DRB CHAIR QUITS POST IN FAIRFAX

DRB chair quits post in Fairfax

Board membership turns over in 6 months
By LEE J. KAHRS
Messenger Staff Writer

FAIRFAX — Another member of the Fairfax Development Review Board has resigned, charging town officials with contributing to the dysfunction of the board.

Lee Denizot resigned on Oct. 3. She is the fifth DRB member to leave the board in the last six months. There is currently not a single member of the DRB who was on the board six months ago.

Jim Nixon resigned from the Board on April 11, less than two weeks after the select-board officially removed two other DRB members due to infighting and complaints from residents.

Former DRB Chair Colleen Steen and longtime board member Barbara Young were dismissed after a March 28 public hearing.

Young then filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Superior Court on April 25, charging the selectboard with wrongful dismissal, and is seeking reinstatement and damages.

The next chairperson, Valerie Ugro, resigned Sept. 1.

The DRB only had six members and needed a seventh when Steen and Young were ousted by the selectboard. Then, at an April 4 meeting, the selectboard voted to reduce the DRB and the planning commission from seven members to five. Lucien Hayes was then appointed to the DRB.

In her resignation letter, Denizot accused the selectboard of dismissing DRB members based on false accusations of personal conflict.

"It has been my experience that any member who (through a great deal of research on their own time) has presented the Selectboard with solid, concrete evidence of conflict of interest or misconduct has been dismissed and accused as having "personal" issues," Denizot wrote.
She said she considered Steen's removal particularly unfair, calling the former chair "an incredible asset to the town."

She said Steen presented "solid evidence" that Young's family business, L.W. Young Excavating has gotten business directly front Fairfax DRB Applicants, showing a conflict of
interest.

Young has categorically denied that claim, saying if she has ever worked with applicants, they have contacted the company and L.W Excavating put out a bid with other contractors.

Calls to Ugro and Young for comment on this story were not returned by press time. Selectboard Chair Jeff Blake said he would not comment on this issue.

In her letter, Denizot also accused Fairfax Zoning Administrator Skip Taylor of interpreting the bylaws to suit his own needs.

"The Zoning Administrator has taken it upon himself to interpret certain bylaws without asking the DRB for clarification," Denizot wrote. "Instead, he dictates the meaning on his own, or asks different attorneys working for the Town until he finds something close to what he wishes the bylaw to mean."

Denizot also accused Taylor of providing inferior and sometimes altogether false information.

"I have on numerous occasions found information provided by the ZA to be either lacking, seeming intentional misinformation and/or at times deceptive,” Denizot wrote.

Calls' to Taylor for comments were not returned.

Denizot further charged that other DRB members are also interpreting the town bylaws to their whim.

"Many members of the DRB interpret the bylaws based on their personal likes and dislikes," she wrote.

The current board is made up of Jason Heyer, Lucien Hayes, Clarice Streets, Mark Hunziker, and Claude Rainville. According to Town Clerk and Treasurer Donna Meunier, Rainville was appointed to replace Lee Denizot.

Denizot added that the trilogy of "the DRB, the Zoning Administrator and the Selectboard have, and continue to, create a breeding ground for lawsuits" in Fairfax. Denizot said she overheard an Environmental Court judge comment regarding the number of lawsuits in the court from Fairfax in relation to the town's small size.

In closing, Denizot said she feels the way past BIB members have felt.

"As several other Board members who recently resigned, I feel the Board is not functioning properly," Denizot wrote. "Indeed, it is a great disservice to our Town and its Citizens, as well as the developers and other applicants. I can no longer serve on this Board in good conscience. I therefore regretfully resign.”