Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Downtown Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident presents zoning-based proposal to curb downtown concentration of alcohol and tobacco retailers
Summary
Downtown business owner Kat Allen urged the Barre City Council to refer a drafted ordinance to the planning commission that would use land‑use categories and distance buffers (around schools, libraries and playgrounds) to prevent overconcentration of alcohol and tobacco retailers downtown.
Kat Allen, a Barre City resident and downtown business owner, asked the council to consider a zoning‑based ordinance to address what she described as an overconcentration of second‑class alcohol and tobacco retailers in the small downtown district. "The document before you is an analysis of the concentration…within Barre City's downtown," Allen said, and she handed a printed draft ordinance to staff and councilors.
Allen said her research reviewed state statutes and local zoning, and the draft focuses on land‑use tools — expanding business categories, defining "sensitive use" spaces such as libraries, schools and playgrounds, and establishing distance buffers for new high‑impact retailers. "This approach is legally defensible…designed to promote healthier, more balanced downtown districts without overstepping state authority," Allen told council members.
Mayor (speaker 1) and members thanked Allen for the briefing; the mayor said he had referred the matter to the planning commission (Chair Dave Sitchell was copied on the referral). Councilors said they supported studying the issue: one councilor encouraged staff to bring the idea before the planning commission for detailed review, while another said any new rules should not penalize applicants already far along in property acquisitions.
The council took no ordinance vote but directed staff to refer the document to the planning commission for further consideration and possible future recommendations to the council. Allen offered to participate on a working group or committee to help refine the proposed language.
