I wanted to write a brief update of Zoning activities. First, The Planning Commission held its Public Hearing about the Flood Hazard Overlay District. I would like to Thank all three of the citizens of Richmond who attended the Hearing. I hope that is because the Town is already familiar with, and pretty much uniformly in favor of, adopting the proposed regulations. We have forwarded our draft to the Selectboard, which I expect will hold their own hearing in January. I will post more about this once a date for the Hearing is set.
Second, a reminder that the Selectboard will be holding their Public Hearing regarding changes in the Gateway-Commercial District (GCD) zoning. It will be held on Thursday December 11th at 7PM at the Camel's Hump Middle School.
The GCD, I believe, is more controversial than the FHOD for several reasons. We spent almost 3 years working on FHOD, as opposed to 6 months on the GCD. Granted the FHOD was far more technical, involving extensive State and Federal regulations and approvals. However, this provided a lot more time to discuss and familiarize the community with what we were doing.
Richmond does not have the luxury of that time for the GCD.
In the very near future, development is going to happen on the largest piece of land in the GCD. This is not a “maybe” or a “might”, it will happen and soon. This development will have effects on this District, the Village and ultimately the whole Town.
To help decide how you feel regarding these regulations, you must ask yourself the following questions;
Are the current Water and Sewer rates having a negative effect on the commercial and residential values in the Village? And does this ultimately effect the whole Town?
If yes, besides expansion into the GCD, Are there viable alternatives to lowering the W&S rates?
If not, what kind of development in the GCD would best alleviate W&S rates?
If W&S expansion is approved, what are the affects of changing, or not
changing, the current zoning regulations?
Under each scenario, will it be better or worse for Richmond overall?
What type of development would contradict the Town Plan and/or spoil the scenic beauty of the Gateway?
These are the questions our community needs to decide and will be discussed
at Thursday's hearing. Please come and get informed.
Feb 5, 2025, 5:30 to 7 PM
Special Recycling Webinar Feb. 6Feb 6, 2025, 6 to 7 PM
Alpha Film Series at St. John Vianney ChurchFeb 7, 2025, 6:15 to 8:30 PM