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Richmond council adopts zoning amendments to prohibit certain special-use listings; schedules August review
Summary
The Richmond Town Council voted March 17 to adopt amendments that make a set of formerly special-use entries prohibited in the zoning table, after debating a proposed sunset/reversion clause and the Planning Board's role; the council asked staff to place a review on the August agenda.
The Richmond Town Council voted March 17 to adopt amendments to its zoning ordinance that remove a list of uses from the special-use permit column and mark them as prohibited, a change councilors said is intended to protect the town until the Planning Board develops objective, site-specific criteria.
Council President Wilcox opened a public hearing on Chapters 18.16 (use regulations) and 18.20 (dimensional regulations). Councillor Madnik told colleagues the options before the council were to adopt a sunset clause, leave the ordinance as currently drafted, prohibit the uses permanently, or make those uses permitted by right to comply with state law. Town Solicitor guidance on the enforceability of a reversion/sunset clause was included in the packet, the council was told.
Town Planner Talia said the Planning Board has not drafted a working model of objective criteria and that most of the current proposed language had been prepared by staff. Several councilors said the Planning Board has a heavy workload and that staff could continue to refine criteria; others warned that leaving the special-use process unchanged leaves gaps in community protections.
After debate about legal risk and administrative burden, a councilor moved to adopt the version presented that marks the listed special uses as prohibited. The motion carried by roll call. Councillors then asked the town clerk to schedule the item for review; the town solicitor recommended a separate, non-motion directive to place the item on an August agenda to check whether the Planning Board had produced advisory recommendations.
Council members said the prohibition aimed to preserve the town's ability to set local guardrails while the Planning Board develops objective standards. The council did not adopt an automatic reversion clause, citing concerns about legal enforceability and future ambiguity. The council's action does not foreclose returning the subject to the Planning Board or amending the ordinance later.
The council also directed staff to ensure interested residents and boards know how to submit comments before the August review.
What happens next: staff will notify the Planning Board of the council's action; the council placed a review of the amendments on a future meeting calendar to determine whether draft criteria and advisory recommendations have been received.
