KILLINGTON—
updated
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 08:49 AM
Steve Selbo advised that SP Land had a kick-off meeting with
Bill Burke at Act 250. Overall it went very well. There are a
couple of issues they have to work out. They are still planning to
submit their application by the end of the month.
Draft Zoning Regulations - The Commission continued its page by
page review of the draft Zoning Regulations. The following items
were discussed at length:
Building Height in Ski Village II
Going through the Zoning, Town Planner Richard Horner noted that
there was no height restriction in the Ski Village II for
residential housing. After talking to Fire Chief, Patrick McDonnell
and Steve Finer, Horner recommended that the 20 foot top floor not
to exceed three stories height measurement which is applied to
other Zoning Districts in Town also be applied to residential homes
in the Ski Village II District.
The Fire Department has always supported this restriction since
this is the maximum height that can be safely reached by their
ladders. Steve Selbo advised that Jeff Findeisen had planned to
attend this evening to discuss this briefly with the Commission and
then talk to the Fire Department, but something came up and sends
his apologies. Part of Mr. Findeisen's presentation was to bring to
the Commission's attention the Secondary Means of Escape Section of
the State of Vermont Egress and Rescue from Windows Regulations.
Instead of going to the top of the floor, the guideline in this
document is 20 feet to the bottom of the egress window. It also
allows for berms and decks to be used in order to achieve this
height measurement for fire safety.
Horner advised that he had invited Steve Finer to attend this
evening to address this issue. Mr. Finer advised that he is
familiar with the document and does not see an issue with using the
bottom of egress window measurement, however, he cautioned that the
definition of berm and decks needs to clear so as not to create an
accessibility issue. Steve Finer noted that in past discussions
regarding the development in the Ski Village II, since there is
going to be a central water source for the entire development, that
the buildings should have sprinkler systems and addressable
alarms.
Although the Fire Department cannot require such a condition, the
Select Board can enact an ordinance requiring it. Jim Haff felt
this was a discussion that needed to take place between the
developer and the Fire Chief.
Open Space
There was lengthy discussion regarding ownership and maintenance of
open space. Mr. Selbo noted that he understands and agrees with
this concept, however, he questioned who pays taxes on the open
space.
Horner explained that open space is considered an amenity and it is
up to the developer to provide the mechanism for maintenance and
ownership. The easiest way to address this is to have the Owner's
Association own, maintain and pay taxes on the open space.
There was discussion on what the standard should be. Horner
recommended that the open space requirement should be equal to the
maximum coverage as defined in Section 240 (i.e., if the maximum
coverage is 10%, then the requirement is to have 10% Open Space.)
Chris Bianchi suggested 10% Open Space for 1-15 acres, 15% for
15-50 acres and 20% for 51+ acres. The general consensus was the
latter suggestion was reasonable.
Steve Selbo wanted reference to ownership taken out indicating that
he did not want the Planning Commission dictating who should own
the open space. Horner advised that the Commission will not dictate
ownership. It simply wants to know there is a mechanism in place to
maintain and own the open space. Discussion ended with Steve Selbo
asking that the respective attorneys review this.
(These are partial notes from the meeting Jan. 18, for full
minutes visit killingtontown.com and click on the boards and
commissions tab.)
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killington planning commision
