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Council debates tightening subdivision rules; committee-backed conservation default tabled to Jan. 26
Summary
The ordinance committee proposed making conservation subdivisions the town’s default and narrowing hardship waivers; council members split over whether the comprehensive plan committee should weigh in first, and the council voted to table setting a public hearing to Jan. 26.
The Town Council took up an ordinance-committee draft to amend subdivision rules so that conservation subdivisions — which require at least 50% contiguous open space — would be the default submission for developers, with tighter language on hardship waivers.
"If we're already having a conservation subdivision as our default that we want to adopt...why not make it the only default answer?" Councilor Thorson said in committee remarks, describing the proposal as aligning zoning with the town’s comp plan and climate action priorities.
Council discussion centered on process: some members argued the comprehensive plan committee, which is still drafting recommendations, should be allowed to conclude before the council sends the ordinance for a planning-board review; others said closing a perceived loophole in hardship waivers is time‑sensitive and earlier review by the planning board would be constructive. One councilor called the measure a way to "protect our assets" in light of recent state changes.
After debate, a motion to table the action to Jan. 26 — allowing comp-plan members additional time to review and for staff to distribute materials — carried.
