(Editor’s note: This article by Chris Mays was published by the Brattleboro Reformer on Feb. 18, 2017.)
WILMINGTON — While several other approvals will need to be in place for different projects proposed by the Hermitage Club to proceed, the company is celebrating its biggest hurdle: the Act 250 master plan permit.
“The Hermitage Club is thrilled to announce that we have our master plan permit,” the company wrote in an email to members Thursday.
The company runs a private ski resort on Haystack Mountain, a golf course, and several inns and restaurants throughout the Deerfield Valley. The findings of fact from the state’s District 2 Environmental Commission do not include the golf course as no development is planned there. Previously, the company sold an airport and piece of land known as the East Tract, which was a set of villages and property between the mountain and airport.
Thursday’s findings focus mostly on areas near Haystack and the Hermitage Inn. The master plan application “is a request for partial findings based on the conceptual nature of proposed project elements as presented in the application,” according to the commission. Before construction permits from the commission can be granted, the commission must make affirmative findings for all the criteria as it relates to an individual project. And each construction project included in the master plan will require a separate permit application. Some more information particular to different projects will be needed, especially on how construction or an increase in visitors will affect air quality, streams and land.
Permits for development in wetlands from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources have not been secured yet but will be required in some cases. The commission expects positive findings on these permits for building and road construction, tree planting, grading and fill, and tree clearing for a mountain coaster. But approval for the proposed expansion of Mirror Lake, for recreational purposes, was questionable.
The commission also wondered whether projects outlined in the master plan would have enough water supply to meet the company’s “reasonably foreseeable needs” and said development “must not cause unreasonable burdens on an existing water supply.” ANR permits for water supply, wastewater and stormwater will be needed for separation construction phases. Transportation is another aspect the Hermitage Club will be tackling to minimize traffic at peak travel times.
The company described the findings of its master plan — spanning more than 50 pages — as “the culmination of nearly 15 months of work” that “will help ease the continued permitting process for individual projects.”
“A heartfelt thank you goes out to all of our members, investors, team members and vendors who helped us persevere through long and often arduous process,” the company wrote in the email. “The best is yet to come.”
After the initial announcement was made, Hermitage Club Founder and President Jim Barnes sent out another email saying that all the commission’s affirmative findings and preliminary findings were binding on all parties for 10 years.
“This will now enable us to expedite permits for individual building projects in an abbreviated manner,” he wrote. “This will also allow us to move forward with building permits we’ve already filed, such as the eight Grenoble Way town homes. Those buyers can start making interior finish choices with confidence for fall completion.”
He expects to start filing construction permits for eight additional townhomes in Grenoble Way, 12 in Chamonix Village, 14 villas at Hotel Hermitage and seven trailside homes on the lower mountain. There will be a “45-day approval cycle,” he noted.
“Last Saturday was my birthday, and I can tell you I really didn’t feel like celebrating until this permit hit,” Barnes wrote. “Well, I feel like partying now!”
