Norwich
Stuart Richards, a former chairman of the Affordable Housing Subcommittee, said that Planning Commission members refused to share a copy of a draft presentation of the zoning proposal during their Dec. 22 meeting, though they said they would give it to him later if he sent a formal email request.
Some members of the commission later acknowledged they said at the meeting that they preferred to wait until the presentation was complete before sharing it publicly “in order to minimize confusion.” Town officials eventually posted the draft presentation online.
Interim Town Manager David Ormiston on Tuesday also acknowledged that on a few instances in November and December, the clerk for the Planning Commission and the Development Review Board, Phil Dechert, failed to post agendas at least 48 hours in advance of meetings and to put up minutes within five days afterward, as required by Vermont statute.
“If you look at the overall efforts of what Phil does, he does a very good job,” Ormiston said. “There have been some things that have fallen through the cracks and people have brought these things to me and it’s being rectified.”
The Planning Commission is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. today in order to “cure Open Meeting Law violations regarding the timely posting of the draft Nov. 10, 2016, Planning Commission Meeting Minutes and the Dec. 8, 2016, Planning Commission Agenda,” according to an agenda.
The concern about violations came to town leaders’ attention when Richards, on Dec. 15, emailed several officials invoking state statute, giving them a 10-day window to respond and address his concerns about the agenda and minutes.
“This email is formal notice that Phil Dechert, the Planning Commission and Development Review board have on numerous occasions violated the Open Meeting Law,” he wrote.
Ormiston on Tuesday said town officials had responded to Richards within the period required by statute.
Richards also is among the most prominent critics of a developing zoning plan to create a high-density district along Route 5 South and River Road.
Proponents of the plan on the Planning Commission and Affordable Housing Subcommittee say that creating a district near the town’s core areas that allows for high-density affordable housing will boost the town’s economy and help lower-income residents continue to live in Norwich.
Draft documents for the potential zoning district describe a sliding scale that could allow as many as 130 units on a 20-acre parcel. The town planners also are hoping to ease height restrictions in the proposed district to allow three stories, rather than two.
The draft proposal also requires that 25 percent of units be held for at least 99 years as affordable housing, as determined by the county median family income adjusted to expected family size.
Detractors such as Richards have lauded the idea of encouraging affordable housing but expressed concern about the size of possible developments allowable under the plan, which they say could burden town services and change the community’s rural character.
“These folks are volunteers (and) they’re well intentioned,” Richards said of the open meeting violations on Tuesday. “I may disagree with their policies and procedures but … if you’re getting the impression that they’re acting from ill will or some kind of bad motivation, that’s not the point. The point is that there are certain laws that need to be followed that they may not be aware of.”
Dechert, who also is the town’s planning and zoning director, acknowledged in an interview on Tuesday that some minutes and agendas had not gone up on time.
Some of the violations, he said, were “a matter of hours (or) an employee being sick,” and thus the town was unable to immediately provide the public with records.
Regarding the draft presentation, Planning Commission Chairman Jeff Goodrich on Tuesday said that commissioners at the Dec. 22 meeting had responded to Richards’ request for a copy of the document with reluctance, given that it was subject to change.
“Well golly, this is a draft,” Goodrich recalled them saying. “It’s a work in progress.”
Despite the commissioners’ concerns, Goodrich recalled saying at the meeting that Richards was entitled to a copy, although Richards did not receive one that night.
Since then, Ormiston has posted on the town website the draft presentation, which Planning Commission members plan to give during a meeting to solicit public comment late this month or next.
“I would certainly not characterize the commission’s view in any way as ‘No, you can’t have a copy,’ ” Goodrich added.
Richards on Tuesday said he took issue with the fact that Dechert and the commissioners did not, during the meeting, provide him copies of a document — the presentation — that they were discussing.
“Let’s just say that their reaction was to not provide the information at the time of the meeting,” he said, adding later, “It matters not what the viewpoint of the person is who’s making the request.”
Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, reached by email on Tuesday, said his office provided information on but did not enforce the meeting law, which carries with it penalties for violations.
“We have no authority to enforce the open meeting law … so we regularly encourage citizens (including journalists) to bring open meeting law violations to the public body in question for relief,” Condos said in the email. “This is the first step of the citizen-driven enforcement process outlined in statute. It provides well-intentioned public officials and volunteers with the opportunity to take corrective action — and to get a strategy in place to prevent future violations — without penalty.”
Condos said that to his knowledge, his office hadn’t heard from anyone in Norwich about open meeting violations in that town.
After the commission addresses the open meeting concerns today, it is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on Jan. 12 to further discuss the potential zoning district.
Goodrich said on Tuesday that his board hoped to make a public presentation in late January or early February.
After the commission collects public comment, it may finalize its proposal and send it on to the Selectboard, which has final say on its approval.
Some residents, however, have publicly speculated about petitioning to bring the zoning proposal to a Town Meeting vote, should the Selectboard approve such a plan.
In Vermont, the town’s governing board normally has final say over zoning changes, but residents may circulate a petition afterward to force a Town Meeting vote if they so desire.
Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.