Fellow Castleton Residents - Many of you were surprised to hear of a 4 story 99-unit senior living facility and 2 bay ambulance/rescue building being proposed for Sand Hill Road, so you may also be surprised that a PUD (Planned Unit Development) could be coming to a plot of land near you! In an effort to inform other Castleton residents, I provide more facts about this project.

11/23/20 Purchase and Sale Agreement between Hale & Hale and Town of Castleton signed.

12/8/20 Planning Commission meeting minutes - "Jonas handed out a new document that is to replace our old zoning ordinance document. …and talked about a contract that was recently signed in which housing zoning changes must be made. …Jonas shared that we need to adopt zoning regulations that give rules on Planned Unit Development Standards and Planned Residential Development Standards. …Jonas passed out examples of such standards from the towns of Berlin and Sunderland." (see 12/8/20 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes; Jonas Rosenthal is Castleton's Zoning Administrator; Berlin is location of Chestnut Hill property Sand Hill project modeled after.)

The Town of Castleton Zoning Ordinance document (not significantly revised since the '80's) was completely revamped by our Zoning Administrator and Planning Commission Board beginning late 2020 and then adopted by our Select Board June 28, 2021. (Although according to Planning Commission meeting minutes to date it is still being revised and word-smithed, so is it really approved? I'm not sure.)

Did you know this? Please check how these new zoning ordinance changes impact your property and property lots around you! Many of you, like me, bought your homes/properties as an investment. You never expected your paid and elected town officials to take actions that could so negatively impact your property values and/or the quality of your living environment, your neighborhood.

So, while most Castleton residents had their heads in the COVID lockdown sand that began in March 2020, our town officials and boards were busy changing town zoning ordinances to accommodate the sale of a property to a for-profit builder and developer under the guise of "affordable senior housing" that fits our Castleton Town Plan and will bring in lots of high paying jobs. This is NOT affordable housing (there are minimum income guidelines, and Berlin units start at $2,300/month independent living; $4,800/month assisted living; and $7,800/month memory care), will NOT bring in lots of high paying jobs (most hourly), and does NOT fit within our Castleton Town Plan.

Please encourage the DRB to vote NO. Sure, the Sand Hill Project proposal will meet town zoning ordinance regs since they have all been changed to meet the projects needs, but the Sand Hill Project proposal does NOT support the Castleton Town Plan. And for this reason ALONE the DRB should vote NO on Tuesday May 17. -Thanks for your time. Katy Culpo