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Hinesburg officials hoped a nearly decade-old development project would bring affordable housing and new businesses to residents. But when it was denied by an Act 250 commission in March, the developer appealed, and the project’s future remains uncertain.
The commission denied the project March 27 after seven months of deliberation. The head developer, Brett Grabowski of Milot Real Estate, appealed a month later.
Hinesburg Center Phase 2, as the project’s known, began in April 2015. Nine years later, the project’s fate lies in the hands of the environmental division of the Vermont Superior Court, which hears Act 250 appeals.
According to the commission, the development was denied due to flooding concerns voiced by the Agency of Natural Resources: The agency argues the project will shift and restrict the flow of floodwaters, cause further erosion and endanger future homeowners, according to the appeal.
“There are wetlands, but the bigger issue with the Hinesburg Center 2 project is flooding,” said Andrea Morgante, board president and founder of the Lewis Creek Association, a conservation nonprofit. Morgante, representing the nonprofit, was granted party status to the case, or the ability to participate in Act 250 proceedings.
The denial does not come lightly. Town officials expected the project to yield an influx of residents, affordable housing and new businesses. The development was set to be built on 46 acres west of Kinney Drugs and north of Farmall Drive, and it would include 22 lots, 73 new homes and 14,500 square feet of non-residential space, according to the town.
Kinney Drugs, Parkside Cafe and residential structures were approved and built in the first phase of the project.
Grabowski said the potential for flooding is slim to none and argued Act 250 keeps Vermont locked in a dire housing crisis.
“Through our analysis, the project’s design today will raise the water by 2 1/2 inches,” he said in an interview. In response to the commission’s concern about flooding, Grabowski said: “The level of all the infrastructure and homes that are proposed are over 5 feet above that (raised waterline), so in our opinion, there really is no flooding concern.”
Grabowski said the findings don’t account for sites on a case-by-case basis. “The Agency of Natural Resources is essentially applying the same analysis regardless of the specific conditions of the site,” he said.
Morgante argues there is cause for concern. Both the LaPlatte River and the Patrick Brook, which enters the LaPlatte on the development property, have floodplains that spill into the location, she said, and regulations “are not adequate” to address events like heavy rain and flooding from high-volume storms.
But she also acknowledged the conundrum Hinseburg faces.
“Part of the problem in Hinesburg is that essentially all of its valley has little hills around it and a lot of small streams around it,” she said. “We have been filling in wetland incrementally for essentially the last 200 years.”
Developers can raise the land with fill to comply with required flood level regulations, according to Morgante. But she said the valley has just about exceeded its limit.