Town of Halifax, Vermont

MINUTES

November 12, 2008

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM.  Members in attendance were Chair Frank Maltese, Christina Moore, Allan Dacey, Norman Fajans, Craig Stone, Paul Placentino, Brian McNeice, and Howard Alboum.  Board member William Pusey was absent.  Others in attendance were Margo Avakian, and Secretary Phyllis Evanuk.

Discussion of Court Decision

Mr. Maltese advised that the purpose of this meeting was to review and discuss the decision of the Environmental Court regarding the Honora Winery Conditional Use application that they had given “deemed approval”.  The Court remanded the application to the town for public hearing.  He advised that the ZBA members needed to decide what action to take.

The general consensus was to conduct a public hearing; however there was much discussion as to what aspects of the Honora Winery project could be considered at this hearing.  The question was raised whether it would be better to request a new application than to use the existing one.  It was decided that the one presented at the court appeal was the proper one to consider.

Mrs. Moore moved to schedule a public hearing for December 10, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

Mr. McNeice seconded the motion.

The motion carried 7-1, with Mr. Fajans opposed.

Mr. Fajans explained that his opposition was because he felt more discussion and clarification regarding what was to be covered was needed.  He felt that setting the public hearing date should be deferred until the next meeting so that these issues could be addressed.

After more discussion it was the general consensus that a site visit should be conducted prior to any public hearing.

Mrs. Moore moved to schedule a site visit for Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. if that time is agreeable to the Farringtons.

Mr. McNeice seconded the motion.

The motion carried 8-0.

Mr. Maltese advised he would contact the Farringtons on Thursday morning to verify the date and time.

In order to clarify what can be considered at the scheduled hearing, the secretary agreed to check with the Environmental Court for a determination.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Phyllis H. Evanuk

Secretary