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(Continued from Page 1) Under 14 per cent, land is considered in an agricultural zone with lot size from two to five acres.)
Baumgardner stressed that he didn’t feel slope should be completely disregarded, rather just not used as the sole determining factor for zoning.
"That’s the only thing you’ve said so far tonight that 1 disagree with," Miller countered. "Slope is the least discriminating thing (to use as a zoning basis)—it’s an absolute." He noted that problems of conservation are minimized when developed land is under 14 per cent slope unless the property lies in flood plain. "I think the slope provision is one of the best provisions we have in our ordinance," Miller said.
Baumgardner repeated that it can cause difficulties, citing as an example the recent application considered by the board of zoning appeals for a special use permit to convert a farm building into apartments. According to the commonwealth’s attorney, the zoning administrator determined that 60 per cent of the property was under 14 per cent slope while BZA members in a later on-site inspection throught only 40 per cent of the land was under 14 per cent slope. Suppose the parcel in question has 55 per cent of its area over 14 per cent grade and 45 per cent under, he continued, noting the ordinance doesn’t say what the percentage of land under a certain slope must be in order to fall into one category or another. “You can’t really say what that land is zoned."
Miller agreed the planners would have to address the question of what percentage must be over 14 per cent slope in order for a parcel to be zoned conservation.
"1 think we have too many zoning districts,” remarked Luke. He suggested elimination of several and addition of more uses allowed by special permit. The current practice of
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