Planning Commission Minutes – 0910.26 – Special Meeting

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Guilford Planning Commission Meeting
10 SEPTEMBER 2026 / 7:00 PM / Town office

Attendees
● PC members: Christina Belogour (remote), Jethro Eaton (remote), Michael
Knapp, Nathaneal Matthiesen (remote), Marty Ramsburg (remote), Jeannette
Tokarz
● Mike Szostok, Selectboard Liaison
● Members of the public (remote)
○ Davida Bagatelle
○ Mary Woolsey
Meeting was called to order at 7:04 pm

Meeting summary: The Planning Commission held a special meeting to prepare for
an upcoming Act 250 Major hearing scheduled for Wednesday, September 16th,
which will have a site visit at 9:30 AM at Viking Village followed by a meeting at
10:30 AM in the Town Office. The commission discussed key topics they should
raise at the hearing, including questions about the lighting plan for the overflow
parking area, the adequacy of parking for 100+ vehicles given that the current
parking plan shows 56 spaces and traffic volume concerns with worst-case
scenarios showing 53-55 cars per hour entering/exiting Viking Village during a large
event.
They also addressed the classification of Marion Road noting that it has both Class 3
and Class 4 portions according to the March, 2026 town road map, and clarified that
the turtle crossing on Weatherhead Hollow Road is at Weatherhead Hollow Pond
rather than near Viking Village as indicated in the town plan.

The commission discussed that unless the Town Plan uses mandatory language like
“shall” rather than “should,” it has limited bearing on Act 250 applications, which
informed their understanding of how to effectively express town planning goals in the
next iteration of the Town Plan due in 2030.
Next steps
● Jeannette will attend the Act 250 major hearing on September 16th and
raise the following topics/questions: lighting plan for supplemental parking
(including shielding to prevent light spillover), adequacy of parking as

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currently planned, and impacts to travel on WWH road of worst-case traffic
scenario (53-55 cars per hour).
● Attest at the hearing that Marion Road has both Class 3 and Class 4
portions.
● Attest that the turtle crossing is located at Weatherhead Hollow Pond, not
near Viking Village.
● Express the Planning Commission’s interest in maintaining unfragmented
forest blocks as a statement of town preference.
● Report back on the Act 250 hearing at the next Planning Commission
meeting.
This document was prepared with the use of artificial intelligence (Zoom AI companion). It
has been reviewed and edited by Jeannette Tokarz.