Resident questions Riverbend Apartments rezoning, calls for transparency

Pam Kaiser, who identified herself as living just outside Middlebury, used the public‑comment period at the April 20 council meeting to press elected officials for clarity about a recent rezoning of Riverbend Apartments.

Kaiser said people from the community had spoken out and that petitions opposing the rezoning had been signed, but that the town manager had told residents the council supported the rezoning. "We have neither town council nor commissioners that listen to the people," she said, adding that the town's 2020 comprehensive plan had relied heavily on survey responses from Northridge high‑school students and questioned whether those respondents lived in town.

Laurel Sucecki, who said she lives within the Middlebury city limits, told the council she and her husband moved to Middlebury for its small‑town character and asked how residents can find notices and provide feedback online; she said she had only seen the item the day before the meeting.

Council members did not provide a point‑by‑point response to Kaiser's claims during the public‑comment period. Staff later addressed related procedural matters in other agenda items, including how petitions and sign‑up records are handled and the need to publicly advertise hearings and committee reviews for land‑use petitions.

What residents said: • Pam Kaiser: "We were told by the town manager that all of you supported the rezoning... We have neither town council nor commissioners that listen to the people." (public comment) • Laurel Sucecki: Asked how residents can find and receive timely online notice about proposals and said she moved to Middlebury for its small‑town character.

What the record shows: The comment lodged questions about the town manager's description of council positions on the rezoning and asserted the comprehensive plan survey was not representative; those claims were not directly rebutted in the public‑comment exchange recorded in the meeting transcript. Staff and council later continued agenda items that touch on public outreach and procedural steps for petitions and hearings.

Next steps: The transcript indicates questions about public notice and petition handling remain unresolved in this meeting. Council members and staff noted procedural steps (sign committee reviews, advertised public hearings) for some petitioned items, but no specific corrective action on the Riverbend rezoning claims was recorded in the meeting minutes presented here.