Who In Hell Would? But That's Just My Opinion

 The following is an opinion piece, my opinion, and it is of no reflection on any of my official and non official affiliations in town.

Picture this, there I was sitting on the grass with Wayne in the park on a beautiful sunny evening enjoying a delicious cheeseburger, cup of lemonade and a couple of friends who stopped by to chat. They wanted to know what was happening on West Road. I was mid sentence in being extremely careful to remain very neutral on the subject when another person dropped in and angrily interrupted with, "You just don't want it in your backyard" and "You need to know the facts!" I never did get another word in as the lecture ensued; but that exchange triggered something in me; and upon much internal debate I have decided to offer my opinion separate of  my formal collaborative opinions.

It does not escape my attention that West Road and the roads that branch off from West Road with the exception of a few landowners, is an area deprived of economic vitality. And I wonder how it is that these sorts of undesirable projects continue to be proposed for areas where residents are least able to defend their interests. 

In a state where a high priority is placed on housing people in rural areas with marginal resources, certain statutes such as the relatively new VT state Development Soils (19V.S.A.  6604c) all but guarantee in municipalities without local control to defend them, a disproportionate impact on lands resided on by marginal income rural owners and their tenants. 

 We moved to Vernon during its Vermont Yankee days of prosperity. Perhaps such weighted grand list industries also served to stave off the municipalities' demand for additional economic resources; on the other hand, perhaps it is our deep rooted heritage in agriculture and in the understanding of a need to conserve our heritage that made land stewardship a priority and an integral part of who we are. In either case, Vernon is blessed with open and low density developed lands.

There is another story to be told here and that is one of natural resources and the partnership of give and take from the land. Forestry and mining for example have seemingly peacefully coexisted in Vernon for generations. I say seemingly, because these natural resource industries must be implemented with careful balance and an eye towards reclamation if Vernon is to sustain a working and livable landscape. This is where the VT Agency of Natural Resources and Vermont's environmental law Act 250 come into play; and who Vernon has abdicated much of its future and certainly the future of the residents of West Road to. 

Vernon does not have local zoning. Vernon operates instead with a 2018 town plan generated by our Planning Commission and approved by the town. A town plan is what lays the groundwork for zoning  should the town choose to establish zoning. The town's plan in of itself, to my knowledge, has little if any legal bearing.

There is a general sentiment in Vernon that people who own property should be able to do what they want with their land and a fear that zoning will strip that right away from them. My contention is this, that unless the land is conserved by other entities, this approach to development places all of the power of land use decisions and therefore the town's future, into the hands of the state and large property owners. 

Our 2018 town plan identifies the future use of the proposed solid waste / development soils site on West Road as rural residential; not as commercial / industrial nor as a town resource; but without local zoning, the rights of one landowner outweighs the needs and interests of the rest of the landowners in that area. This is in spite of the fact that our town views this area as rural residential and not as a permanent storage site for soils contaminated with above background levels of lead, arsenic and carbons. To the tune of 5000 tons of soil a year for ten years (permit parameters), nothing that disturbs that soil will ever be permitted on that land again. 

The state expert at the public meeting reminded me that, "It's a gravel pit." when I questioned if there would be low impact or zero impact on migratory and residential wildlife if the permit was granted. 

Is it a gravel pit, or is it someone's backyard, their water source, their land value, their health and mental wellbeing? Is it a gravel pit or is it a place adjacent to farm crops and where children are raised nearby. Is it a gravel pit or a place where wildlife once thrived and passed through?  Is it land that will be reclaimed or land that will store the waste of a society that refuses to recognize that we are at a tipping point and running out of  places to put our waste. 

 I ask you this, what is the cost benefit? We can't even without zoning in place, set forth  an impact fee structure designed to reserve money to address future unknowns, accidents or post permit management.  Is the only solution we have for development soils to disperse them to lesser contaminated sites not adequately regulated by local ordinances and to areas resided in by people with marginal resources to protect themselves? The state refutes all liability for negative impacts from permits issued. With what will the town and its residents bring legal action should the unforeseen happen?

Furthermore; would a first in the state permit like the one being proposed by LaRock to the Agency of Natural Resources for West Road stand a chance of passing next to Fox Hill, Central Park, Hemlock Road, Laurel Ledges, The Village or even a large block of land formerly farmed? 

It is my hope that that the decision on this permit and others to come, takes into account our town plan and the compounded, disproportionate...INDEED disproportionate impact that these sorts of projects have on those who can least afford to defend their interests. 

Not in my backyard? I'm sure that given the choice, nobody chooses to live next to industrial waste. Who in the hell would? While I know that we must carefully weigh issues for their pros and cons and then pick our battles, I want to let the people of Vernon know this; don't rest your head at night believing that these things won't be coming to a neighborhood near you. Vernon has work to do before we sleep soundly, we must restore balance by passing zoning.

 -Norma Manning

Further reading:

Vegetating Vermont Sand and Gravel Pits

Future Land Use Map Town of Vernon VT 

I placed Mine on Conservation

 

After we left the Navy, and though Wayne had been a resident of Vermont for his entire life, we purchased our first home in NH as the lender wouldn't extend to us enough money to afford a home on the VT side of the river. We asked the realtor to find us a home with more land and less house and he found us a former hunting camp, turned year round house which frankly was ready to be torn down.  I had an immediate love affair with our little white and grey camp house that sat on just short of two acres of land and a whole lot of sand. 

It was a level parcel with a front yard full of stumps and each stump had a tire painted white on top of it. The backyard had more stumps, dilapidated sheds (one for parties), old car parts and the most beautiful American Beech tree I have ever seen.  The driveway was lined with massive Eastern White Pines that every year covered our roofs and the ground with a thick bed of needles.  The side lot was made up of Eastern Hemlock, oak, more pine trees and birch. Oh and there was some debate as to whether or not  our single car garage had been built over the property line of our neighbors 75 acers of mature woods. But a local builder who had once done some work on the neighbors house assured us that he had witnessed an agreement between the two parties that moved the property line less than a foot to the south in order to make the garage fully within our property. 

This is where Wayne and I went on to have three more children. Wayne went to work at VY and in his spare time, with he help of neighbors and family, he rebuilt our phoenix from the sill plate to the shingled roof. 

After many good years of building a life there, our neighbors put their house and property up for sale. Had I been smart about it, I would have asked to buy the lot to the side of our garage; but the thought hadn't crossed my mind as we had never had an issue and we couldn't even see their house from ours. New owners moved in and all seemed peaceful. 

One day a friend asked me if I had heard that my new neighbors had been approved to build a firewood operation. As abutters, I was surprised that the town hadn't officially notified us of the application and approval of the project. At first, I thought with 75 acres, it wasn't going to be much of an issue; but then other residents on the road began talking about the scale of the operation, logging trucks, dump trucks, buildings, a mill, and an access road. Finally one friend woke me up saying that this landowner planned on trucking logs into the operation which was to be built directly behind our house! The new owners apparently wanted to build their business the furthest they could from their own house. 

We inquired with the town and Wayne had a conversation with the neighbor about our area being zoned rural agricultural that ended with our neighbor threatening Wayne with a pig farm. Wayne said to him, "I don't believe that you are a pig farmer." To which he rebutted that our children would not be invited to his grandchild's birthday party and that our garage was on his property. 

Ironically, while living in Vernon years later, I won a piglet at the Winchester Pickle Festival which we raised and later gave to our nephew who owns a farm. 

I am going into great detail about this to help others understand the lengths to which neighbors will go to settle a disagreement and how having rules in place can settle an issue. We appealed to the town, who said that their hands were tied. That inquiry resulted in our neighbors clear cutting the massive pines all along our shared property lines. This caused our home to shake so violently that I thought it would come clear off of its foundation. I called the town which fined him a prescribed amount for logging without a permit. I should note that it was within his right to cut every other tree on the property line with a permit.

Having received his message loud and clear, I phoned a friend who was familiar with the ins and outs of municipal governing and they suggested that I write a letter to the NH State Attorney General's office. I received a call in short order and was told the following. When a municipality doesn't have zoning in place to address an issue, it defers to state regulations. That in of itself is a pretty powerful tool, but we were covered by zoning and the town had approved the project. The AG continued by informing me that under the state definition of rural agricultural zoning, a farm must produce more product than it processes. They notified the town that our neighbor's proposed business did not fall within the parameters of  the designated zoning. The town quickly rescinded its approval. 

At this juncture you are probably scratching your heads. Why I would tell a story about Hinsdale, NH?  Allow me to explain; many here in Vernon say that we have no zoning in town and so residents and land owners are free to do on their property as they wish. This is true to an extent, but I would argue that we do have a form of zoning in place. Perhaps the word zoning doesn't exactly apply; but please permit me some leniency on the topic. Vernon has a Farmland Conservation Commission and so we have land that will in the foreseeable future, remain as farmland. The Current Use Program is also in play for forested land. These programs limit development on conserved parcels.

We  have S2 (and a proposed S1) wetlands which carry with that state designation, restrictions on those wetlands including (among other things), a fifty foot buffer around them. Add to this species of concern and we might need an expert to explain all of the rules pertaining to working around them.

Our town is host to the Roaring Brook Wildlife Management area, a state owned wildlife management area that also has specific permitted uses and restrictions. This is in addition to the Fish and Wildlife owned and managed Hatchery Pond and our Municipal Town Forest, each with their own set of specific rules.

"Vermont law declares that lakes and ponds of the state and the lands lying beneath them are held in public trust for the benefit of all Vermonters."*  The Public Trust Doctrine further includes brooks, rivers and ground water. 

As any would be developer knows, The Natural Resource Board in Vermont oversees Act 250 permitting,  "reviewing and managing the environmental, social and fiscal consequences of major subdivisions and developments in Vermont"**

I only have a tea party knowledge of state zoning and other land use regulations in Vermont. Most of what I understand comes from personal interest in specific aspects of these rules. For example, after moving into Vernon and converting our dining room into a fourth bedroom, the state removed the burden of septic tank and leach field regulations from individual municipalities and now regulates all such systems in the state. If we ever were to replace our system, we would be required to upgrade to a four bedroom system or remove our fourth bedroom. Septic system approval (or not) limits land use.

I hope that I haven't lost you yet because here comes the big finale!

Vernon recently created a designated town center for which they consulted experts and residents to help with planning what the center might encompass in the future. Currently it includes farmland, municipal property, our school, businesses and private homes. Adjacent to this center is the Governor Hunt House recently acquired after considerable strategic planning by the volunteer group, Friends of Vernon Center. The house formerly affiliated with the Vermont Yankee site and gifted to this non-profit group, will become our community center. Grants were applied for and awarded for these projects and those accepting the grants must adhere to their stated use. 

Vernon has a selectboard appointed Planning Commission which is charged every eight years with producing the Vernon Town Plan . The next plan is due in 2026. It states right in the introduction that the plan is in part, "...designed to chart a course for development that will benefit future generations..."* 

I recently attended by public invitation, a strategic planning event hosted by the Planning Commission and held at the Vernon rec for the purposes of gaining insight from the public regarding the former Vermont Yankee site.  Most of the small group in attendance were officially involved with town business in one capacity or another. A few of us were just plain old residents. (The ball game across the street however was packed with spectators!) After a thorough presentation, we were given a sheet of stickers so that we could place a sticker on each of the ideas we thought should be pursued in the event that the town obtains the site in approximately six years. Two of the dots provided were a different color than the others and were to be placed on what we thought to be most important.

 I placed my two dots on Conservation & Abenaki. Why? Because aside from valuing conservation, I know that state and federal incentives exist for projects that include these sorts of things in their plans. Low income housing and solar fields also are incentivized and those were choices too. Of course it is possible that the town may choose to set up a Tax Increment Finance District (bonds) instead of pursuing grants, or it may choose to pass altogether on inserting itself into the future of the site.

People who serve on committees, show up to meetings and those who vote, are the ones who help to make decisions. Ordinances, rules and laws are in place because those who showed up, successfully negotiated to put them in place. 

Recently a resident expressed what I have heard from many over the years, they wish that Vernon had remained as a part of Hinsdale. They view NH as having more liberties than Vernon does. Because of my response, "you have options" may have on the surface seemed curt to others, I thought that I would dedicate today's blog to explaining myself. -Norma Manning

 Existing Land Use Town of Vernon VT, May 2018 

*Town Plan Vernon Vermont

**Natural Resources Board, Act 250 Program