Blakeman Finds Support
For ‘PUD’ on Sunset Hill
By Sandy Vondrasek

The particular group of people who crowded Tuesday night into a hospital conference room didn’t seem good candidates for an evening of convivial conversation. They included:

• The developer who has been trying for years to build a nine-unit apartment building on Sunset Hill Road—Kevin Blakeman of Sharon;

• Members of the Randolph Development Review Board, who twice denied Blakeman a permit before approving one—after he successfully appealed to the Environmental Court; and

• Several of the Sunset Hill Road residents who have ardently opposed Blakeman’s apartment plans since he first proposed them almost three years ago.

Plus, the primary reason Blakeman was back before the DRB was to appeal the conditions placed on the permit he finally did get this fall.

Yet, after 70 minutes of exchanges that ranged from pointed to exasperated, communications were surprisingly cordial by the meeting’s end.

Blakeman had come to the DRB with a double mission: First, to appeal some of the conditions on the apartment permit, and secondly, to find out how his new idea for the 5.8-acre lot—a planned unit development, or PU, of single-family homes—might be received by the DRB. It was the latter topic that brought out the warmer feelings.

Conversations in and around the first request got off to a rocky start. Before anything could be said, Zoning Administrator Mardee Sanchez pointed out that the DRB could not take up the question, because a quorum of the members (who had considered the Blakeman permit) was not present. At that moment, however, DRB member Frank Reed arrived, and quorum was reached.

Detours from the main question—whether the DRB could reconsider the permit conditions—started early. Blakeman suggested that Sanchez should withdraw from his case due to conflict of interest problems. Sanchez replied she had advised Blakeman of potential conflicts at the time of his first application, and had offered to recuse herself at the time, an offer he declined.

"I have no problem stepping back, if the board feels it is appropriate," she added.

Over the next half-hour, Reed and DRB Chair Joel Tillberg explained to Blakeman that since he had already filed an appeal with the Environmental Court regarding permit conditions, the DRB could not take up the matter until the E-Court acted.

Reed noted that Blakeman could withdraw his E-Court appeal, and instead re-apply to the DRB for an amended site plan with different conditions.

"People do that all the time," Reed noted.

Blakeman persistently pitched to the board questions at the edges of the agenda item. He wanted to know why the DRB issued his permit without a new hearing, and whether he was the only applicant ever to get the kinds of conditions he got.

Reed explained that rules governing the DRB required that it act with "on the record" information and not take new testimony.

Blakeman got no answers regarding precedents for his conditions, though DRB members offered some explanations on why certain conditions were imposed.

In the end, the DRB voted unanimously not to reconsider the permit conditions, citing Town Atty. Peter Nowlan’s opinion that the issue was now under E-Court jurisdiction.

PUD Possibility

The tone in the room improved when the DRB took up Blakeman’s request for a preliminary review for an alternative to the nine-unit apartment—a PUD, or planned unit development, with "clustered" single-family homes and a shared common-lands area.

Blakeman said the idea came up in a "good talk" with Dan Baginski, an abuttor to Blakeman’s Sunset Hill lot and the most vocal opponent of the nine-unit apartment complex.

Blakeman said he went to Baginski to talk alternatives, because he would prefer a solution that made "everyone happy."

"I don’t like so much conflict," he said.

Blakeman said Baginski had, in turn, talked to other neighbors and reported back to him their support for the PUD concept. There were some differences on the number of houses that should be built. Blakeman said he would prefer six houses, and the neighbors wanted fewer.

Baginski, who was also at the hearing, said he came "kind of to speak in support" of the PUD. He added was also there to speak in support on the conditions placed on the apartment, should that be possible or necessary.

Sunset Hill neighbors had conferred, Baginski said, and agreed to support—in writing—a PUD of four houses on Blakeman’s lot.

However, Baginski, whose house is closest to Blakeman’s proposed apartment building, indicated there might be room for negotiation, since "anything would be better than that wall of apartments."

"I do appreciate the thought he (Blakeman) has put into this, and his consideration of me and the neighbors," Baginski said.

Lot-Size Question

That left the question of whether state law and town zoning ordinances might actually allow a PUD on a 5.8-acre lot in a rural, five-acre-minimum district.

Because PUDs preserve a certain amount of land, while clustering houses on small lots, these developments are allowed to exceed density limits, or the percentage of building footprint allowed on a parcel.

After consulting with Planner Kevin Geiger of Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, who was at the meeting, the DRB concluded that a PUD appeared to be a possible use of this particular lot. New state rules, Geiger said, eliminated density percentages for PUDs.

"There is no limit on the density bonuses you could give," Geiger said.

However, Frank Reed repeatedly counseled Blakeman that despite the support of the neighbors and the new state rule, a permit from the DRB was not guaranteed.

"A PUD is not a permitted use," he said. "It’s not a given. We decide."

It was agreed that Blakeman could pursue a new permit for the property, but would have to "relinquish" the apartment permit, if he got one for a PUD.

The meeting ended with Sunset Hill resident Philip Frey thanking the DRB for its consideration, and Baginski adding that he hoped "it worked out."

Chair Tillberg sprinkled a little irony on the happy vibes: "And now," he said, "we can join hands and sing ‘Kumbaya.’"