Planning Commission Minutes, 05.24.2023

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Planning Commission DRAFT minutes 
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 6:30 pm 
236 School Road, Guilford, VT 

Planning Commission members in attendance: Jethro Eaton, Julie Holland, Jeanette Tokarz, Charles Light, Christina Belogour, Nathaneal Matthiesen, Marty Ramsburg, Zon Eastes (Selectboard liaison) 

Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 6:31 pm 

Recognition of the Public: , William Jewel, Energy Committee ad hoc member, Dan Mallach, Dubois and King, Emily Lewis, Dubois and King. 

Rules of Procedure: The meeting is conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order and civility 

Changes to Agenda order: None 

Approval of minutes 4/19/23: Marty moved to approve the minutes from 4/19/23, Charles  seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 

New Business: 

Commission went over upcoming meetings, seminars and events of interest: 

Tuesday, June 6. Village Meet-Up in Strafford, VT, Preservation Trust of Vermont, 9 am-3:30  pm. https://ptvermont.org/village-meet-up-in-strafford-vermonttuesday-june-6-2023/ 

‘Tabling’ at Library fundraising concert Friday, June 9, 5-7 pm at the Fairgrounds 

Joint Conservation Commission and Planning Commission meeting Thursday, June 15 at 6  pm.Open to the public. Held at the BBCC 

Guilford Business forum Saturday, July 8, 8 am (?) to 10 am at the BBCC. 

Zon reported on the Windham Regional Strategic Plan meeting where he learned that for the  decade of 2010-2020, housing starts in Windham County numbered 580. In previous decades,  the number was 10 times greater. We have very old housing stock. Construction costs are high.  Housing is dependent on infrastructure development. 

Dan from D&K spoke about: 

Putting infrastructure in growth centers in town. Land use planning to not discourage mixed  use of property and housing.

Plans to have a table at the upcoming library fundraising concert on 7/8 at the Fairgrounds to  explain town plan. Please see attached addendum re specifics of PC plans for upcoming  public meetings. It was suggested that we should have maps delineating wildlife and other  natural corridors in Guilford; include near funded ARPA projects re funding with remaining  money; a color coded ranking of values and priorities that people could vote for. 

We discussed the importance of our joint meeting with the Conservation Commission on June  15th and how we should use that meeting for formulating a plan for conservation of wildlife  areas/corridors; work on land resilience; look for possible sources of money for land  conservation; the concept of developing a transept philosophy of land use (a more flexible  version of zoning that takes individual circumstances into account); the idea of dividing the  town into zones of most rural and remote, agricultural, residential, and urban core; where to  build, where not to build; and overall values re conservation and building community 

Further items we discussed were: invasive species; ash tree removal coordinated with  highway department; 30/30 plan to preserve 30% of Vermont’s land; priorities for business  meeting on July 8th and how to get town businesses to attend including postcards, emails,  calls and personal outreach; how housing impacts business operations in town; how the  planning commission should have a quarterly report in each issue of the Guilford Gazette;  how to get community involved in creation of Housing Committee. 

The committee reserved the next meeting for the election of officers.  

Adjournment: Julie moved to adjourn, Marty seconded and the motion was unanimously  adopted. The meeting adjourned at 7:55pm. 

Next Planning Commission Meeting: 
Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 6 pm Joint Meeting with Conservation Commission.  Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 6:30pm

Strategic Planning Process – Engagement Brainstorm 
Strategic Planning Process – Engagement Brainstorm 

Library Raffle and Concert: June 9th, 5 PM, Fairgrounds 

Strategic Planning Table with Emily and Dan 

  • Opportunity for education about past and current work: Town Plan, ARPA Survey results
  • Examples of other strategic plan workflow graphics (e.g., Gantt chart type, movable pieces)
  • Two interactive graphics exercises: 
    • Aerial of Fairgrounds, to “tape up” ideas for amenities, connections with arrows
    • Aerial of all of Guilford, with cutouts of a house (housing potential), arrows (trail connections), a tree (conservation initiatives) – higher level view. 
  • “Anonymous” suggestion box 
  • Logistics 
    • D&K will bring table(s) and all materials. 

Conservation Commission: June 15th, 6 PM, Broad Brook Community Center 

  • Discuss the specific objectives of the strategic planning process, and how these can mesh with the objectives of the Conservation Commission: recreation, transportation, housing, hazard mitigation/safety, all-ages education. 
  • Review the Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) together, and corresponding Town Plan Land Use maps, “30 by 30” initiative 
  • Discuss specific parcels as critical to wildlife habitat & travel corridors, flood resilience
  • The “Top 3” wish list/needs of the Conservation Commission. 
  • Consideration of where to encourage or facilitate building, and conversely where to (and how to) discourage building, based on the NRI and Future Land Use mapping. This is part of the larger discussion of housing, economic development, maintaining viable working lands, infrastructure investment, preserving community character. 
  • Introducing the Living Transect as an evolving tool for addressing these issue areas and communicating useful information to housing/commercial developers, and targeting infrastructure investment. A transect considers land character and density, rather than designate permitted use types as traditional zoning would. 
  • Specific near-term threats to the local ecological integrity of Guilford lands (such as habitat fragmentation, invasive plant encroachment, pollinator loss), and discussing strategies for how these threats can be effectively and efficiently addressed. 
  • Opportunities to team up with surrounding communities: create the capacity and pool the funds to tackle larger cross-border ecological issues. 
  • Opportunities to work synergistically with the town Highway Department
  • Logistics 
    • D&K will bring computer and projector setup 
    • Advertising needs (flyer, digital content) 
    • Pre-meeting with Jeannette and Linda on June 8th at 6 PM 

Business Breakfast Forum: July 8, 8-10 AM, Broad Brook Community Center 

  • The specific objectives of the strategic planning process, and how these can mesh with the objectives of the Conservation Commission. 
  • What do you enjoy about working in the Guilford community/southern Vermont?
  • If you wish to grow your business but face challenges, how can the town support your vision? (Physical/utility infrastructure, technology, communications, branding/marketing…)
  • Where do you see your business in five years? Ten? 
  • How do you set your business apart from others in your industry? 
  • Are there other complementary businesses that it would help to have locally? Database to search out other businesses, build relationships (e.g., dog sitter and dog treat baker)
  • How do you learn about other businesses that can support your work locally, or to get into local markets? 
  • If/how local housing availability impacts business operations. 
  • Would a business mentorship program be useful, or regular meet-ups like this? Are there themes, or speakers, that would be useful? 
  • Future Guilford Gazette articles 
  • Logistics 
    • D&K will prepare invite text and postcard for digital/postcard – word carefully and with verve, for new and longtime business (150 businesses…) 
    • D&K will bring blank name tags 
    • Consider businesses to reach out to individually?