series of recreational trails running off its north end. Because the property lies within the Rural Zoning District, which limits the use of the land to, among other things, recreational facilities, access for that purpose came before the Planning Commission last Thursday. The Town of Charlotte has applied to have the area designated a “recreational trail facility” with parking area, kiosk and trail markers.
Plouffe Lane is owned by the town and is part of the parcel under consideration. It does, however, divide into a driveway that serves the Beldoch property. At the meeting, Greg Beldoch raised several questions about the facility’s layout. He said that he is not contesting the use of the trails for recreation. He stated he wants to make certain that access to them and the parking area do not interfere with existing wildlife corridors and animal activity. Citing recommendations from previous studies, he would like to see the parking space be reconfigured slightly in order to move out of what he says is a lane of connectivity for certain species. He also believes there may be more space than necessary for vehicles to park and that placing seasonal restrictions on the trails may help maintain the area’s natural resources. The matter is currently under litigation based on Beldoch’s appeal of a previous decision.
After a lengthy discussion of what steps, if any, the commission should take at this time, it agreed in the end to make a site visit and continue discussion at its February 4 meeting.