Home & Garden Basil is great for eating, preserving, flavor
Dynamic succession POSTAL CUSTOMER
Forest management helps build diversity
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #217 CONCORD, NH ECRWSSEDDM
Page 8 Page 16
May 18, 2023
Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
Charlotte begins second round of bylaw overhaul
Hat trick plus one
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY AL FREY
Peter Gilliam outmaneuvers an Essex player during a 7-6 win on May 12. Gilliam had four goals. More sports on page 10.
Charlotte is once again beginning the hefty task of overhauling its land use regulations, this time with a focus on removing hurdles to development while placing an emphasis on re-envisioning the East and West villages into a dense, walkable district. After being awarded a $13,600 bylaw modernization grant in February to help increase housing and affordability in the two village centers, the Chittenden County Regional Planning has created a detailed roadmap of work that is expected to take the next 18 months, in time for a Town Meeting Day vote in March 2025. Last November, the town received an audit of its zoning bylaws from the regional commission that highlighted a slew of obstacles to new housing and development in the village centers, “some of which don’t really seem to be tied to anything logical,” town planner Larry Lewack said, emphasizing the 5-acre zoning requirements in both village centers. Over 90 percent of new homes built in Charlotte in recent years have been constructed in the rural zoning district, although the town plan calls for new development
POWER SALAD, Anyone? #getblissbee
thecitizenvt.com
Fresh Greens, Tofu, Roasted Carrots & Broccoli, Hemp Seeds
to be focused in village centers. But a lack of onsite septic capacity, restrictive bylaws and insufficient water supply pose significant constraints to development of any kind. “While it may look like the focus in this audit is opening things up for development, I would state that that’s really because the existing village standard centers are really rural in nature,” Taylor Newton, a senior planner with Chittenden County Regional Planning, said. “Having a lot with 5 acres for example in a village, there are no villages in Vermont that have that as a typical minimum lot size. We see that much more in a rural residential situation.” The town matched the bylaw grant by 20 percent raising the total funding to $17,000, and the regional commission, through the Unified Planning Work Program, plans to leverage those funds into $85,000. The draft work plan, which included this project in Charlotte, was approved in April and is expected to receive final approval this week. Once that happens the town will jump immediately into finding a consultant this summer. See BYLAW on page 11
Real Food, Real Easy Williston & South Burlington
GetBlissBee.com