Tower Antennae, ‘Burn Facility’
On Randolph DRB July Agenda
By Sandy Vondrasek

Plans for a "fire simulation training facility" for students in its Vermont Technical College’s Fire Sciences program will be presented to the Randolph Development Review Board, at its July 29 public hearing.

Four other applications are on the DRB’s agenda that night, three of them sub-divisions and the fourth a request to add six antennae to the existing 200-plus-foot communications tower on Rand Road in Randolph Center. The 7 p.m. hearing will be at VTC’s Langevin House.

According Randolph Zoning Administrator Mardee Sanchez, VTC plans to build the 1350-square-foot burn building behind the Langevin House, a historic former residence that VTC converted into a conference space years ago.

The two-story building being proposed would have a "parapet" or cupola structure on the roof. The project needs site plan and local Act 250 approval from the DRB, and complete Act 250 review from the District 3 Environmental Commission. The site is in the RU5 (rural use, five-acre minimum) district.

In January, VTC was awarded a $406,000 federal grant towards construction of the training facility, estimated at the time to cost $700,000.

Tower Changes

Light Tower Wireless, LLC and Centerline Communications, LLC want to add six panel antennae to the Rand Road tower, each 72 inches high by 13 inches wide, and construct an equipment shed at the tower base, according to the application.

The project needs site plan and local Act 250 review from the DRB. The tower is in the RU5 district and sited on land leased Idora Tucker.

The three sub-divisions are:

• A request from David Silloway for a two-lot sub-division at 1105 Boudro Road, in the RU5 district. Silloway plans to carve out a 5.6-acre residential lot from a 200-plus acre lot, Sanchez said.

• Dirt Angels, Inc., which has purchased the 26.7-acre LaFrance property on Route 66, across from the ClearSource plant, is seeking approval for a five-lot subdivision. According to Sanchez, each lot would be between 5-5.5 acres. Paul Rea is the local agent representing the land-holding corporation.

• Jonathan, Jeremy, and Jennifer Rilling have requested a two-lot subdivision on North Randolph Road.

All three of the proposed sub-divisions are in the RU5 district.

Car Lot OK’d

At its June 24 hearing, the DRB approved a request from Anne Silloway of Especially Imports to build a new lot at the Route 66 business, to display vehicle for sale. The project, in the Mixed Use district, got the DRB’s approval as "an expansion of a non-conforming use." The site plan was also okayed.

The new Especially Imports car lot will be created by filling in an area about 40 feet wide on the west side of the building, according to Sanchez.

Also on June 24, the DRB denied a variance request from Chris and Laura Soares for a carport at their Randolph Center residence. The DRB found that the project, which did not meet the front-yard setback requirement, also did not meet the state requirements for granting a variance.

However, the DRB determined that another variance request, this one from Jeremy and Saige Vorce, did meet state requirements. The Vorces were given permission to build two roofs over a walkway, which do not meet backyard setback requirements.