OFFICE OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION / ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
TOWN OF HALIFAX, VERMONT
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES – DRAFT
June 9, 2026
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman Tom Fox (TF) called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM. Other board members present were Nancy McCrea (NM), Matt Gancz (MG), and Bill Pusey (BP). Elijah Summers (ES) was absent. Jessica Cooney-PCZBA Secretary, Ruth Moore, David Moore, and Stephan Chait were also in attendance. Attending online was Laurel Copeland.
CHANGES AND/OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA:
None
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES:
The Board approved the minutes from May 12, 2026 without corrections. (TF made the motion, 2nd by NM – all ayes).
OLD BUSINESS:
Following this meeting, the first draft of the 2027 Town Plan, including any recent changes, additions, and/or adjustments, will be forwarded to Matt Bachler at WRC for review.
NEW BUSINESS:
Laurel Copeland added more information to the Town Plan with new data for the “Cemeteries” section and an insert of DarkSky initiative (darkskyvt.org).
TF spoke of the Green Mountain Power (GMP) material that was recently received about the local Wind Project. GMP will be removing 11 Wind turbines located in Searsburg and replacing them with 3 larger, more efficient Wind turbines in the near future. Questions arose from the Board and visitors as to the impact these bigger turbines might have on views (visual obstruction), noise (louder sound), and birds flying (wildlife disruption).
The Board discussed “Zoom Bombings” that happened at the previous meeting and to other Town meetings. Zoom, Police, and the FBI were all contacted to report the incident. The Board discussed ways to prevent such things from happening again while still following Open Meeting Laws. Edee Edwards of the Selectboard, had mentioned setting up a meeting in the future to discuss possible guidelines to follow with the Town Secretaries should these happen again.
HEARING OF VISITORS:
Stephan Chait spoke about “Campgrounds” as a new addition to the Town Plan’s Economic Development Policies section.
Ruth and David Moore (Pike Road) asked the Board if it was possible to place a second dwelling on their property and use it as their primary residence. This request was due to the aging couple adjusting their living around their new needs (2 story house to a 1 story house). The Board spoke about different possibilities such as subdividing the property or cluster housing. Further research needs to be done by the Board while the owners were asked to contact a septic designer for wastewater details on the property.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting adjourned at 8:35 PM. (MG made motion to adjourn – 2nd by TF – all ayes)
YOUTUBE recording link: https://youtu.be/bdXdd9ar1PY
Respectfully Submitted, Jessica Cooney, Secretary to the PCZBA
