Town Bites
by Edd Merritt

Planning Commission Discusses Petition to Modify Land Use at Route 7 Intersection.
The hearing process on Bid Spear’s petition to change the zoning on the east side of Route 7, south of Church Hill Road allowing for retail and service businesses as permitted uses and also reducing the setback requirements from Route 7, was completed prior to last Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting. However, the commission invited Spear back to discuss the recommendations it would present to the Selectboard. Much of the discussion focused on clarifying specific wording and on keeping modifications within the intent of the Town Plan. The Selectboard will determine whether to put the request before voters in November.

Modifications to Land Use Regulations are unlikely to see the Ballot Until Spring.
Confronted with four and one half pages of suggested changes to the Town’s Land Use Regulations, the consensus of the Planning Commission members at Thursday’s meeting was that approval of revisions to this document are not likely to come to a vote until next March.

Classified ad: Mallard Family Desires Summer Roost in Exchange for Eggs.
So, what pops to mind when you see three mallards under your car in the driveway? You immediately think eggs, right? It’s the natural consequence of drake and hen gathering. However, being on the male side of the gender equation, I asked when I saw them, “What makes the Subaru, not the Toyota, the vehicle of choice?” Better shade? More conducive to fertilization? Cleaner exhaust? Dad owns a share in the company, perhaps. Well, the egg dropped under my Forester in the middle of last week. The ducks didn’t linger long after mom’s deposit. They only stayed for about twenty minutes before collecting their pin feathers and heading down Hinesburg Road. Apparently, they didn’t have to travel far to find greener pastures, because I received a call on Sunday from Carrie Spear at the East Charlotte store saying the neighbors, a few houses west of us, had these three mallards camped at their place, and the dogs were not happy about it. Did she know a good game warden or, better yet, a mallard maven that needed to add to her collection? Last I heard, Carrie’s checking into the matter. By the way, I retrieved and saved the egg for several days to see whether it might bear a coot. It didn’t, and I finally cracked it open to discover that it had not been fertilized so far as I could tell. A sideline to the tale; when I told Paula Joslin in her office at Eating Well my egg story, she got misty eyed and motherly wanting to care for the unhatched offspring. Paula, believe me you’d still be sitting on it.

Selectboard Hears Update on Route 7 Project
Ken Upmal, project manager for the revitalization of Route 7 between Ferrisburgh and Charlotte spoke to the Selectboard and a gathering of about 15 townspeople Monday night, updating them on the status and timeline for the project. The work spans roughly three miles along the Route 7 corridor from the Ferrisburgh town line running north to the flea market in Charlotte. It includes widening the roadway, clearing right of way in order to do so and providing an undercut connecting trails on either side of the road near the Berry Farm in Charlotte. He said there were approximately 46 or 47 properties along the right of way, about a third of which belonged to new owners since the department of transportation’s last update.
Last fall members of his staff visited the property owners, which he felt proved well worth the effort. Many of their concerns had not been met, he discovered. Relocating utilities required removing some trees and trimming others and provided a major assessment before work could begin. He estimated that the project would start in the summer of 2011 and run through 2015. He spoke of “rubblelizing” the roadway as had been done in New York and Michigan as a way of upgrading the surface. Members of this audience seemed most concerned with gaining assurance that the underpass would be included in the Agency of Transportation’s plans and budget. Upmal hesitated in assuring people unequivocally, but did say that costs for the underpass were included in its estimate for the whole project. He said the secretary wanted assurance that the town was fully prepared to complete the recreational paths before committing state funds to the underpass and finalizing right of way plans.
In response to audience members assurances that rec paths and trails were important elements in the town’s plan and “more than a recreational amenity,” Upmal said that it should be noted that the underpass does not form a necessary part of the project’s primary purpose, which is helping people up the highway, and his department wanted strong assurance from the town of its importance before plans are put irrevocably in place.