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Commission backs application for planning grant to study South Dorset Village Center
Summary
Following a presentation by BCRC, the commission voted 7-0 to ask the selectboard to apply for a municipal planning grant (up to $30,000) to study creating a Tier 1B South Dorset Village Center around Raptor Lane; the center could make projects eligible for grants and exempt them from Act 250 if approved by the Land Use Review Board.
Samantha Page of the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) presented maps showing a proposed South Dorset Village Center in and around Raptor Lane and explained potential benefits, including eligibility for certain grants and a possible Act 250 exemption if the state Land Use Review Board approves Tier 1B designation.
Commissioners discussed the Tier 1B exemptions and related funding programs, including Act 69 and the Community Housing and Infrastructure Program (C.H.I.P.), and the potential to include a bike/pedestrian path project in grant applications. Town Manager R. Gaiotti told the commission that one response had been received to the request for proposals for the first phase of housing on the Raptor Lane property.
After the presentation, Commissioner Scott Thompson moved and Natalie Quigley seconded that the selectboard apply for a municipal planning grant (the commission noted such grants could provide up to $30,000) to study creating a Tier 1B village center in and around Raptor Lane; the motion carried 7-0-0. The selectboard’s participation is required for the Tier 1B application to proceed to the state.
