Planning Commission Meeting

JOHNSON PLANNNG COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting: THURS, 10 APR 2025, 6:30PM In person at Johnson Municipal Bldg. Members (P=Present; A=Absent) Charles Gallanter P Mike Mignone P Paul Warden P Kyley Hill P Rob Rodriguez P Vacant Seat Linda Edwards P Sam Jasperson P Vacant Seat Public: Meghan Rodier (LCPC) and Bob Hoag Call to Order 6:30 Roll Call - Above Agenda Changes & Public Comment – Paul suggested moving elections to after Bob Hoag – agreed. Bob Hoag - 93 Lower Main Street Property. - Bob said he is interested in developing his lot and is thinking of an apartment building with parking on the ground level to alleviate flooding concerns. He thinks he would need 5 floors for it to be economically feasible (FBC currently allows only 4 floors in the Village Storefront district). He mentioned the 65% glazing requirement as inhibitory. Bob asked whether the town wants development; the general response acknowledged the need for housing in town. Bob said he is considering some other properties also, in Johnson and elsewhere and said he thinks Johnson’s FBC is better than some zoning he has seen elsewhere. JPC thanks Bob for his interest and for taking the time to present his thoughts. Elections - Chair: Rob moved re-elect Paul as Chair. Linda seconded. No other candidates. Unanimous. - Vice Chair/Clerk – Kyley moved to elect Linda as Vice Chair/Clerk. Mike seconded. Linda accepted. Unanimous. JPC Bylaws - Chair proposed revising the bylaws primarily to revise the member terms from “three 2-year terms and six 3-year terms” to “nine 3-years terms, staggered so 3 seats expire each year”. The goal to simplify tracking seat/terms and trying to enhance continuity by having only 3 seats expire each year. Charles contributed additional edits. Agreed to keep the requirement to change bylaws and/or Town Plan as “an affirmative vote of the majority of the seats on the Planning Commission” (therefore 5 of the 9 seats – not a simple of current members). - Proposed Terms: Seat # Term (yrs) Expiry Person 1 3 2026 Kyley Hill 2 3 2026 Rob Rodriguez  3 3 2026 Paul Warden 4 3 2027 Charles Gallanter 5 3 2027 Vacant 6 3 2027 Vacant 7 3 2028 Linda Edwards 8 3 2028 Sam Jaspersohn 9 3 2028 Mike Mignone - General agreement to the terms and assignments above. Agreed the revised bylaws would be reviewed and voted on at the next meeting. Form Based Code (see: Form-Based-Code-as-Adopted-5-21.pdf) - Discussion of usefulness, relevancy, potential revisions. Charles said he’s not in favor of zoning anyway, but particularly if it is not enforced, it should be repealed. There was discussion of the process to modify – public meetings, etc., not insurmountable. Sam prepared an extensive outline of a “Modified Form Based Code” that incorporated some tradition use zoning – effort noted and appreciated. Was a great format for discussion, but ultimately a discussion for another day. There was some discussion that minor tweaks to FBC that allow more leeway would be less contentious than revisiting use-based zoning. It was agreed that the JPC should review FBC further and decide if minor changes to setbacks, % glazing, etc. would make worthwhile and substantial improvements. - General agreement that a punch list for each “district” is needed for citizens’ ease of understanding the requirements and to simplify administration. - Recommendation to Selectboard & Trustees – None at this time. Johnson Visioning Project - The Chair briefly discussed the LCPC Johnson Visioning project. LCPC is in discussions with two consultant responders to the RFP and will have more information shortly. In general, a series of meetings is anticipated. - Public Meeting April/May with SLR and LCPC - Public Meeting in May/June with LCPC and Consultant - Public Meeting in July/August with LCPC and Consultant (deliverables) Housekeeping - Approval of Minutes of 13 FEB 2025 meeting. Mike moved to approve; Rob seconded. Unanimous. - Mail – Was not checked this month. Flood Hazard Bylaws and River Corridors - Briefly discussed as Meghan had attended with materials thinking this topic was on the active agenda. Meghan provided notes from the January 2025 presentation to the JPC by Rebecca Pfieffer and Staci Pomeroy. No votes were taken/no decisions were made. Housing Goals - Meghan also presented new information about aspirational additional housing goals established by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development for each county (RPCs are tasked with developing town specific goals). Current housing stock was taken from the 2025 Housing Needs Assessment. LCPC took this county goal and apportioned it through the towns based on population (2020 census). Johnson has 13.46% of the population and therefore was assigned 13.46% of the total County housing goal. Using this formula, the goal for Johnson is to add at least 187 houses by 2030 and 452 by 2050. - No votes/decisions. Homework: Review FBC for specific minor changes to ease compliance and consider format for compliance punch list. Review material provided by Meghan on Flood Hazard bylaws and River Corridors. Adjourn 8:20. Next Regular Meeting 08 MAY 2025, 6:30 pm OLD BUSINESS: ▪ Flood Hazard Bylaws (revise?) and River Corridors (adopt?) ▪ TOJ Capital Plan (5 yr?) ▪ Water and Sewer Extension Plan/Policy