SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Prior to the start of the Monday, June 22, Springfield Selectboard meeting, the board conducted two public hearings with a full house gathered at the Springfield Town Hall, and more attending online. The first hearing was on the land-use ordinance, and the second was on the water and wastewater budget.
Mike Martin and Walter Martone from the ordinance committee were at the meeting to present the committee’s report and red-line recommendations regarding the land-use development ordinance.
Martin told the meeting that the new ordinance was written to be more clearly understood by the public, and that “it maximizes residential, commercial, and agricultural land uses, [and] broaden[s] development within our community.”
Martone commented, “This was the first time a blended process was used. In the past, land-use ordinances were governed exclusively by state statute.”
Residents including Heidi Trimbach voiced strong concerns over the section covering extraction of earth and mineral resources in residential and rural neighborhoods. The ordinance committee changed a previous condition that required blasting to occur at least 100 feet from any property line to now require a minimum distance of 500 feet from any property line. This was after the committee discussed and rejected a 1,000-foot option.
Trimbach stated that her “personal feeling” was that there should be no blasting at all allowed within residential neighborhoods. If total prohibition was out of the question, which it seemed to be, Trimbach requested that the distance required be 1,000 feet. “I think if you are blasting dynamite where people are living…that’s the very least we can do,” she stated.
Martin responded by pointing to eight additional requirements the committee added under “operations” that included items such as dust control, noise containment, and regulated hours of operation. Any blasting work would require a plan and monitoring by a licensed, independent blaster, as well as real-time seismograph monitoring. Prior to these revisions, according to Martin, the standards for mineral extraction had remained unchanged for 30 years.
Kelly Burke, a member of the planning commission, remarked that these were conditions to be met by commercial businesses put in place to protect citizens, especially seniors and medically vulnerable individuals, as well as anyone who owns a home with a drilled well or an older stone foundation.
Other issues raised were how a quarry or other extraction would impact property values within a neighborhood, and the marketability of selling a home adjacent to this type of operation. The potential loss of wildlife habitat was another concern voiced by residents.
The next steps will be for the selectboard to further review and modify the ordinance committee recommendations, file the new proposal with the town clerk, and share the changes with the planning commission. Then, a second public hearing will be held before the board adopts, amends, or rejects the ordinance. The matter was placed on the July 20 selectboard meeting agenda.
As the first public hearing adjourned, the meeting turned toward Town Manager Scott Pickup, who began the second hearing by saying, “Everything we are doing in the water/wastewater world is more expensive this year than last year.”
Expenses are expected to increase approximately 7-8% due to inflated costs of chemicals and fuel, and a required investment in cybersecurity following an audit that identified significant vulnerabilities at both plants.
Roy Farrar, water division superintendent for the Town of Springfield, reported that, while the water system remains in compliance, PFAS are present at advisory levels and future regulatory tightening may require treatment investments. Farrar emphasized that only a small portion of the town’s 55 miles of main has been replaced to date.
The second public hearing concluded and the selectboard moved into their regular meeting. The agenda included an update on permits issued for local fireworks displays that would require event sponsors to notify nearby neighbors, coordinate with the police and fire departments, and observe explicit safety and noise conditions.
“While this review is underway,” Pickup announced, “we have stopped issuing permits for local displays.”
Additionally, the selectboard approved event permits for the Springfield Stars and Stripes Race to be held on July 4, from 7-10 a.m., starting at the Toonerville Trail, and for Springfield Project Action to host a block party on Pearl Street, on July 25, from 12-3 p.m., that will involve a temporary road closure.