Planning Commission Meeting

JOHNSON PLANNNG COMMISSION MINUTES Regular Meeting: THURS, 08 MAY 2025, 6:30PM In person at Johnson Municipal Bldg. Members (P=Present; A=Absent) Charles Gallanter P Mike Mignone A Paul Warden P Kyley Hill P Rob Rodriguez P Vacant Seat Linda Edwards P Sam Jaspersohn P Vacant Seat Call to Order (6:33) and Roll Call (above) Agenda Changes – Added Seth Jensen, LCPC as first item to discuss Municipal Planning Grant in regard to Form Based Code and revising Flood Hazard Bylaws. Moved Johnson Visioning to second item to include Seth in discussion. Added Re-Imagine Johnson Task Forces / FEMA Long Term Recovery Plan and JPC role, prior to Housekeeping. Public Comment (none) Seth Jensen, LCPC - Municipal Planning Grants (MPG) become available in the Fall and Seth suggested it may be beneficial to apply for a grant to get Johnson help with revising Form Based Code (FBC) and Flood Hazard Bylaws (FHB) into a single document. The objective would be simplicity and avoiding/resolving conflict. Both FBC and FHB need to go through the formal public hearing process to be revised. MPC grants come from the VT Agency of Commerce & Community Development and include a 10% local match requirement. Grants to be applied for in Fall 2025 will be in the FY2026 budget (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026), so we will know whether program is funded prior to application. Seth discussed 3 categories of grants; planning, engineering, and construction – this is planning. Consensus of JPC – hold off on FBC and FHB for now and apply for a MPG in the fall with LCPC. Agreed that given the long timeline for revision, JPC should in the interim proceed with a punch list to simplify compliance with the existing FBC. - Downtown & Village Center Tax Credits – (Chair received information packet and forwarded to JPC) – Applications due 01 Aug 2025 and applies only to income producing properties. Charles noted that this information should be directed to the businesses in town, so they are aware. Perhaps the Selectboard should do outreach? - Johnson Visioning – DuBois & King selected as consultant by LCPC. JPC discussed and agreed the due to the limited funds, the focus of visioning project should be possible uses of the Sterling Market property. Discussed possibly trying to have public meeting in June. Related: LCPC is also in discussion with SLR Consulting to provide a public meeting on hydrological modeling (processes, examples of remediation and effect, status, etc.). Possibly also in June. Briefly discussed “sediment management” (excavation in rivers above mean high water level) vs. dredging (excavation below mean high water, i.e., river beds); former is easier to get approved, especially if related to physical structure improvement (bridge abutments, etc.). JPC Bylaws, Review of Revisions – Major revisions from previous meeting were incorporated. Charles noted additional grammatical/typographic errors that should be corrected. Rob moved passage of the revised bylaws including the edits discussed tonight; Sam seconded. Passed unanimously. Re-Imagine Johnson and FEMA Long Term Recovery Plan – Discussed the 5 Task Forces (Food, College, Recreation, Downtown, & Housing) and what role JPC could/should fill. General agreement that Task Forces should continue their work as they see fit; JPC should encourage and participate as individuals if desired, but JPC oversight/control is not needed at this time. See what comes to us and how we can help (e.g., grant applications, etc.). Briefly discussed that the Rail Trail Committee has funding for a scoping study to assess possible routes to get people from the Rail Trail to downtown Johnson, will be hosting a meeting with the Recreation/Economic Opportunity and Downtown Redevelopment Task Forces – tentatively 22 May 2025. Housekeeping - Approval of Minutes of 10 APR 2025 meeting. Kyley moved approval as submitted; Linda seconded. Passed unanimously. - Mail – Announcement re Morristown Zoning Revision meeting (email forwarded to JPC). Also discussed citizen letter to Selectboard regarding importance of public input to discussions and planning uses of public spaces (in this case, possible changes to Legion Field); just FYI to bear in mind the importance of inclusion. Adjourn. Kyley moved; Sam seconded. Next Regular Meeting 12 JUNE 2025, 6:30 pm BACK BURNER TOPCS: ▪ TOJ Capital Plan (5 yr?) ▪ Water and Sewer Extension Plan/Policy