Williston Observer

Zoning changes proposed to encourage infrastructure improvements

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

Williston has a problem: too many commuters, too little money for road improvements.

Just 26 percent of Williston residents who work do so in town, according to the 2000 Census. Meanwhile, using state Department of Labor figures, Town Planner Lee Nellis estimates that roughly 9,000 non-residents drive to work in Williston. And that number does not include shoppers traveling to Williston’s many retailers, or motorists passing through on the way to somewhere else.

A draft of the town’s new Comprehensive Plan includes a provocative idea about how to address the issue: change zoning to encourage developers to pay for infrastructure improvements like a network of grid streets around Taft Corners that would reduce traffic along the town’s clogged thoroughfares.

“Williston’s vision of a pedestrian-friendly, design-conscious, mixed-use commercial center cannot be realized if a higher intensity of use is not allowed,” the plan states. “But allowing more intense use can be tied to community benefits.”

The proposal has already drawn opposition from Selectboard Chairwoman Ginny Lyons.

She said in an interview Monday that she dislikes anything that could clear the way for more big-box stores.

“I don’t really want to open up old wounds about big boxes,” she said. “I think we’ve been through that and it’s not productive for the community.”

The provision is just one aspect of the proposed Comprehensive Plan, which will be considered during a public hearing later this month. The plan, last updated in 2000, will cover a five-year period running until 2010. In addition to transportation, the plan addresses land use, housing, education, energy and other topics.

But transportation is perhaps the one area where the town needs the most help if it is to realize the vision of community with smooth-flowing thoroughfares that also offer alternatives to driving. Nowhere does the town need more help than with the network of grid streets that the plan envisions connecting thoroughfares like Route 2 and 2A and Marshall Avenue.
Though the old Comprehensive Plan called for grid streets, the new plan for the first time specifies where they should be built. They include a loop road from Zephyr Road off Route 2A to Route 2 across from Maple Tree Place; a street from Route 2 just west of Talcott Road to Sycamore Street; a street from Harvest Lane near Home Depot to Route 2A south of Marshall Avenue; a street linking Marshall Avenue to Wright Avenue near Northfield Saving Bank; and a street connecting Commerce Street and Wellness Drive.

The projects would cost millions of dollars, and the town does not have the financial resources to build them without a major property tax increase or help from developers. Yet they are a key part of the new plan, said Nellis.

“You can’t have the type of development the town wants without the grid streets,” he said. “The grid streets are one of the most important things in the entire plan.”

Changes frozen out?

The town has some clout – and the developers’ self interest – to facilitate funding for the roads, Nellis said. The town can require developers to build some of the roads as a condition of approval for new projects. And without the roads, Nellis said, there won’t be access to some of the projects now being considered.

But for existing developments like Taft Corners Park, home of Wal-Mart and Home Depot, the proposed plan takes another approach.

The plan calls for consolidating zoning districts and relaxing zoning rules for developers who make infrastructure improvements. It states that the numerous zoning districts have not resulted in the dense, infill development envisioned by the previous plan. Instead, the existing zoning has “frozen the ‘big box’ pattern of development in place.”

That statement appears to be a reference to Taft Corners Park, where developer Jeff Davis fought with the town for years to build stores in the project. The town finally struck an agreement with Davis in 2000 that allowed construction of 4 Seasons Garden Center and one more big-box store. The remaining development was supposed to be smaller-scale buildings containing a mix of uses.

4 Seasons was built, but the site where the box store is permitted has remained vacant, as has the remaining open land in the development.
Davis did not return phone messages seeking comment for this story.

Nellis said the agreement hasn’t produced the result the town wanted.

“What they came up with is an agreement that is simply never going to be implemented, except for he can build that one more big box,” Nellis said. (The Selectboard) wants there to be smaller shops, they want there to be different kinds of shops, they want there to be a greater variety of things. That can’t happen with the zoning restrictions they imposed.”

The right incentives

Nellis said the town can offer incentives without adding to the much-criticized box stores that dominate Williston’s retail landscape. Any changes in zoning that benefit developers will come with strings attached.

“So it will never be that we just change the zoning and open it up carte blanche,” he said. “It will always be they can take advantage of some trade-offs and incentives if they choose to do so.”

Lyons said she has no interest in changing the agreement with Davis. She said the town is only about halfway through the 30-year period she believes it will take to build out the Taft Corners area, and she wants to give the existing rules a chance to work.

Lyons favors a different approach to easing traffic congestion: attract better-paying jobs that will allow employees to afford Williston’s relatively pricey homes instead of commuting from far-flung towns.

“We should work with developers to attract higher-paying jobs” Lyons said. “There’s lots of things that can be done with economic development. It’s not just about growth.”

Transportation alternatives

The transportation portion of the plan does not just address road-building. Alternatives to driving such as a park and ride, sidewalks and bike paths, and mass transit are also covered.

The plan calls for construction of a park and ride, more sidewalks and bike paths and additional mass transit. It also urges the town to join the Chittenden County Transit Authority. The town helps fund the existing bus service, but it is not a CCTA member, which would likely require a bigger contribution but would give the town a greater say in routes.

As for sidewalks and bike paths, the new plan maintains the status quo. Voters approved a bond last year that should provide funding for sidewalk and bike path projects over the next five years.

In addition to the grid streets, the plan also calls for several smaller road improvements such as additional traffic lights and turn lanes along existing roads. Unlike road-building projects, the town does have the means to complete much of that work.

The town collects impact fees on new developments, and has $748,298 in the bank earmarked for transportation improvements, according to Finance Director Susan Lamb. That money, perhaps combined with state and federal grants, can fund many of the smaller projects, Nellis said.

“If you’re talking about installing a traffic signal, the impact fees really make a contribution,” he said. “If you’re talking about whole new roads, that’s tough.”

A group effort

The plan represents thousands of hours of work over the past 1-1/2 years by about 40 people, including members of citizen task forces, the Planning Commission and town staff.

Work on the plan started in October 2004 with a kick-off meeting, followed by the formation of the task forces. Individual groups considered three broad topics: housing and growth, land use and natural areas, and transportation and public facilities.

The groups met through March of this year. The Planning Commission then discussed the plan at numerous meetings before unanimously approving the current draft on Nov. 15.

The Selectboard, which has already previewed the document, is required to hold two public hearings on the plan before a final vote on it. The board could make changes to the proposed plan.

The Comprehensive Plan serves as a blueprint for Williston’s future. The state requires municipalities to have a plan if they have zoning. Nellis notes that a law passed last year mandates that plans be consistent with zoning.

“It’s the backstop for all land-use decisions,” he said. “When you’re in the position Williston is in, still trying to catch up after years of rapid growth, you have to have some guide to how you invest your funds and what you do.”

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By Marianne Apfelbaum

Gravestones dating back to the 1800s were damaged on Friday night when Kathleen McGuire, 22, of Williston crashed into a section of the East Cemetery on U.S Route 2 in Williston.

McGuire was traveling west before 5 p.m. at about 40 miles per hour when she lost control of her Subaru Outback and slid off the road, according to Williston Police Sgt. Brian Claffy. The car crashed through a chain link fence and into the oldest section of the cemetery, which dates back to 1806 according to Cemetery Commission Chairman Robert Salter.

Police say alcohol was not a factor in the accident, but that the roads were slightly covered with snow and ice. The speed limit is posted at 50 miles per hour on that stretch of road. The cemetery sits at the top of a hill where the road curves slightly. “She may have been traveling a bit fast for the road conditions,” Claffy said.

McGuire, who was wearing a seatbelt, was able to climb out the passenger door and was kept warm with the help of a passerby until help arrived. She was uninjured, according to police, but the car suffered extensive damage, Claffy said.

As for the cemetery, Salter said about four 10-foot sections of fence will need to be replaced, and at least two monuments were dislodged or damaged, as well as an unknown number of grave markers. “The damage was done to some of the oldest gravestones there,” said Salter, who is “kind of in limbo” while awaiting damage estimates, which he assumes McGuire’s insurance will pay for. “I’ve been in this area 50 years,” said Salter. “I’ve never had this happen before.”

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Subdivision could include 200 units of housing

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

Continuing a recent rush to develop open land near Taft Corners, a local couple has filed plans for a project that could include more than 200 homes along with retail and office space.

Bur Oak Meadows would be located on an 81-acre parcel off U.S. Route 2, just east of the Williston Driving Range. The project is named for the unusual trees on the property.

The parcel has a small amount of road frontage but runs all the way back to Interstate 89. The landowners are Maurice and Pauline LaPierre of Burlington, who acquired the parcel in 1996. Pauline LaPierre referred questions about the project to her husband, who could not immediately be reached.

Preliminary plans show two alternatives for the development. The first calls for 206 housing units, 45,744 square feet of retail space and 67,900 square feet of office space. The second includes 196 housing units, the same amount of retail space and less office space.

William Chesbrough, vice president of South Burlington-based Dufresne & Associates, the consultant working with the applicant, said the mixed-use project was designed to comply with the town plan, which calls for dense development that includes both residential and commercial space around Taft Corners.

“It will have plenty of parking, a good amount of affordable housing and some light commercial and office space,” he said. “It’s a good fit.”

Both Chesbrough and town officials emphasize that the plans are preliminary and many details remain to be worked out.

Chesbrough said the housing would include townhouses and condominiums, at least 30 percent of which would be affordable.

Town Planner Lee Nellis said the project’s plans “are in the ballpark” for complying with the town plan and zoning rules. “But I’m not saying we will agree with every single aspect of it.”

The town formally received the application last month, but planners and representatives from Dufresne & Associates met in October to discuss the project as part of the pre-application process used for large developments.

Several concerns were raised during the meeting. They included the project’s environmental impact and how housing and commercial spaces would be configured and integrated.

The environmental issues include a handful of small wetland areas at the site and a stand of bur oaks.

The trees are not “endangered or rare, just unique,” said Carrie Deegan, Williston’s environmental planner. Bur oaks grow mainly in the Midwest, and Vermont is on the northern tip of their range, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Chesbrough said the trees would be preserved and the project would minimize the impact on wetlands.

Bur Oak Meadows is one of three developments proposed for the dwindling open land east of Taft Corners.

The biggest project is planned for the Pecor property, site of a now-defunct horse farm across from Maple Tree Place on Route 2. Jeff Davis and the Snyder Companies want to build a development containing more than 350 residential units and commercial space. The project is now navigating the town’s review process.

Another development is planned for the parcel abutting the Bur Oak Meadows site. Al Senecal, owner of the driving range, plans three commercial buildings on the adjacent open land. That project is also still in the review process.

Nellis acknowledged that the projects would place demands on the town’s infrastructure. He said the town can accommodate the new residential developments’ need for water and sewer, and requiring them to include open space for recreation will help avoid crowding at existing parks. With school enrollment dropping the past two years, Nellis said the town will likely have at least a few more years before it has to build a new school.

“The only big question is traffic,” Nellis said. A planned loop road connecting Bur Oak Estates to Maple Tree Place should help, he said.

Nellis also noted that phasing rules require large-scale residential projects to be built over several years. A 10-year timetable has been discussed for completion of Bur Meadows.

He said dense development is exactly what the town envisions for the area.

“The town plan calls for development to be concentrated in the Taft Corners area,” Nellis said. “So there’s going to be a lot of traffic.”

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By Ben Moger-Williams
Observer staff

A record number of people flooded to Burlington last week looking for emergency help with their home heating bills.

Tim Searles, executive director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, said at least 200-250 people came through the office seeking help, with 59 people on the first day alone. Searles said the previous record was around 45.

Monday, Nov. 28 marked the start of the first week the agency was offering crisis fuel assistance for those who are out of – or in imminent danger of running out of – heating fuel.

“It was the busiest opening week we’ve ever had for crisis fuel,” Searles said.

Households with incomes of 150 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for crisis fuel assistance. In Williston, 40 households have incomes that are between 150 and 180 percent of the federal poverty level, according to Rep. Jim McCullough, D-Williston.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, poverty-level annual income for a four-person household is $19,350; so 150 percent of the poverty level would be $29,025.

Searles said a disturbing trend was the fact that many new faces were coming in for help.

“We’re seeing more households with full-time wage earners than ever before,” he said. “And we’re seeing people we’ve never seen before.”

The Crisis Fuel Assistance program is a part of the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The CVOEO received about $1 million for the program, which is roughly the same amount as it received last year, Searles said. He said that the money would likely not last past January, but the governor’s office and the Agency of Human Services has promised to come through with more money for the program.

“We do have their assurances that we will not be underfunded,” Searles said.

In November, Gov. Jim Douglas approved up to $10 million in state assistance to augment federal LIHEAP funding, but none of that money went toward the crisis fuel assistance program. However, the governor’s office has teamed up with AARP Vermont, which is funding a home weatherization assistance program, and hinted that other measures could be taken.

“We're pursuing some options that we hope will allow some additional resources to flow to the crisis programs,” Jason Gibbs, Gov. Douglas’ spokesman, said in an e-mail. “We’re not prepared to detail exactly what they might be at this time.”

Last week AARP Vermont announced it was contributing $50,000 for what they are calling “Project Warm Home.” The money will be distributed through the state’s community action offices in the form of $25 gift cards to The Home Depot.

The cards will be available to homeowners who don’t quite qualify for heating assistance or to people on the state waiting list for home weatherization services. The cards can be used to purchase home weatherization supplies such as caulking, weather stripping and insulation products.

It was unclear as to whether the use of the cards for such items would be regulated, but Searles said a better way to save on home energy bills would be to buy energy efficient light bulbs, not window coverings.

The CVOEO office had not received any of the cards as of Dec. 5, but expected to have them available in the next week or so.

For Williston residents who qualify for the program, the cards will be available through Chittenden Community Action in Burlington. Residents who are unsure if they qualify are encouraged to visit the office at 191 North St., Burlington., or call (800) 287-7971.

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Playgroup members share common bond

By Ben Moger-Williams
Observer staff

Four-year-old Shea Tomlinson needed a little help from her mom to get into a purple fairy outfit. Kaleigh Plumeau, 3, was having loads of fun pounding her hands into a red stamp pad and getting ink all over herself. At their monthly playgroup meeting last Sunday, the two girls and their dozen or so playmates were immersed in different activities, but they all share one thing in common: They are all adopted girls from China.

In March, Williston residents Susan Glickman and Lucy Kenney started the playgroup as a way for local families who had adopted Chinese girls to get together. Most of the girls are between ages 3 and 5.

“It’s important for them to see other kids that look like them and families that look like theirs,” Glickman said. Glickman is a former librarian at Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, and is the mother of three children, two of whom were adopted from China.

China first officially allowed adoption to the United States in 1992, and since then more than 55,000 Chinese children have been adopted by American families, according to U.S. Department of State statistics.

In fiscal year 2005, the U.S. government issued nearly 8,000 immigrant visas to Chinese orphans adopted into the United States.

One of those visas was for Julia Kenney, who was adopted from an orphanage in Wuhan, China by Lucy Kenney and her husband, Williston Selectman Ted Kenney.

The Kenneys hosted the playgroup last week, and Julia, along with sister Ella, also adopted from China, welcomed about 10 other families into their home.

Meredith Tomlinson of Colchester brought her daughter ,Shea, who “came home” in 2002.

“When we got home we were surprised that there weren’t any groups or organizations that got these girls together,” Tomlinson said.

Tomlinson’s response was to start an e-mail group on the Web site Yahoo! for families in Vermont who have adopted girls from China and wanted to connect with each other. She also reactivated a Vermont chapter of the national organization Families with Children from China, or FCC.

Tomlinson said about 65 families have signed up for the Yahoo e-mail list, but she has addresses for more than 100 families all over Chittenden County with adopted Chinese children.

The FCC group in Vermont holds three major events a year for families: Chinese New Year in winter; picnic at the beach in the summer; and an Autumn Moon Festival. The informal playgroup meets about once a month and has about 15-20 families involved, Lucy Kenney said.

The vast majority of orphans coming out of China are girls, due to that country’s “one-child policy.” The policy was created in 1979 as a response to massive unchecked population growth in the 1950s and 60s. It basically states that each family is allowed only one child. Subsequent births can infer civil penalties and create administrative hassles for parents. In some rural areas, if the first child is a girl, couples are allowed to have a second child. But if that child is also female, the family cannot try again.

“A lot of adopted children are second daughters,” Lucy Kenney said.

As a result of the policy, couples looking to adopt boys must usually look elsewhere.

Williston residents Scott Frederick and Betsy Hoza decided they wanted a boy and a girl for their family. After some research, they realized that China was the place to go to adopt girls, but for boys, the best place turned out to be Guatemala.

Frederick, a stay-at-home dad, brought his daughter, Emma, and son, John, both 3, to the group to play. He said there are no playgroups for adopted Latino children, but was happy to discover the Chinese playgroup.

Frederick said he and his wife met the Glickmans on a walk, and noticed their Chinese children, which eventually led to a friendship.

“Whenever you see people like that you gravitate toward them,” he said.

The group also acts as a support group for parents who are waiting to adopt.

Tracy and Carl Schneider of Essex Junction have been waiting for six months for their Chinese daughter, but recently learned they must now wait at least another three months. The Schneiders both say for them – and their biological daughter, Grace – being around other adoptive parents and kids helps them get ready for the adoption.

“You can read a thousand books,” Tracy Schneider said. “But it definitely helps to meet people firsthand.”

Tomlinson said the playgroup is important not only for parents to connect socially, but also for the girls, who are growing up in one of the most non-ethnically diverse states in the country, to have a network of friends from similar backgrounds.

“It might not be that important to them now,” Tomlinson said. “But it will be later, these connections they make as youngsters.”

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