(A) Subdivision regulations for the Town of Fletcher are hereby established in accordance with the Vermont Municipal and Regional Planning and Development Act [24 V.S.A., Chapter 117, Section 4401(b)(2)], hereinafter referred to as “the Act,” and the Fletcher Town Plan, hereinafter referred to as “the Town Plan.” These regulations shall be known and cited as the “Fletcher Subdivision Regulations.”
(B) No
subdivision of land may be undertaken except in conformance with the Fletcher
Subdivision and Zoning regulations.
(C) The Development Review Board, (“the DRB”) is
hereby authorized and empowered to act under these subdivision regulations in
accordance with the Act, including but not limited to the approval,
modification or disapproval of all subdivision plats prescribed herein.
(A) These
regulations are adopted for the following purposes:
(1) To
protect and provide for the public health, safety, and general welfare of the
Town of Fletcher.
(2) To
guide the future growth and orderly development in accordance with the Fletcher
Town Plan, zoning bylaw, capital budget and program, and all other bylaws and
regulations enacted to implement the Plan.
(3) To
ensure that land to be subdivided shall be of such character that it can be
used safely for its intended purposes.
(4) To
secure safety from fire, flood and other danger, and to prevent overcrowding of
the land and undue congestion of population.
(5)
To guide public policy to ensure
the provision of adequate and efficient transportation, water, sewage, school,
parks, playgrounds, recreation, and other public requirements and facilities.
(6) To
promote the conservation of energy or to permit the utilization of renewable
energy resources.
(7)
To ensure that the rate of
growth does not exceed the ability of the Town to provide public services and
facilities, and that public facilities and services are available and will have
sufficient capacity to serve any proposed subdivision.
(8) To
preserve rare and irreplaceable natural areas, scenic and historic resources
and productive farmland through the proper arrangement and location of uses on
parcels to be developed.
(9) To
provide the most efficient relationship between land use settlement patterns
and the circulation of traffic throughout the Town; and to avoid undue traffic
congestion and overburdening of roads.
(10) To
prevent the pollution of streams and ponds; to ensure the adequacy of drainage
facilities; to safeguard ground and surface waters.
(11) To
minimize the fragmentation of productive resource lands, including farm and
forestland, to ensure its continued use and availability for agriculture and
forestry.
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For the purposes of these
regulations, a Subdivision is any
division of land creating three (3) or more lots, including
all lots created from a single parcel within the past four (4) years, and any
multi-family housing project and/or planned residential development (PRD) or
planned unit development (PUD), as defined in the Fletcher Zoning Bylaws. |
(A)
Applicability. Subdivision
of any tract of land into four (4) or more total lots within any continuous
period of four years, shall be subject to the subdivision regulations.
(B) Waivers. Pursuant to the Act [Section 4413], the DRB may waive or vary,
subject to appropriate conditions, the provisions of any or all improvements
and application submission requirements which in its judgment of the special
circumstances of a particular plat or plats are not requisite in the interest
of the public health, safety and general welfare; or which, in its judgment,
are inappropriate because of an inadequacy or lack of connecting facilities
adjacent to or in proximity to the subdivision. In granting waivers or variances, the DRB shall require such
conditions as will, in its judgment, substantially meet the objectives of the
requirements so waived or varied. No
such waiver or variance may be granted if it would have the effect of varying the Zoning Bylaw or other Town
ordinances or regulations.
(C) Boundary
Line Adjustments. Adjustment
of boundary lines between adjacent lots shall not be deemed a subdivision. The zoning administrator may review and
grant or deny an application for boundary adjustments between two or more
properties provided the adjustment does not create any additional lots or
create any non-conforming lots. If the
adjustment appears to be complicated, the zoning administrator can request a
survey. All boundary line adjustments
must be recorded in the Fletcher land records.
(D) Coordination of Review. The DRB may coordinate the concurrent review
of subdivision applications for Planned Residential Developments (PRDs) or
Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) under the Town’s Zoning Bylaw. All procedures, submittal requirements, and
standards under both sets of regulations must be complied with in this review
process.
These regulations shall take effect immediately
after adoption at a regular or special town meeting, in accordance with the
procedures set forth in the Act [Section 4404].
Amendments to these regulations shall be enacted in
accordance with the provisions of the Act [Sections 4403, 4404].
In the event that any provision of the bylaw is held
unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent
Jurisdiction, all other unaffected provisions shall
remain in force and for this purpose the provisions of this bylaw are
severable.