Pownal board appoints Corie Green; rejects Shane Brady and schedules hearing on his affordable-housing impact-fee refund request

At the Nov. 24 meeting the Select Board voted to appoint Corie Green to the Capital Asset Planning Committee after Chair Jon Morris recommended her for that role; the motion passed unanimously.

The board then considered Shane Brady's volunteer form and a request he had submitted earlier asking for reimbursement of impact fees of $1,392 for each property he said he would develop for affordable housing. Brady spoke to the board about his interest in conserving Pownal's character while allowing some practical community uses of town land and responded to questions about a neighbor dispute that resulted in a dilapidated bus on a field adjacent to his property. He acknowledged past appeals related to a mobile-home-park overlay and said he believes rules should be applied consistently.

Board members raised concerns about Brady's prior litigation and whether that history could affect his ability to serve on town committees; after discussion the board voted 0-3 against appointing Brady to the Conservation Commission.

On the impact-fee refund request, the town attorney advised the Select Board that Section 8(c)(3) of the Town's Impact Fee Ordinance gives the Select Board discretion, after notice and a public hearing, to refund some or all required impact fees when they are attributed to the construction of affordable housing. The attorney cautioned that while the ordinance permits a refund, such waivers could prompt legal challenge from other developers, and emphasized that the ordinance does not require a refund. The board set a public hearing for the first meeting in January to consider Brady's request and to receive public comment.