Montpelier planning commission sets Feb. 10 review, eyes March 24 public hearing; resident raises growth‑center and capital‑budget concerns

The Montpelier City Planning Commission on a tentative schedule said staff will prepare a landing page and the required report so the commission can consider warning a public hearing on the city plan if commissioners approve the public‑hearing document at their Feb. 10 meeting. If approved then, staff said, the commission could warn a March 24 public hearing that requires a 30‑day notice to regional and state bodies and a 15‑day newspaper notice.

The schedule matters because the plan and its required map are part of an overlapping process to reapply for an amended growth‑center designation; staff said that application pursues a September window and that council review and required additional hearings could extend into spring and early summer.

Planning staff member Mike told the commission the remaining implementation plans and the landing page should be online by Feb. 10 and that he would prepare the required report needed to warn the first public hearing. He said some implementation boards are already posted — land use, resilience and three community services implementation plans — but three other implementation plans remain offline because two staff members recently left and one staffer, Evelyn, has taken on additional work.

Commissioners discussed options for the hearing timetable. Mike outlined two approaches: an accelerated path in which the commission approves the public‑hearing document on Feb. 10, warns the March 24 hearing and continues to take public input at the Feb. 24 and March 10 meetings (without voting on changes until the hearing), or a sequential approach that would push hearings and council action later and likely move hearings into May. Mike emphasized the procedural limits: the first warned public hearing requires a 30‑day notice to the Regional Planning Commission, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the State Agency of Housing and Community Development and “Abiding Communities” (as referenced in the meeting), and a 15‑day newspaper notice.

Commissioners expressed concern about timing and workload. Commissioner Aaron and others said they wanted opportunities to digest public input — especially for the land‑use chapter and its map, which they expect could generate detailed parcel‑level comments — and favored flexibility so the commission can schedule follow‑up public input sessions if the hearing shows more time is needed.

During public comment, resident Alan Goldman urged the commission to record his remarks and to place on the public record specific capital‑budget details tied to the growth‑center expansion. Goldman said the regional planning commission must provide written documentation that Montpelier’s plan fits the regional plan and the abutting towns, and he said the city’s plan lacked specifics about a proposed Country Club Road site, walkability and a capital budget with feet of sidewalk, water and sewer, road extent and cost estimates. He also said the White & Birch study that staff cited did not include a capital budget and asked the commission to include measurable performance measures, timelines and accountability in the plan.

Commissioners and staff acknowledged Goldman’s concerns and said public comments will be entered into the plan’s comment matrix and considered in the process. Staff also said the commission can continue hearings to a date certain (not necessarily the immediately next meeting) if commissioners decide more time is needed to consider public input.

Formal business on the agenda included approval of the agenda (with item number 5 struck) and approval of the Jan. 13 minutes; both motions were approved by voice vote. The commission adjourned with the next meeting set for Feb. 10.

The commission’s next steps, as described by staff, are to: finish posting remaining implementation plans to the landing page, prepare and circulate the required report for commission review, and — if commissioners approve the public‑hearing document on Feb. 10 — warn a March 24 public hearing while permitting ongoing public input at subsequent meetings prior to any final votes.

Details the commission will still need to resolve in later sessions include the outstanding implementation plan for energy, how a progress dashboard (if any) will be linked, and technical capital‑budget items that residents requested be added to the plan prior to council review.