Selectboard sets public hearing dates on O’Brien petition
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
The Shelburne Selectboard will hold two community forums on the O’Brien Brothers’ petition to expand the town’s sewer service area to build 350 new homes.
The selectboard had been working for the last two months in closed session to draft an agreement that outlines requirements and limitations on the land the
development company wants to develop.
That document became public last week.
“To understand the rationale, to debate the merits, I just thought, let’s do that in a completely different setting, where we can just focus on the O’Brien proposal and talk about it as a town,” select-
See PETITION on page 12
Settlement agreement reached for controversial development in Shelburne
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Developers have scaled back a controversial development after reaching a settlement with the neighbors who opposed the project.
According to town manager Matt Lawless, the selectboard approved the agreement that allows for a total of 63 units — a maximum of 48 units in multifamily buildings, plus seven single family homes, eight for sale or
rental in the mixed-use commercial building that fronts Route 7.
The original 115-unit development proposal by Shelburne chiropractors Stephen Brandon and Shelley Crombach first came before the town’s development review board in 2021, and quickly generated controversy among residents who argued that the development, and ultimately the zoning regulations in place, allowed too
See SETTLEMENT on page 10
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Our intrepid photographer explores Lake Champlain on his kayak.
Protect Our Wildlife gets grant to help coexist with beavers
The Maine Community Foundation has awarded the Vermontbased Protect Our Wildlife advocacy group a $40,000 grant to promote beaver coexistence.
The nonprofit Protect Our Wildlife works to educate the public about the importance of beavers through presentations, distributing informational brochures at events, testifying to the Legislature, fielding inquiries from landowners and municipalities and funding the installation of flow devices to protect against beaver damage.
The group has funded tens of thousands of dollars across the
state to protect beavers, wetlands and infrastructure. It is looking for the public’s help to identify locations that may benefit from flow devices, wrapping trees and other coexistence practices.
“Beavers are a keystone species who create wetlands that provide habitat for other wildlife and that also help combat the effects of climate change,” said John Aberth, a board member and wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in beavers. “Funding non-lethal solutions to human-beaver conflicts allows beavers to coexist and continue their hard work that benefits all of us.”
Beavers may help mitigate some climate change risks, including regulating stream flows, he said.
“We’re honored to work with Skip Lisle from Beaver Deceivers to address the needs of both private landowners and municipalities who are tired of the trap-killrepeat loop, which never solves the problem,” said Jennifer Lovett, another board member, conservation biologist and author of “Beavers Away!”
For those interested in learning more or applying for funding, email info@protectourwildlifevt. org.
Learn how you can help increase Shelburne’s stock of housing
The Shelburne Housing Committee will offer a workshop focusing on accessory dwelling units and duplexes on Monday, Sept. 16, in Shelburne’s town hall in front of the Pierson Library.
The free educational workshop is meant to share information and tips about how to add an accessory dwelling unit to an existing single-family dwelling, and how to convert a single-family home into a duplex.
“The shortage of available housing in Shelburne — to either rent or buy — is the number one challenge we face as a community,” Pam Brangan, chair of the Shelburne Housing Committee,
said. “Accessory dwelling units and duplexes are one way to help address the shortage by adapting a single-family home to provide an additional, separate living space. We encourage any Shelburne resident who might want to put a toe in the water and learn how to pursue building an accessory dwelling units or duplex to join us and hear what’s involved.”
Dinner and social time start at 5:30 p.m., with the program running from 6-7:30 p.m.
Speakers will include Brangan; Aaron DeNamur, director of planning and zoning in Shelburne; Kelly Stoddard-Poor, director of Outreach, AARP
Vermont; Tom Wilson, Mountain Tree Construction; and a representative from Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development. Several Shelburne residents will also share their experiences regarding accessory dwelling units.
Residents are also invited to stop by the housing committee’s information table on Shelburne Day on Saturday, Aug. 17.
Fall youth soccer
The Shelburne Recreation Soccer League is for students entering grades one through six in the fall. Registration closes Friday, Aug. 2.
All teams will be assigned one practice night during the week and will compete in games on Saturdays. Registration Fee is $55. The rec department can no longer guarantee uniform sizes if purchasing a new one. The uniform fee is $25. A uniform shirt is required. It’s the same reversible jersey as past years. Please order a shirt when registering if your child does not already have one.
Uniform orders placed after the June 14 deadline aren’t guaranteed preferred size.
Visit shelburnevt.org/160/ parks-recreation for online registration and complete details on all programs and special events.
This summer, hundreds of educators are learning with Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools, advancing their knowledge of education for sustainability and taking what they learn back to their classrooms. In one program this July, local, national and international educators visited Shelburne Community School teacher Sam Nelson, where he offered inspiration through a design-thinking activity.
Above: Educators from Nepal, France and Washington, D.C., engaged in a design-thinking activity at Shelburne Community School.
Below: Educators at the Coach Barn, home of the Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools.
Shelburne Community School teacher Sam Nelson.
Public investment in child care is WORKING.
THANK YOU LAWMAKERS FOR IMPROVING SCHOOL READINESS, GETTING PARENTS BACK TO WORK, AND MAKING OUR COMMUNITIES STRONGER!
LEARN MORE ABOUT ACT 76 AND PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN CHILD CARE:
Bottom:
Sustainable schools
PHOTOS BY ANDREA ESTEY
CRIME & COURTS
Shelburne Police Blotter: July 22-28
Total reported incidents: 82
Arrests: 1
Medical emergencies: 26
Pending investigations: 5
July 22 at 1:28 p.m., someone called the police station to complain about an officer. While speaking with the officer in charge, the caller asked his name and then hung up. A short time later, multiple callers reported receiv-
ing a call from a Shelburne officer saying they had an outstanding warrant. Police warned that they don’t make such calls, and the department is investigating.
July 22 at 5:02 p.m., someone dropped off a stray dog they found running loose on Shelburne Road. The animal was
See BLOTTER on page 13
Police nab Florida fugitive wanted for exploitation
MIKE DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT
A Florida man wanted on charges of exploitation of an elderly person and grand theft auto was arrested at a Shelburne homeless shelter as a fugitive from justice, authorities said.
Robert P. Mims, 41, was found at Harbor Place on Shelburne Road on July 25 by Shelburne police and the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff Dan Gamelin said the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
reached out to the department that Mims was in the Shelburne area. An investigation found Mims had been staying since December at Harbor Place, which provides temporary lodging for the homeless, Gamelin said.
Shelburne officer Jon Marcoux took the lead on the case, and officers from both departments took Mims into custody without incident about 3:15 p.m.
Mims was lodged at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town, awaiting extradition to Florida.
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Woman gets no jail time for gun buy
MIKE DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT
A federal judge has placed a Jeffersonville mother under supervision by the U.S. Probation Office for two years as part for making an illegal gun purchase two years ago at a Chittenden County firearms store.
Tamira Lynn McKenna, 38, admitted in U.S. District Court in March that she lied about her drug use when she went to the Powderhorn Outdoor Sports Center in Williston to buy a Smith & Wesson 9-mm pistol in March 2022.
Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford also imposed a time served sentence for the felony count, although she had not since her indictment.
Federal sentencing guidelines, which are advisory, recommended that McKenna spend between 18 and 24 months in prison because her conduct involved three or more guns, court records showed.
McKenna also returned to the gun store in January 2023 and attempted to buy two more 9-mm pistols, but the sale never went through. Law enforcement found McKenna the next day and
she admitted to an addiction to cocaine and heroin, court records stated.
McKenna said one of the two guns was for her, but the other was for “Tim” or “J,” who had given her money to make the firearms purchase, court papers noted. She knew he was a convicted felon and that he sold illegal drugs, according to court records.
The actual gun buyer was from Connecticut and was known to sell cocaine and heroin/fentanyl, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Stendig said in his sentencing memo.
Both the defense and prosecution proposed that McKenna, who has two children, not get any jail time because she had taken responsibility since her arrest.
McKenna, who has struggled with drug addiction, sought treatment at Valley Vista in Vergennes in August 2023, Stendig said. McKenna also later had intensive outpatient treatment through the Howard Center.
Defense lawyer Lisa Shelkrot said McKenna is a devoted wife and mother, a lifelong Vermont resident and a hard worker. McKenna hopes to regain her
licensed nursing assistant license and resume her career. She had worked at Burlington Health and Rehab.
Shelkrot asked that the court not prevent her from regaining her LNA license.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with members of the Chittenden County Gun Violence Task Force, conducted a raid at the McKenna residence on Sand Hill Road on July 27, 2023.
Meanwhile, her husband, Jacob Daniel McKenna, 38, was also indicted on three felony counts of making false written statements to deceive licensed dealers in South Burlington and Williston to unlawfully obtain guns.
In each case he knew the firearms were being bought in his name, but were for somebody else, records show.
Jacob McKenna has pleaded guilty in May to one count for the illegal purchase of a Ruger LCP Gen 2 pistol at the Powderhorn in October 2022, records showed.
Under the plea agreement, two other charges for false statements will be dropped at sentencing.
A New Voice for Vermont
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There are changes we can make right now to improve the situation, and with 30 years of experience as a physician, I would like to help.
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I ask for your support and your vote in the August 13 primary.
Website: louismeyers.com | Email: louismeyers1@gmail.com
OPINION
Amend town plan first to accommodate O’Brien project
Guest Perspective
Jon Cocina, Mark Pennington and Erika and Thomas Schramm
Recently, the Selectboard asked the Shelburne Forward Together task forces to comment on the O’Brien Brothers’ petition to extend the sewer service area to their property between Irish Hill and Thomas roads, and on their conceptual plan for new housing development in that location. Our task forces were formed last fall to advance the top three Shelburne community priorities articulated during last fall’s Shelburne Forward Together forum: affordable housing, conserving open space, and walking and biking.
If you are not aware, the O’Brien Brothers proposal represents a major change for Shelburne. In meetings in May and June, O’Brien presented a conceptual proposal of close to 350 new units in a portion of town that is currently zoned rural. The presentation showed a diverse range of housing types of different sizes and price points, including affordable housing as defined by local ordinances.
In a July 11 letter to the Selectboard, after careful consideration, the Conserve Open Lands and Wildlife and the Walk and Bike Connectivity and Pedestrian Safety groups informed the selectboard that we oppose extension of sewer service to this property without a formal modification of the town plan and comprehensive townwide review of appropriate locations for future growth.
We expressed our view that Vermont’s Home Act does not override the town’s authority to determine the boundaries of its sewer service area, and that formal modification of the town plan would be required for the town to grant the O’Brien peti-
tion. While we support the need for housing in Shelburne, and especially the need for affordable housing, we expressed concern that the board may grant approval without comprehensive review of where growth is most appropriate, without careful study of where sewer extensions can best be accommodated, and without a clear plan for how to handle similar extension requests.
At the June 23 Selectboard meeting, members described the legal issues we identified in our letter as “gray,” and issued a draft pre-development agreement with O’Brien Brothers. The agreement sets conditions for approval that both the town and the developer consider acceptable given legal uncertainties. After limited but spirited discussion, the selectboard gave public notice of two town-hall-style meetings where it intends to present its thinking and relevant facts about fiscal impact and wastewater capacity. The meetings are scheduled for Aug. 18 and Sept. 4.
We are reviewing the draft agreement and preparing a detailed response. In the meantime, we want to share the key points of our letter to the selectboard. (Watch the conversation at the meeting at mediafactory.org/shelburne, starting at 1:15.)
Note that town planner Aaron DeNamur believes that Act 250 will apply to this project. These are the key points sent to the selectboard:
• The state’s HOME Act does not obligate municipalities to update sewer service ordinances. Municipalities have separate authority to define their service areas based on capacity, rates of anticipated growth and operational considerations.
• Shelburne’s current sewer allocation ordinance and service area map have been in place since 2001 and were adopted after a thorough and inclusive process involving the selectboard, planning commission
and other town stakeholders. The property under consideration is outside the mapped service area.
A 2001 article about the sewer ordinance says Shelburne consciously excluded certain land from the sewer district and shows a picture of the O’Brien property as an example (bit.ly/4c2bACH).
• Given the town’s finite wastewater treatment capacity, extending sewer now for a large new development may limit the amount, locations and types of housing that can be built in the future.
• The town plan limits the board’s discretion to make changes in the sewer use ordinance. It directs town officials to “continue the Town’s policy of not extending sewer beyond the boundaries of the current sewer service area.”
• While the town plan acknowledges development will occur in rural areas, the proposal is starkly different from the plan’s vision. It describes the possibility of “rural hamlets” that “avoid undue impacts on scenic and natural features in the rural area, including but not limited to productive agricultural and forestry soils.”
• We disagree with the town attorney’s statement that the town plan’s policy against extending sewer service is moot because a manhole exists on the property. Drawings submitted by O’Brien show that the manhole was installed in connection with the Rivercrest development to the north of Irish Hill Road, not to facilitate service to the separate parcel to the south. We believe the town’s allowance of the manhole did not represent a considered judgment that it was appropriate to extend service. That would require a formal town plan modification.
• What happens with this development will set a precedent. It will encourage other developers to claim they are entitled to
extension of sewer service simply because their properties are adjacent to areas served by water and sewer. Dealing with requests on a reactive basis without consistent criteria will yield haphazard results and encourage sprawl.
We do not oppose development on this parcel, even on a scale more intensive than allowed by current zoning. We understand the urgent need for housing, particularly affordable housing. We hope to engage the O’Briens to explore whether they can provide even more affordable housing than the draft agreement calls for.
We believe that selectboard’s framing of the decision on the O’Brien petition presents the public with an inaccurate choice between 375 units of housing (or as many as 500 if the town denies the petition and loses a legal challenge) and a small number of multi-million-dollar homes on 5-acre parcels. There is a wider range of options that can advance Shelburne’s priorities with gentler impacts on the town and natural environment.
We want the town to follow appropriate procedures, solicit more public input and facilitate discussion with the developer. We also want to make more people aware of what is happening so they have a chance to engage in the discussion. We hope you will attend the upcoming meetings to voice your opinion.
To learn more about Shelburne Forward Together, contact one of the co-chairs. Jon Cocina and Mark Pennington are community co-chairs of the Conserve Open Lands and Wildlife Habitat Task Force. Erika and Thomas Schramm are co-chairs of the Walk and Bike Connectivity and Pedestrian Safety Task Force. To read the full letter sent to the selectboard, go to bit.ly/3y2w8x8.
It’s time to commit to the soul of the Earth
To the Editor:
There is nothing material that can replace the strength we get from nature.
“If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred, and teach your children that it is sacred,” said Chief Seattle in 1854.
So, housing developments hold greater importance than our environment? Really? Don’t we all need a healthy environment?
A sewage project is in the works for 340-plus houses. Shelburne has 136 homes on the lake. Where is their sewage? Why isn’t the selectboard rushing to get sewer service to those homes? How long will we kick this can down the road?
A sewage system for 136 homes in Shelburne on the lake must be where we rush.
Water is being taken for granted and now we are taking land for granted. We use and abuse water and land. We are not kings and queens here on Earth. We share the earth.
“Beach closed until July 12 due to cyanobacteria or blue green algae” and “Due to phosphorus and milfoil in Lake Champlain, the beach is closed,” read the warnings.
Yes, farmers are partially responsible, but Shelburne alone has 136 homes on the lake and a nonexistent sewage system for most of these homes. What about the health of the lake and its aquatic life?
We see overdevelopment on Kennedy Drive in South Burlington. Is that what we want in Shelburne? Is that what we want in Vermont? Let’s slow down and think this through.
Our lake is a gift. Our land is a gift. Vermont’s natural resources have been long cared for and respected. Let’s take care of sewage issues beginning with homes on Lake Champlain.
Shelburne must do its part in cleaning the lake. That’s respect for water. Let’s
also honor the land, keeping adequate green space and space between homes in housing developments. Families, children, seniors and wildlife are important here. This is the Vermont way. We are nature’s voice. Let us commit to the soul of the Earth.
Doris Sage Shelburne
Former board member supports Ashooh
To the Editor:
I am writing in support of Mike Ashooh for state representative representing Shelburne and Saint George in the seat being vacated by Rep. Jessica Brumsted.
I will be voting for Ashooh in August, as I am confident in his policy making, respectful deliberation and the budgeting skills he has honed during his terms on the Shelburne Selectboard. During our service together, he and I worked to shepherd affordable housing into Shelburne, regenerate and grow the Shelburne Police Department and revise the town’s charter to include the local option tax, which is feeding the town’s vision for responsible, green growth.
Through these and other projects, his commitment to the environment was clear. (Did I mention he’s an avid biker, often biking to work at the University of Vermont and to selectboard meetings?)
Under Ashooh’s direction, the town formed the Climate and Energy Committee, and Shelburne is leading the way on lake health with the modernization of its wastewater processing facility. With his guidance, the town budget now includes the direction to purchase energy-efficient and electric vehicles and pursue modernization that improves the efficiency for Shelburne facilities.
Ashooh’s nuts-and-bolts experience working on the town’s budgeting process
Sidewalk Church Street Marketplace’s Sale
continued from page 7
is a critical part of why I believe he’s the best candidate for the job. He is familiar with compiling a wish list of items at the start of budget season, and then winnowing them down to achieve an effective, balanced and passable budget.
While on selectboard together, he and I often engaged in public deliberation over various topics. We did not always agree, but we did so in a respectful and effective way. I feel strongly that we need more people creating policy who are practiced at working across ideologies and through compromise.
Finally, I believe that he is running for this seat with the best interest of the community in mind. His campaign for state representative offers well-rounded, practiced experience to represent the voters in the community.
I hope you’ll join me in voting for Mike Ashooh for state representative in the primary on Aug. 13.
views with key stakeholders, analyze a survey of our supporters, complete a board and staff survey and hold a board retreat. In addition, an analysis of our financials was completed by Structural Integrity, and recommendations were given to the board. Combined, these sources helped drive the goals and objectives in our newly completed strategic plan.
Over the next five years, Lewis Creek Association will recommit to being a leading community-based organization working to protect and restore the ecological health of watersheds; inspire people to be active stewards of watershed communities, both natural and human; and strengthen our organizational capacity to accomplish the goals outlined in this strategic plan.
You can view the completed plan at lewiscreek.org/what-we-do.
This project has been funded wholly or in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
about on Shelburne Road in Burlington. Do you remember the concrete bottleneck of old?
What if we had more roundabouts like the ones around Montpelier? Studies have shown that roundabouts are safer than traditional stop-sign or traffic-signal-controlled intersections. They reduce delays, improve traffic flow and move traffic through an intersection more quickly. We could use these traffic circles to help the flow of vehicular traffic.
Champlain Rightway, an organization of community members, has proposed the creation of three roundabouts along the Champlain Parkway route, plus wider bike lanes and walking paths.
Finally, a third roundabout would be located where Pine Street ends at Queen City Park Road. The Pine Street “dead end” would have a major impact on people traveling to and from Burlington.
Last summer, along with a group of residents who live in Queen City Park in South Burlington, I stood at the corner of Pine Street and Queen City Park Road with a sign that read, “Pine Street DeadEnds Here.” We passed out flyers to inform motorists about the plan to turn Pine Street into a dead end to make way for the Champlain Parkway.
Lewis Creek Association completes strategic plan
To the Editor:
Over the last six months, Lewis Creek Association has been working to develop a strategic plan for the next five years.
With the help of Momentum Communications, we were able to complete inter-
Kate Kelly Program manager
Lewis Creek Association
How about roundabouts as a traffic solution?
To the Editor: I don’t know about you, but I’ve been whirling with ease through the new round-
One of these roundabouts would occur south of Curtis Lumber on Pine Street and send cars over to Battery Street on the waterfront. This re-routing of the Parkway is called the Railyard Enterprise Project and has been in the works for years. This route would steer cars away from the densely settled King and Maple neighborhood, avoiding disproportionate harm to low-income residents and people of color. This neighborhood is one of the most densely racially diverse communities in Vermont. The current project will result in a 37 percent increase in traffic in the Maple-King community.
According to the Champlain Parkway, a second roundabout would be in the south end of Burlington where City Market and Flynn Avenue meet.
Most didn’t know about the Champlain Parkway and said it would be a major disruption in their lives, asking, “What’s wrong with the city?”
I’m angry that we are building a highway to nowhere, using a plan that is decades old, has already seen the destruction of a thick green urban forest and cuts through a poor neighborhood in a time when we should know better.
The Parkway will increase traffic congestion, noise, air and light pollution along with multiple new traffic lights. City leaders, past and present, are complicit in allowing the current design of the Parkway to proceed. It’s as if we are living in the past rather than imagining what the future could bring and throwing sustainability out the window.
Ron Krupp
South Burlington
Cate Cross Shelburne
Sandeep Das Community Notes
Ferrisburgh’s Rokeby hosts pie, ice cream social
Having a great day is as easy as pie at Rokeby Museum’s annual Pie & Ice Cream Social on Sunday, Aug. 11, 1-4 p.m.
The day includes yards and yards of homemade pies, ice cream, live music from Vermont Folk Life Sugar in the Pan Trad Band, raffle baskets, and croquet and badminton on the lawn. Let’s Grow Kids will have table with games for kids, and the historic house and museum exhibitions will also be open to the public.
Admission is free. Pie and ice cream are $8 per serving, $2 for ice cream, and $1 for beverages. At the end of the event, if any pies are still available, they will be sold for $20.
For information, go to rokeby. org.
Shelburne church, Age well host Aug. luncheon
Age Well is offering a luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 20, in the St Catherine of Siena Parish Hall, 72 Church St. in Shelburne.
Entertainment will be provided by Gerry Ortego on guitar.
The menu is barbecue chicken sandwich on a roll, potato salad, broccoli salad with Italian dressing, watermelon, pumpkin chip cookie and milk.
You must register by Wednesday, Aug. 14, to Kerry Batres, nutrition coordinator, 802-6625283 or email kbatres@agewellvt. org. Tickets are also available at the Age Well Office, 875 Roosevelt Highway, Suite 210, Colchester. Check-in time is 11:30 a.m. and the meal will be served at noon. There is a $5 suggested donation.
Enjoy Age Well meals at Charlotte Senior Center
The Age Well meal pickup for Wednesday, Aug. 7, is from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Charlotte Senior Center.
The meal features baked meatloaf with gravy, sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts, dinner roll, tapioca pudding with peaches and cream and milk.
You must pre-register by the prior Monday at 802-425-6345 or meals@charlotteseniorcentervt. org. The suggested donation is $5. Check the website for last-minute cancellations at bit.ly/3FfyLMb.
The meal on Wednesday, Aug. 14, features roast turkey with sauce, potatoes with ranch dressing, mixed vegetables, dinner roll, date and raisin cookie and milk.
Dwight + Nicole entertain at Free First Friday
Dwight + Nicole play American soul and blues at the summer’s last Free First Friday, Aug. 2, at Shelburne Museum, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
It’s the perfect time to visit galleries, enjoy a picnic on the grounds, stroll through gardens and take in the splendor of a summer’s evening.
For more information, visit shelburnemuseum.org.
Sign up now for Shelburne grab and go meal
Age Well and St. Catherine’s of Siena Parish in Shelburne are teaming up to provide a meal to go for anyone age 60 and older on Tuesday, Aug. 13. Meals will be available for
One of the world’s great tabla players will perform in Shelburne on Thursday, Aug. 22, at 2:30 p.m. Sandeep
role in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road project and widely considered one of the best tabla players in the world will perform
for
The performance is part of Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival. Sandeep will also give a talk about the tabla at Elley-Long in Colchester the following day. Ticket information can be found at lccmf.org.
pick up in the parking lot at 72 Church St. from 11 a.m. until noon and are available for anyone 60 or older. Suggested donation is $5.
The menu roast turkey with gravy, potatoes with ranch dress-
ing, mixed vegetables, dinner roll, date raisin cookie and milk.
To order a meal contact Kathleen at agewellstcath@gmail.com or 802-503-1107. Deadline to order is Wednesday, Aug. 7.
Learn more at agewellvt.org.
Vermont Philharmonic plays pondside, lakeside
The Vermont Philharmonic’s
See COMMUNITY NOTES on page 11
PHOTO BY MAX WHITTAKER
Das, famed
his
at All Souls.
SETTLEMENT
continued from page 1
much density in the area and was not consistent with the character of surrounding neighborhoods.
The development was proposed in a zoning district surrounding the land on the western side of the bustling Route 7 corridor just north of Bay Road known as the mixed residential character district — one of seven districts in the town’s form-based overlay district. Only a short 10-minute drive from Burlington, this district was first put in place in 2016 to enliven the Route 7 corridor, wrote Kate Lalley, chair of the planning commission at the time, in the Shelburne News in 2015.
“Form-based regulations emphasize aesthetics over use,” she wrote. “We believe this type of zoning is the best way to breathe new life into Route 7’s vacant buildings and sites, creating walkable nodes of development in the otherwise auto-oriented corridor
in the process.”
Current planning commission chair Stephen Kendall told The Shelburne News seven years later during the heat of the controversy that, other than a six-unit development on Bay Road, no projects had been proposed in the mixed residential character district aside from the development proposed by Crombach and Brandon.
“They worked it out on their own and then brought their resolution to us.”
— Matt Lawless
The months that followed the initial proposal resulted in multiple public hearings, vehement resident backlash and ultimately led to the town spending just under $30,000 to hire a consultant to study the regulations.
Due to the backlash, Brandon
and Crombach scaled back their development to 78 units and designated a portion for elderly housing. Although they ultimately gained approval from the review board in 2022, a resident group, Shelburne Neighbors United for Responsible Growth, quickly filed an appeal. After the consultant confirmed that the zoning regulations were “overly complex,” selectboard members in 2022 unanimously moved to nix the mixed residential character district in its entirety from the town’s form-based overlay district.
Lawless explained that although the town remained an interested party throughout the mediation process, the town’s attorneys and he were not present at any of the negotiations and didn’t incur any significant legal costs.
“They worked it out on their own and then brought their resolution to us,” he said.
The project will not have to return to the Shelburne Development Review Board since the selectboard gets the last word on substantive approval of the agreement.
“Then it’s just the staff level administrative check on the construction plans to make sure that things like the stormwater pond is the right size and the water main is in the right place, and that the parking spaces are the right size, kind of blueprint technicalities,” he said. “But there’s no other public process.”
Members of the resident group and neighbors to the project, along with Brandon and Crombach, declined to comment regarding the process.
Be sure to visit our advertisers and tell them:
“I saw your name in the Shelburne News.”
News from Pierson Library
Author talk: ‘Insurgent Labor’
On Thursday, Aug. 1, 7-8 p.m., longtime Libertarian-socialist thinker, organizer, militant union leader and president of Vermont AFL-CIO, David Van Deusen, will have a conversation in town hall with the library’s very own Jasper Oliver. Desuen’s new book, “Insurgent Labor,” chronicles his tribulations and ultimate victories expanding union democracy in Vermont. Politicos, history buffs and fans of thoughtful, timely conversation should get a kick out of this one. Copies of the book will be for sale.
The Cold Creek Pickers concert
The fourth act in the summer concert series is this country, roots folk band playing a variety of folk, blues, bluegrass and originals. Come listen to a two-hour set (including intermission) of banjos, guitars, fiddles, bass, autoharp, mandolin and maybe even a yarn or two on Friday, Aug. 2, 6-8 p.m.
Fire department storytime
On Saturday, Aug. 3, at 10:30 a.m., read stories with Shelburne’s firefighters, learn how their equipment works and look at a fire truck.
Then and now book club
The Adventures Then & Now Book
Club continues this month with Mark Twain’s 1884 novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” on Monday, Aug. 5, 6:30-8 p.m.
Controversial to some, absolutely seminal to what we think of as literature, revisit an American classic and rediscover for yourself what the hoopla was about. This conversation promises to be enlightening and will pave the way for next month’s read, Percival Everett’s “James.” Copies are available at the front desk.
Birds of Vermont Museum
Tonight, at the Second Thursday lecture series, members of the Birds of Vermont Museum in Huntington will talk about how their miraculous museum and bird sanctuary lies at the interstice of art and natural history. It houses and showcases 495 biologically accurate woodcarvings by the late great woodcarver and Vermont naturalist, Bob Spear.
Most natural history museums, with their taxidermical displays have an unshakeable ghoulish energy. This museum is something else. Learn about Spear’s legacy, this unique museum and the relationship between art and the environment.
The lecture runs from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 6.
COMMUNITY NOTES
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outdoor Summer Pops concerts will be played pondside at Moose Meadow Lodge on Sunday, Aug. 11, and lakeside at Shore Acres in North Hero on Saturday, Aug. 31.
Both concerts are at 4 p.m.
Led by music director Lou Kosma, the orchestra will honor legendary composers and Vermont talent. The featured soloist is tenor Josh Collier who will perform “Besame Mucho,” “O Solo Mio” and Puccini’s “Nessun dorma.”
Concertmaster Joanna Alpizar will offer audiences “Si Nos Dejan” by José Alfredo Jiménez, with music arranged by Joanna’s husband Mark Alpizar. The orchestra will also perform music by Morton Gould, George Gershwin, Andrew Lloyd Webber and young Vermont composer Jamie Maddox-White.
Parking is limited at both locations. Tickets and information are online at vermontphilharmonic.com.
COURTESY PHOTO
A summer pops concert will be held at Moose Meadow in Waterbury on Aug. 11.
Last year, Vermonters threw away 71,113 tons of food scraps which ended up in our only landfill. Equal to 242 pounds of food scraps per person per year.
CSWD’s Organic Recycling Facility (ORF) and our six Drop-Off Centers accept food scraps from residents and businesses to keep them out of Vermont’s only landfill.
PETITION continued from page 1
board chair Mike Ashooh said.
O’Brien Brothers has for decades owned the property that sits immediately outside the town’s water and sewer service area. The development team came to the selectboard two months ago with a petition to include part of the property in the town’s designated utility service area to allow it to build more houses.
That could give the land, which is currently included in the town’s rural zoning district, a higher density as outlined in the recently passed Act 47, or HOME Act. Although the town’s planning commission is currently looking at massive regulatory reform, the current rural zoning district only allows for one unit per 5 acres.
But under the new state law meant to spur housing development across the state, areas serviced by water and sewer can be built at a much higher density than five dwellings per acre.
The parcel is separated by Thomas Road into two tracts — a 110-acre tract on the north side of the road and another 65.5 acres to the south. The northern parcel sits at the edge of the current area serviced by water and sewer infrastructure, located on the south side of Irish Hill Road, between Spear Street and Thomas Road.
The company argues that although the northern portion of the property is not technically considered part of the town’s service area, its proximity to that infrastructure — including an 8-foot sewer line and manhole located on the property and a water main connection located less than 50 feet away on Irish Hill Road — should allow it to be.
But by allowing O’Brien to hook up to municipal water and sewer from outside the service area, the selectboard is worried about what kind of precedent that would set. More important, board members said, is whether the town is technically forced by state legislation to accept O’Brien’s request.
The agreement says that while the town is not required to modify its service areas to include the property, both parties agree that the intent of Act 47 is to ultimately encourage towns to modify existing regulations to allow for increased housing density.
The town asserts that according to state law, while close in proximity, this parcel does not explicitly qualify for serviced area designation, but there is a desire to support increased housing opportunities by expanding the water and sewer service areas to include the property while working with O’Brien to limit the potential impact the development may have on neighboring properties.
“Although O’Brien does not necessarily agree with the town’s interpretation of Act 47 as it relates to an area served by municipal sewer and water infrastructure, in an effort to move forward, O’Brien and the town acknowledge and agree that they have a mutually beneficial interest in the development of the property and enter this agreement to describe the framework for the parties to proceed,” reads the document.
The town negotiated nine stipulations with the O’Brien Brothers, including:
• The development can have no more than 375 dwelling units.
• The 65.5-acre southern part of the property must be preserved in perpetuity, and the area should be accessible and open
to the public with the company required to create public access.
• The development should include a range of residential homes of different sizes, types and affordability, and be phased in.
• Eleven percent of the units must be perpetually affordable and designed in an overall cohesive manner.
• Any development must include a community trail; at a minimum, a continuous 8-foot-wide paved multi-use community trail/recreation path connection from Irish Hill to Thomas roads.
• All housing units must be built to a minimum standard satisfying both Energy Star certification and U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home certification.
• Development will exclude land mapped as a forest habitat.
• The company will be responsible for any necessary wastewater improvements.
A majority of these requirements were already included when the company unveiled its vision for the property at a selectboard meeting two months ago.
Process moves forward
Ashooh said that while the community meetings will certainly influence the board’s vote, members should focus on making a decision sooner rather than later.
“I said to the O’Briens that we didn’t have any interest in delaying this or just letting it linger on and on,” he said. “I feel that we should decide within a month or two. We should come up with a final decision and let them know if it’s up or down. I guess that depends on the forum or what we feel like at the time.”
Regardless, the selectboard’s decision does not circumvent the power of the development review board, since the developers are required to get all local and state permits associated with the proposal.
“We tried to do this in a way that did not preempt in any way or meddle with the DRB process,” Ashooh said. “The DRB process will unfold the way it would for any project, they would have to go through the permitting processes, for sewer allocation, for traffic studies. Act 250 does apply.
Selectboard member Andrew Everett said that even with the rural zoning regulations applied to this parcel, the town is still likely to see development there. But it would most likely look more like 25 mansions sold at $1 million, “and we solve nothing,” he said. “We exacerbate the housing problem in town, and we lose the ability to do something that would truly benefit the town in terms of the three highest priorities that the town has indicated they want to do.”
The public meetings will be held on Aug. 18 from 2-4 p.m. and Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. The Aug. 18 meeting will be in the town office meeting room and the meeting in September will be at the Old Town Hall. Both will have online viewing and participation options.
In addition to hearing public feedback, the selectboard will present information, including a legal briefing from the town’s lawyers, a wastewater capacity analysis and analysis of the impact on the schools prepared by the Champlain Valley School District.
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reunited with the owner.
July 22 at 10:26 p.m., someone reported gunshots or fireworks going near Longmeadow Drive. An officer checked the area.
July 23 at 4:23 a.m., a burglary was reported at Pet Food Warehouse. Shelburne and South Burlington police located a man coming out of the rear of the building. Police arrested Keith Schultz, 58, of Michigan, for burglary.
July 23 at 7:30 p.m., someone reported a burglary on Pinehurst Drive. The case is under investigation.
July 23 at 4:45 p.m., someone reported a sick or injured raccoon near Shelburne Road. An officer destroyed the animal.
July 25 at 3:37 a.m., a man reported having a verbal dispute with his girlfriend at Harbor Place. He left the room via the window and his girlfriend fell attempting to follow him. Officers assisted in mediating the
dispute.
July 25 at 8:13 a.m., a burglary was reported on Martindale Road. The case is under investigation.
July 27 at 11:10 a.m., someone reported a car with a dog in it was parked in the sun on Church Street. The officer was unable to locate the vehicle.
July 27 at 1:25 p.m., someone reported their vehicle stolen on Falls Road. It was later located by Williston Police in Shaw’s parking lot.
July 28 at 1:06 p.m., a caller reported a theft from their residence on Spear Street. The case is under investigation.
Death notifications:
June 25 at 6;48 a.m., police were called to Rivervale Road for an unresponsive person. Charles Dunham, 86, of Shelburne, was found dead.
July 13 at 7:06 a.m., Glen Roa, 82, of Shelburne, was found dead at Wake Robin.
Ascension Technology Corporation
dba Northern Digital Inc. seeks a Senior Research Engineer in Shelburne, VT to perform all aspects of algorithm & software systems development.
Minimum Requirements: MS in Computer Science, Robotic Engineering, Electronic Engineering and 6 months experience. May telework within a commuting distance of NDI VT office and physically report to office 3 days a week. Visit https://bit.ly/3S0Vtyj to apply.
1ST FY 24-25 PROPERTY TAX INSTALLMENT
Due Thursday, August 15, 2024
Payments must be POSTMARKED or RECEIVED in the TOWN OFFICES by MIDNIGHT, August 15, 2024. Late payments are subject to penalty and interest. Payments can be left in lock box at Police Department Dispatch until Midnight, August 15, 2024.
PLEASE NOTE: The Police Department cannot provide any information regarding your tax account or receipts for payments.
The week-long bait drop is a cooperative effort between Vermont and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to stop the spread of the potentially fatal disease.
If any questions please call 985-5120 Office hours for payment in person are Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
to advertise call 985-3091 or email advertising@shelburnenews.com
continued from page 2 saliva. ways fatal treatment 100 percent a person So far have tested those have According animals mal behavior, an animal it. People animals
Rabies is a deadly viral disease of the brain that infects mammals. It is most often seen in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats, but unvaccinated pets and livestock can also get rabies.The virus is spread through the bite of an infected animal or contact with its
