Pursuant to Title 24 VSA, Chapter 059, Sec. 1972(c), Section 103 through 109 of the Town of Colchester Charter, and Section 1-4 of the Colchester Code of Ordinances, the Colchester Selectboard will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 6:35 PM for public comment regarding the following proposed amendments to the Colchester Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4:
- Revisions to formatting and removal of duplicative statements;
- A change in the title of the article, from Building Code and Building Code Construction Ordinance to Building Code and Building Safety Ordinance.
- Definitions have been added or updated to provide improved clarity and consistency.
- Section 4-8 under Article II, Permits and Fees, reflects a substantive change in permitting requirements which would raise the threshold for dollar value necessitating permit requirements from $2500 to $15,000, while slightly broadening the types of improvements needing approval under the chapter. New Article VII proposes the addition of new egress requirements. These require the installation of a secondary means of escape for all new construction and for converting/changing an existing area into new living space in single-family dwellings.
The complete set of documents for the proposed amendments can be found here: https://bit.ly/3Nxqu8o. The meeting is currently scheduled to take place at the Town of Colchester Town Offices, 781 Blakely Road, Colchester, Vermont, in the Outer Bay Conference Room on the third floor. Alternatively, you can email a note, up to 1,000 words, to [email protected] with "Proposed Edits to Chapter 4" in the Subject and include your name. As with in-person Citizens to be Heard, we ask that you SHARE YOUR ADDRESS. The email will be shared with the entire Selectboard prior to the meeting and included in the information packet at the next meeting. You may watch the Selectboard meeting on live stream TV: http://lcatv.org/live-stream-2.
If you have questions regarding these amendments, please contact Colchester Planning and Zoning Director, Cathyann LaRose at 802-264-5602.