TownBites,
by Edd Merritt, Dorrice Hammer and Nancy Wood,
June 17, 2010, pages 4 and 5.....
East Charlotte Work Groups, Should Cafes be Allowed?, Flood Hazard Regs, Mobile Drop-off Center

Work groups are formed for East Charlotte planning.
Let’s get cracking!
That’s what two-thirds of those who answered a survey on East Charlotte Village planning said.
Four work groups have been established that will meet at least once over the summer so that they are ready to have something to present to the public in the fall. The groups and their members are as follows:
• Transitions and Patterns
Charged with defining the limits of the East Village and determining the village gateways.
Members: Jim Donovan, Marty Illick, Walter Judge, Phyl Lary and Beth Merritt
• Natural Resources
Charged with mapping and understanding the natural resources of East Charlotte.
Members: Stephany Haase, Larry and Linda Hamilton, Wendy Roth
• Uses
Charged with conducting a census of people and buildings; exploring uses of existing buildings, the prospect of performance zoning, utilization of the Grange Hall, ways of creating agriculture-based jobs, the advisability of creating a local investment entity and the possibility of expanding commercial enterprises.
Members: Trina Bianchi, Eunice Froeliger, Clark Hinsdale III, Heather Manning, Charlie Pughe, Nancy Severance, Robert Silverstein, Carrie Spear, Don Welch.
• Transportation
Charged with looking into the development of walking and bicycle paths and ways to calm traffic in the Village.
Members: Bill Fraser-Harris, Edd Merritt and Molly Roland.
The work groups are still open to new members. If you would like to volunteer, contact Dean Bloch at the Town Hall or join the group of your choice whose meeting schedules will appear in The Charlotte News.

Should Cafés be Allowed?
Where do we go from here with rural regs? When is a restaurant not a restaurant, a tea room not a tea room?
According to the majority of people at the June 3 Planning Commission work session, it happens when these entities try to sprout wings in Charlotte.
A standing-room-only crowd gathered in Town Hall to help the commission understand how townspeople think the Charlotte planning regulations can be made less cumbersome for businesses hoping to locate here. Catherine Hughes stated it directly saying, “Charlotte has a horrible reputation for business.” Julie Shea said that she feels the Simpkins’ proposal to add a tearoom/café to their Berry Farm Stand merely adds a related use to an existing agricultural one. Her husband, Robert, was curious as to how the tearoom differed from what has come to exist at Pizza on Earth with its outside picnic tables, noting that it, too, is outside the commercial zone. According to Zoning Assistant Gloria Warden, the difference is its lack of indoor seating which would turn it into a restaurant/café.
As regulations stand, commercial enterprise is allowed only in certain village areas, and most of Charlotte is zoned “rural,” including the Berry Farm and the majority of land along Route 7. This was done with the intent to maintain the town’s rural character beyond the two districts with higher density, the west and east villages.
Lisa Gaujac from the Old Lantern said that an important part of attracting customers in Vermont is making the business visible. Now we are limiting that to the village districts,” she said, and she would like to see a way of expanding it without damaging Charlotte’s appeal. She asked, in this regard, whether changes to town regulations could focus on agricultural uses or another subset of zoning rather than the full breadth of land-use, feeling that broad changes would take too long to negotiate, and we would lose business applicants as a result of the lengthy process.
Brad Simpkins, owner of the Berry Farm, says he hopes to promote through his teahouse “local agriculture, sustainability and community.”
Planning Chair Jeff McDonald said the commissioners heard people’s concerns and that they would review the regulations, paying careful attention to the use of language and changing it to address needs that were being expressed. They would then call another meeting to discuss the changes.
Throughout the evening commissioners reminded the audience that while many of their suggestions focused on positive aspects of commercial growth in Charlotte, the planners had to look into a broad range of potential results before amending the regulations.

Flood Hazard regulation changes reviewed.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing June 3 to receive comments on the proposed amendments to update provisions in Land Use Regulations. Charlotte is required to submit updates regulating development within the flood hazard district in order to enable residents to be eligible for national flood insurance coverage. A summary of proposed edits to the Land Use Regulations was discussed, item by item, and input from residents noted. The Planning Commission will clarify some wording, then submit the Regulations to the Selectboard. The board will hold another public hearing and finalize the amendments, which will then be presented to the town for approval by Australian ballot on November 2, 2010.

Drop-Off Center May Go Mobile.
Tom Moreau, general manager of the Chittenden Solid Waste District, (CSWD) has agreed to look during July and August into the possibility of a mobile unit as an alternative to the Charlotte drop-off center proposed at Town Meeting. The idea was suggested at a Selectboard meeting last month, and both Moreau and Stephen Brooks, Charlotte’s representative on the CSWD commission, said they would follow up. A mobile unit could be used in more than one community and would not require a permanent site. Moreau said the idea is appealing for Chittenden County as well as a possible model for the rest of the state.