Notes from the June 16th Selectboard meeting: a petition to upgrade South Bear Swamp Road from Class 4 to Class 3, Russ Bennett's CHIP-funded Colby Road proposal, and what each means for who can afford to live in town.
Owners on South Bear Swamp Road have petitioned to re-classify a portion of the road from Class 4 to Class 3. I have no firsthand account, but Select Board discussions indicate legal action was taken or threatened against the town if the road was not upgraded.
Middlesex has National, State, Interstate Highways and Class 2-4 roads. Class 4 roads are not maintained by the town, while the town still maintains ownership and control of right-of-way. Homes on Class 4 roads were built or purchased with full knowledge that those owners would be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the road, without public assistance.
A town may decide to re-classify roads over time. A town should have a policy and procedure that minimizes the opportunity for bias or self-dealing when determining the classification of a road.
Here is the Town of Middlesex policy on upgrading a Class 4 road — see Part C of the 2003 Highway Ordinance.
The 2003 Highway Ordinance requires the Select Board to give its decision on a road classification upgrade at the next "duly called" meeting. This conflicts with the board's statement at the June 16th meeting that it has no hard timeline to decide after the hearing. Clarification has been requested.
Amend the Highway ordinance to include measurable, verifiable characteristics that qualify a road as Class 3. Examples could be "has <such and such> number of families per <such and such> miles of road".
South Bear Swamp isn't the only Class 4 road in Middlesex. Notch Road is Class 4 and is the public access road to the Middlesex Town Forest. If families on South Bear Swamp Rd are entitled to town-maintained roads, why isn't Notch Rd (or any of the other Class 4 roads in Middlesex)?
Homes on Class 4 roads sell for less than those on Class 3. Re-classifying South Bear Swamp to Class 3 would transfer value to current homeowners while committing the Town of Middlesex to annual maintenance costs.
Upgrading a road's classification may be warranted in particular circumstances. Residents can write to the board or attend the hearing on Tuesday, June 23rd to register their views before it decides — possibly the only such opportunity.
At the June 16th meeting, Russ Bennett re-raised his Colby Road proposal for a large development under the CHIP (Community and Housing Infrastructure Program): housing, a day care center, meeting space, and a municipal water system, for which he hoped the town would help fund a portion.
The proposal appears to conflict with the Mixed Use District definition from Middlesex (Page Marked 4/PDF Page 8), which requires a minimum of 2 acres per structure; the Colby development as described at the meeting appeared substantially denser. The Mixed Use District is the south side of Colby Road, as can be seen here.
The site's single entrance and exit presents a constraint for the traffic a 150-child-capacity day care center would generate.
I'd be very interested in residential units that conform with the permitted 3-4 family dwelling, which I imagine would be similar to the housing developments along Rte 2 headed to Waterbury. The proposal as described does not match this, and the disconnect between the Middlesex Zoning Plan and the plan presented warrants the Select Board's scrutiny.
And just because one proposal isn't right doesn't mean we shouldn't, all of us as members of the town, work to put together the best proposal we can to receive CHIP funding to build more affordable housing in Middlesex. This is both the right thing to do and a good thing for the town.
Middlesex residents have sharply different experiences of housing affordability. A good portion at the top of the town is prospering; a larger portion faces affordability pressures. Making decisions about upgrading roads, and having the taxpayers take on paying for those roads, or agreeing to partner on a municipal water system (which has no current demand, but may in the future for as yet undeveloped businesses and housing) have an effect on the cost of living in the town, and therefore on who can afford to live here.
Vermont, and Middlesex in particular, has a specific character. As a "flatlander" who moved here this decade, I value the life Middlesex offers. I share some of the concerns about how decisions are made in town: a small group can exert disproportionate influence over which decisions get made. If you care about any of the questions above, I hope you'll participate by attending a Select Board hearing or regular meeting and sharing your thoughts.
P.S. I'm now very curious to understand the history of Austin v. Town of Middlesex. The verdict seems to have been that there was a mapped town highway near the section of South Bear Swamp rd under discussion that was entirely made up?
The Middlesex Gazette is a one-man paper, kept by a neighbor for his neighbors. A town is best governed when its doings are known in every kitchen — so here they are, set down plain and free of charge. Back to the front page →