The Planning Board will propose two amendments to the Protective Zoning By-Laws of the Town of Worthington for consideration by the residents at the Annual Town Meeting on May 4, 2024.
After the Public Hearing held April 18, some changes were made to both proposed amendments, and new summaries were written.
Warrant Article 32
The first proposed amendment replaces several existing uses allowed under Special Permit (section 4.4(A)) with a more generic term “Outdoor Recreation”, and provides a definition. After feedback during the Public Hearing, we changed the definition to reference “sporting clubs” and “snowmobiling”.
Outdoor Recreation Bylaw Amendment, including summary
Warrant Article 33
The second proposed amendment would allow the Selectboard to issue Temporary Event Permits for a range of uses not otherwise allowed by the bylaws. The proposed language was changed after the Public Hearing to reduce the number of discrete events allowed (to 3 per year), and to move the language to section 4.3 which better reflects the idea that these Temporary Events would be allowed without the need to apply for a Special Permit.
Event Permit Bylaw Amendment, with summary
Each of these categories will be presented at Town Meeting as separate warrant articles.
Should Article 33 pass, the Selectboard would develop a permit/license for that purpose. A general handout on Public Entertainment Licensing prepared by the town’s attorneys, KP Law, can be found here.
The Selectboard has also prepared DRAFT Language that can be found here so as to provide Town Meeting with a sense of what eventual regulations would look like. The ACTUAL PERMIT would be created as part of a public rule-making process should the By-Law Amendment pass.