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Rooming house zoning requirement has to be redone
By SUSAN SMALLHEER
Staff Writer | November 17,2016
SPRINGFIELD — A sharp-eyed attorney from Vermont Legal Aid has discovered that the town failed to follow the state requirement for public posting of potential new zoning regulations, meaning the new rooming house regulations have to have another public hearing and be re-adopted.
Town Manager Tom Yennerell said that an attorney from Legal Aid, which has sharply criticized the zoning bylaw amendments, discovered the proposed ordinance wasn’t posted on the town’s website. The proposed zoning change had been posted in other public places, Yennerell said, but not on the website.
As a result, adoption of the rooming house zoning change will be postponed by at least a month, since the town must re-warn the public hearing, resetting the clock on when the new zoning requirement goes into effect.
Earlier this month, after the second and final public hearing on the new zoning requirement, both Vermont Legal Aid and local rooming house operator Will Hunter, of Weathersfield, had criticized the regulations, and hinted they might file a legal challenge. Both said that the new zoning regulations were discriminatory against mentally handicapped people and specifically violated the federal Fair Housing Act.
Select Board Chairman Kristi Morris took responsibility for the website oversight. According to the Vermont Right to Know Law, the zoning regulations have to be posted on a town’s website, as well as public postings.
Under the new schedule, a new public hearing will be held at 5 p.m. on Dec. 12. Yennerell said after the meeting that he didn’t expect the new public hearing to last very long or cover any new ground.
The ordinance, which was due to go into effect on Dec. 24, now won’t go into effect until at least early February, or 60 days after the Dec. 12 hearing, Yennerell said.
Jacob Speidel, a staff attorney with Vermont Legal Aid in Springfield, said he and fellow Legal Aid attorney Mairead O’Reilly had written a letter to the town about the perceived public notice problems.
“We’re pleased they have acknowledged an error. We hope this will allow the Select Board to take a fresh look at the issue and our concerns,” said Speidel on Wednesday.
Way to go Vermont Legal Aid. Just keep nit-picking away and soon EVERY building in Springfield will be a Section 8 hellhole! BRAVO!!!!
ReplyDeletedon't know what the big deal is,town makes all these rules and regs and never enforces them,waste of everybody's time
ReplyDeleteGood job, Vt Legal Aid. An unenforceable reg is worse than no reg at all.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I do not like the blight/slum in Springfield, they do not enforce any zoning laws. People even in so called good neighborhoods violate them and the town will do nothing. Why have permits and rules when they are not enforced? Then an abutting neighbor is stuck fighting with the neighbor that violated these rules. What does the town say? Nothing we can do...it's the properties owners problem, even though it is the Town that gave a permit to build etc in the first place.
ReplyDeleteEven businesses violate zoning laws - Willow Farm still refuses to comply with their conditional use permit yet keeps operating. I have talked to the town about this and am told nothing can be done due to lack of enforcement.
ReplyDeleteThey want to keep out of it because of legal fees. But can spend thousands to order a building removed, thousands more for structurally engineers and then a lawsuit for a POS property. We need to have elected Mayor vs Town Manager and get rid of our zoning guy. Better yet get rid of everyone that has worked for the town administration and police department and start over.
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