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DRB flags stream buffers, altered beaver ponds in review of Booth parcel
Summary
Board members reviewed natural-resource constraints for Parcel RT208B, noting breached beaver-dam ponds and requiring clearer stream buffer setbacks on the final plan; the Vermont ANR Natural Resources Atlas showed no mapped wetlands in the proposed buildable area beyond required setbacks.
Lorraine Banbury, the town Zoning Administrator and acting clerk, told the board she reviewed the site against mapped resources and reported that the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Natural Resources Atlas did not identify mapped wetlands or other resource constraints within the proposed buildable area beyond the required setbacks and stream buffers.
Board members discussed former beaver ponds on the property and said recent flooding had breached the dams and substantially altered pond areas. The board reviewed mapped streams, existing pond setbacks, stream buffer requirements, areas with slopes greater than 15 percent, and wooded areas, and concluded the proposed buildable area avoids wetlands, stream buffers, steep slopes, and other significant natural features as drawn — though members still asked for clearer depiction of stream buffer setbacks on the final plan.
The board also noted an existing private trail near the southern part of the parcel historically used to reach a bridge and pond; members determined that trail is private and does not affect the application under review. The discussion concluded that drainage and erosion-control standards did not require additional measures for the proposed placement of the house on an existing clearing.
