Editor’s note: This article is by Nora Doyle-Burr, of the Valley News, in which it was first published Aug. 19, 2015.
[R]ANDOLPH — The developer of the proposed mixed-use project near the Interstate 89 interchange in Randolph has reduced the area he would use for buildings in response to state concerns that the initial proposal would have paved over too much prime agricultural land.
Developer Jesse “Sam” Sammis also provided the District 3 Environmental Commission with a list of his real estate holdings in Randolph and reasons why his other properties in town would not be suitable alternatives for the proposed 1.15-million-square-foot project on 172 acres near the I-89 interchange with Route 66.
As proposed, the project would include up to 274 residential units, 280,000 square feet of office space, 236,000 square feet of light manufacturing space, a visitors center and Vermont products showcase, a fitness center, retail shops and a 180-room hotel and conference center.
In order to leave more prime and state agricultural soils free from development, the housing units will be closer together, Sammis said. Of the 172-acre project, almost 102 acres potentially would remain available for farmland, an increase of more than 23 acres from his original proposal, according to a comparison of maps he has filed.
“We’ve done more clustering and we are leaving more of the prime agricultural lands aside,” said Sammis, who declined to detail his changes to a reporter.
Sammis’ revised filing came in response to a July 23 order from the District 3 commission that found his initial plan was not “compact enough to satisfy” Act 250 requirements that protect prime farmland from development.
But opponents said this week’s filing still left their concerns unanswered.
Montpelier resident Steve Whitaker, a former regional planning commissioner for Royalton who opposes the project as proposed, said the revised plans simply redraw the area to be redeveloped, but do not delineate where individual buildings will be sited.
“There’s no clustering,” Whitaker said. “All there are are boundary boxes.”
Whitaker questioned whether the revised proposal would be permitted under the local permits Sammis has received for the project.
“It’s no longer the project that he got approved (by the town),” Whitaker said.
Executive Director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council Brian Shupe said he had not yet had a chance to review the new filings, which were filed on Monday.
But Shupe said the commission ought to give a developer a red or a green light to move forward or not with a project rather than encouraging modifications to the original proposal.
“We have a moving target that changes,” he said. “That shouldn’t be happening over the course of the review process.”
Shupe’s organization and the Conservation Law Foundation filed a motion to dismiss with the commission on Aug. 3, arguing that changes to the proposal shouldn’t be made during the commission’s review.
Earlier this month, Sammis said that the changes are being made in response to the commission’s comments.
The commission has not yet responded to the motion for dismissal.
Also in Monday’s filing, Sammis provided a list of 18 properties he owns in Randolph. He argues, however, that the only properties that would be suitable locations for the proposed mixed-use development are those near the interstate.
In the filing, he pointed to the town plan and town zoning regulations, which specify that the interchange zoning district within which the proposed project area lies is the only zoning district in Randolph that allows for large-scale, mixed-use development, as evidence to support his claim. The availability of public sewer is an additional advantage to development in the area near the highway, according to the filing.
In addition, the filing argues the commission’s suggestion that Sammis consider dividing up the proposed uses among his other properties would violate “the Act 250 tenet of law that District Commissions review each project application on its own merits, and not in comparison with other or previous proposals, or to what could be built, or to other factors unrelated to the project.”
Valley News photo/Sarah Priestap
In the filing, Sammis describes reasons why each of the other properties he owns in town would be unsuitable. He spends the greatest amount of text arguing that Green Mountain Stock Farm on Lower Stock Farm Road would not be a suitable location for the development due to insufficient infrastructure in the vicinity, including unpaved access roads and a lack of access to municipal sewer and water.
In addition, according to the filing, the town’s zoning ordinance would not allow mixed-use development in the Rural 5 District where the Green Mountain Stock Farm sits. The stock farm parcel also contains prime agricultural soils.
Sammis ruled out other parcels for their small size or restrictions. For example, the approximately 160-acre Montague Golf Club, which he also owns, is subject to a deed restriction requiring that it remain a golf course.
When he reviews the recent filing, Shupe said he will “take a hard look” at the list of Sammis’ other properties. Shupe said he’s aware of other commercial buildings and land that might be considered as possible locations for at least some elements of Sammis’ proposal.
The commission’s next hearing for the project is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sept. 25 at a location to be determined.
While the Act 250 process is ongoing, Sammis has received a green light for one facet of the project from a state agency this week.
On Tuesday, Commissioner Mike Obuchowski of the state Department of Buildings and General Services released an updated agreement between Sammis and the state allowing Sammis to develop and operate a visitors center as a component of the plan.
In 2013, Gov. Peter Shumlin extolled the benefits of the visitor center, which he said would provide a service to Vermont at no cost to taxpayers, and help direct traffic to Randolph’s downtown.
The 17-page renewed agreement includes a timeline that requires Sammis produce an approved Act 250 application by July 15, 2016. Under the timeline, Sammis is required to break ground by 2019 and complete construction by 2020.
