DRB upholds Vermont Commons decision
Chea Waters Evans
Vermont Commons School will be allowed to continue with plans to develop property on Spear Street into an outdoor education center. The Development Review Board heard a request for reconsideration of decision at their February 2 meeting; the request was filed by Sarah Thompson, who lives next door to the property and shares a driveway with the school. The now-defunct Zoning Board of Adjustment made the initial ruling in December, and the DRB is now tasked with any remaining or future business regarding the project.
Thompson requested that the DRB revisit the decision because she said several aspects of it needed to be “reconsidered, clarified and amended in order to avoid unintended negative consequences.” The DRB uses the town’s Land Use Regulations to determine whether or not those consequences exist or are possible. In a letter to the DRB, Thompson listed her issues with the permit as it stands, which included questions about who is responsible for parking signage, when events should be notified, and whether or not allowing the school to use the property until after sunset infringed on her ability to enjoy riding her horses.
While the DRB deliberated on the request for consideration, Chair Lane Morrison said they should “consider the letter as written under the terms of the LURs.” As the board went through her concerns, they were under agreement that they had all been considered when the ZBA heard the initial application. (Morrison was the chair of the ZBA when the decision was made.)
The DRB voted unanimously to uphold the decision; Thompson has thirty days from the Feb. 2 deliberation to appeal. In an email to The Charlotte Bridge, she wrote, “I am concerned about how the DRB runs its meetings. I felt that the process was unclear and I was disappointed that I was not allowed to share my evidence. I think there was some clarification on my concerns provided during the DRB's discussion.”
Regarding an appeal, she said, “I'm not sure what my next step will be.”
Charlotte to spend pandemic relief money on broadband expansion
High-speed internet is coming to many Charlotte households that have not had access.
By Dom Minadeo
The Charlotte Selectboard will spend nearly $45,000 of its $1.2 million in federal pandemic relief funds, otherwise known as ARPA, toward a fiber optic project with Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom, or WCVT. The project will allow for 219 homes in Charlotte to gain access to high speed internet, according to discussions at a January 24 Selectboard meeting.
ARPA provides pandemic-related aid to state and local governments. The act is designed to help struggling businesses, maintain essential public services, and make investments toward a strong recovery from the pandemic, according to Vermont League of Cities and Towns.
The town of Charlotte has about $1.2 million to spend, which must fall under one of three “buckets,” as Selectboard Chair Jim Faulkner refers to them — expenditures relating to COVID, water and sewage facilities, and broadband.
WCVT is trying to expand its fiber capabilities to more of the state. Replacing copper wire with fiber optics allows for access to much faster internet speeds as well as increased reliability, according to WCTV’s website.
“Our plan to get broadband to the last mile of every premises is something that is good for Vermont, good for the people of Vermont and good for the citizens of Charlotte,” Representative Mike Yantachka said during the January 24 Selectboard meeting.
The push for the fiber optic project stems from the broadband issue in Vermont emphasized by the pandemic, Yantachka said.
“There are many, many families we saw during this COVID outbreak that were unable to access the resources that were available for remote lessons to the schools because the state did not have adequate service,” Yantachka said. “If it's working from home or kids trying to do their schoolwork, it's inadequate.”
Yantachka and others who were in favor of the spending argued that high speed internet is of a necessity in the modern age.
“It's not just that it's going to be benefiting 219 households,” Selectboard member Matt Krasnow said. “It's going to be bringing them up to the standard that the rest of the households in Charlotte already enjoyed, which is high-speed broadband internet, which is a critical piece of modern-day living in the pandemic.”
Selectboard member Lewis Mudge also pushed hard for the spending to pass during a meeting earlier in January, arguing that time is of the essence. Mudge cited supply chain issues and the process of lining up contractors as reasons for acting fast.
“If we can get in line, we'll be just after Bolton. And we'll have it ready to lay this year,” Mudge said.
The town of Bolton committed half of their ARPA funding toward broadband expansion, according to a Vermont Biz Article. Other towns are expected to commit to fiber optics as well, which is another reason to act fast, according to Krasnow.
The fiber optic project is roughly 3.6% of the federal money given, Krasnow said. This leaves the Selectboard with plenty of funds to allocate in the coming months.
The motion passed unanimously in a vote by the five Selectboard members.
Editor’s note: I’m really excited to have Dom Minadeo on board for the semester. He’s a University of Vermont student who is joining me from the Community News Service, which is a project of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.
The Community News Service is a student-powered partnership between UVM and community newspapers across Vermont. They match student reporters with professional editors to provide critical reporting to trusted sources of local news.