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Planning staff proposes UDO amendments to streamline BAR reviews; board requests keeping neighbor mailings
Summary
Planning staff presented six draft Unified Development Ordinance changes to reduce notice costs and allow staff review of low‑visibility accessory work; the BAR favored eliminating newspaper ads but asked that mailed notices to adjacent owners remain in place or be supplemented by targeted e‑notice.
Planning staff brought six proposed amendments to the town’s Unified Development Ordinance that would change BAR public‑notice procedures and expand staff authority to review certain low‑visibility accessory work. The BAR discussed the proposals and advised keeping mailed notice to adjacent property owners while removing the expensive and ineffective newspaper advertisement requirement.
Proposals: Staff’s six draft amendments included: (1) eliminate the requirement for a newspaper advertisement for BAR meetings; (2) cease sending mailed notices to adjacent property owners except in demolition cases; (3) allow staff review for new accessory structures that are not visible from a right of way (subject to material/Shippo rating and square‑foot thresholds); (4) allow staff review for relocation or modification of existing noncontributing accessory structures; (5) allow staff review for additions that are not visible from the right of way (subject to thresholds and rating); and (6) allow staff review of one‑off mechanical screening and dumpster enclosures provided they are not part of a larger project.
Board response: Members generally agreed that newspaper advertising is no longer effective and supported removing that requirement. Several members opposed eliminating mailed notices to adjacent owners, noting that not all residents use the web agenda or can easily parse digital packets; the board asked staff to retain mailed letters for adjacent properties or to devise an additional targeted electronic notice. The board also requested any staff review authority be limited by clear square‑foot thresholds and visibility tests and that relocations that change a structure’s visibility should still require BAR review.
Next steps: Planning staff asked for the board’s feedback prior to drafting formal ordinance language; the board’s comments will be incorporated into staff’s revision of the UDO amendments and returned for formal consideration and public notice as required by the town’s code.
