Essex Junction DRB approves temporary fire training center at Champlain Valley Expo

Essex Junction’s Development Review Board on July 17 approved a conditional use permit and site plan to allow the Essex Junction Fire Department to place a temporary training center on donated land at the Champlain Valley Exposition. The board voted to approve the conditional use application and then approved the site plan after a public hearing and discussion about smoke, safety and notification. Board members and applicants emphasized the site’s remote location and containment measures, and staff noted the application required conditional-use review because the training facility did not match an existing use category in the city’s use chart. Chief Kellogg of the Essex Junction Fire Department described the proposed setup as three metal storage containers arranged to simulate a two-story house, with one container stacked, one offset and openings fitted with steel doors. Live-fire training would use contained burns inside metal containers — the chief said those burns would use materials such as hay and pallets or a smoke machine to simulate low-visibility conditions. He said the fairgrounds is donating the gravel-pit site for at least five years. In response to board and public questions, the chief said training would typically occur Monday nights and occasionally Thursday and that larger multi-department “basic” classes would likely be held on Saturdays. He said fires will be contained in metal boxes and that one firefighter would stay to ensure the burn is extinguished if a call came in during training. The department said it plans to post larger or unusual training events on its Facebook page but not announce routine Monday-night trainings. Members of the public asked about visibility from Lincoln Street and site security. The chief said the site is surrounded by trees and not visible from Lincoln Street except perhaps minimal smoke above the tree line; he also said the containers will be locked with paddle locks when not in use. Staff told the board the proposal required conditional-use review because no existing land-use category matched the training facility; staff pointed the board to three conceptual site-plan recommendations in the staff report that the board should address: (1) whether the application meets conditional-use criteria in the staff report; (2) whether the absence of additional parking is acceptable for the temporary use; and (3) whether landscaping waivers are acceptable for the temporary site. After discussion, a board member moved to approve the conditional-use application per staff’s recommended motion number 1; another member seconded and the motion passed. The board then approved the site-plan application per staff’s recommended motion number 2. The approvals allow the fire department to use the donated area at the Champlain Valley Exposition for training on the terms presented in the application. The board did not attach additional conditions in the hearing regarding public-notification frequency beyond the department’s stated plan to post major events on social media. The board’s action was framed as a temporary, site-specific approval tied to the donation and the conceptual site plan presented to the board.