Town of Searsmont

Planning Board Minutes

October 7, 2008

1. Call to Order: 7:00pm

2. Attendance: Vice Chair: Paul Leeper, Andrea Walker, Dave Marceau and Steve

Porter.

3. Minutes: Motion made, seconded, and passed to accept of September 16, 2008

minutes with minor corrections.

4. Applications and Requests: Mr. Douglas Riley of 23 Union Street, Springfield VT. Came before the Board for 140 ft. cubic yards of fill to build a driveway on his property in Searsmont, Map 5, and lot 57.

Motion made, seconded, and passed unanimously to accept, provided the applicant follows standards 903.8, and that all setback requirements will be reduced to 62 feet, to allow driveway construction to route 173. Application fee was collected.

5. Communications:

Paul’s sent out to all Board members the warrant language, for this years vote.

6. Old Business:

After reviewing the proposed Shoreland Zoning map in Searsmont the following board members did a study of some areas and reported at this meeting what they found. The objective is to find out if existing or proposed areas should be in Inland Wading bird and Waterfowl Habitat (IWWH) on the new States map that will classify it as Resource Protection.

Paul Leeper found Lawry Pond to have emergent, shrub, swamp marshes. He felt that there should be a 250 foot buffer around most of the pond, signifying it to be IWWH.

Dave Marceau did extensive foot work on navigating and inspecting Witcher’s Swamp. He presented the Board with pictures, and sketches of the area that he looked at. On Fowles Road looking North he found it to be forested with very little wetland or open water. Looking South he found it, not to be all swamp, as the State map indicates. Because most of the area is not emergent wetland that would classify it as Resource Protection/ Inland Wading bird and Waterfowl Habitat, further investigation is needed.

Bartlett Stream is currently mapped as Resource Protection which warrants further studies done to confirm this.

7. New Business: None

8. Adjournment: 9:00 pm