TOWN PLAN

NORTON, VERMONT

Norton Town Planning Commission P.O. Box 49 Norton, VT 05907 September 1, 1994 PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS Elizabeth Applebee Wendall Case Stan Grittner (Chair) Lois Hemmingway Lenny Lemay Roy Patten Roland Vegneault ADOPTED BY THE NORTON SELECTBOARD 7 November 1994 Members: G. THIBAULT (Chair) E. DALLEY M. LIENAU This Plan has been prepared with the assistance of Norton Town Residents, the Northeastern Vermont Development Association and seasonal residents.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS - NORTON TOWN PLAN SECTION Introduction..............................................................A Land Usage..............................................................B Forestry, Agriculture, Residential/Business..............B Property Rights........................................................C Public Access...........................................................C Schools....................................................................D Roads.......................................................................D Water Supply/Sewage Disposal................................D Fire Protection............................................................D Public Buildings.........................................................D Recreation.................................................................D Water Quality..............................................................E Timber Harvesting......................................................E Mining.........................................................................E Employment................................................................F Energy.........................................................................F Medical.......................................................................F Policing/Law Enforcement...........................................F Impacts on Adjacent Communities..............................F Required Elements.....................................................G Maps/Zoning Regs......................................................H

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A – NORTON PROFILE The Town of Norton is located on the Canadian Border (Quebec) in northwestern Essex County and has total land area of 24,832 acres; 85% of which is owned by either James River, Champion Paper, or the State of Vermont (Wildlife Management Areas). It is bordered on the East by Averill, on the North by Quebec, on the west by Holland Town, and on the South by Warners Grant, Warren Gore & Avery's Gore. It is located approximately 15 miles north of Island Pond, and 8 miles south of Coaticook, PQ. The land in Norton is mostly hilly, forested and uninhabited. Farms and open areas border state Route 114 and the Coaticook River where the resident population lives. Current (1994) population is approximately 150. Most of the residents work and shop in the neighboring communities of Canaan, Colebrook, and Island Pond. Forestry, agriculture, and service industries are the primary economic activities. B – CURRENT LAND USE Current land usage in Norton include (1) Forestry, (2) Agriculture, and (3) Residential/business use. (See Map for land usage.) The Planning Commission supports the traditional use of land whether it be for timber harvesting, camps/recreational uses, single family homes or economic development This plan in its entirety functions as our land use plan and spells out the general direction in which the town of Norton wishes to proceed. FORESTRY Almost 80% of the land in Norton is forested, primarily hardwood with an occasional stand of softwood. The "paper companies" own most of the forested land not under control of the Vermont Department of Fish & Game (Wildlife Management Areas [10,292 acres approx]). Harvesting practices have been conducted in such a way as to allow multiple use of the forest for activities such as hunting, fishing, hiking, and snowmobiling. Continued use of Norton's woodlands for commercial forestry purposes is in the best interest of the town. Some of this forested land is suitable for low density housing and recreational camps.

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AGRICULTURE There is one dairy farm in Norton and several other land areas used for production of hay crops, woodlot use, and possible maple sugar production. These farm operations average 200 acres or more in area. We expect the agricultural trends in Norton to follow the State of Vermont trends towards less farms and/or traditional dairying and more towards other agricultural uses like sheep farm, beef cattle operation, Christmas tree far, truck, garden and organic foods, and possible uses in the recreational arena like llama trekking, and trail rides. Besides its economic importance, agricultural land in Norton is an important factor in terms of attractive open vistas providing visual diversity. RESIDENTIAL/BUSINESS There are approximately 55 families residing permanently in Norton in single family detached dwellings. The greatest concentration of dwelling units is along Route 114 in the vicinity of the Norton Country Store/Norton Post Office, and bordering State Route 114 east of the Village School. The other dwelling units are scattered along town roads near Route 114. There are also approximately 85 camps; both located near Norton Pond and Averill Lake and as much as three miles in along the Gadette Road, used for both summer and winter recreational purposes. Local businesses are of the service industry type with the exception of a logging/general contracting business .... most of the service type businesses deal with importation of commercial goods through the Port of Norton; either as Customhouse brokerage firms or as distribution and transfer warehousing facilities. There are two local service station type businesses, one restaurant, and a scattering of home industries. C – PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS The residents fully support a person's private property rights. We also recognize that no person has the privilege to adversely impact another person's rights whether it be through polluting their ground water via a faulty septic tank, increasing erosion due to improper timber harvesting, or any other activity that might occur on one person's property by impact another person's land. Future resources scarcity and larger population in our Town will make this balancing act more frequent in the years to come.

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PUBLIC ACCESS TO PRIVATE LANDS The Resident commend the private land owners who allow free public access to their private lands. We recognize that this access is a privilege, and not a responsibility of the land owner. We fully understand the positive impact that free public access to private lands has on the local economy and way of life in Vermont. We would not like to see this access limited or removed and support public access to private lands within guidelines developed by the landowners. Because the issues of liability is a major concern to all landowners, the burden of landowners' liability for public use of their lands should be removed by legislation. D – COMMUNITY FACILITIES, SERVICES, AND RESOURCES SCHOOLS Elementary age school children attend school at the Norton Village School. High school students attend school at Canaan Memorial High School beginning with the 7th grade level. In the past decade, local school attendance has hovered around the twenty pupil mark with just a handful of high school students each year. ROADS There is 15.6 miles of public road in Norton, with mileages as follows: 10.7 miles of state roads 4.9 miles of Norton town roads, of which 4.2 miles are Class III gravel roads which are maintained and in generally good condition. Currently the town provides winter snow plowing, sanding, and maintenance in the summer months of town roads. Due to long term maintenance costs, the town is not interested in assuming control over additional public roads; unless such roads have been constructed to Vermont State Standards.

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WATER SUPPLY & SEWAGE DISPOSAL As might be expected in a small rural community, there is no central or public water supply and/or sewage disposal system in the town. Water supply and sewage disposal is the responsibility of each homeowner. Springs and wells are the source of water in this town and possibly some lakeside camp owners drawing their water from the lake. Residents dispose of their sewage by use of septic tanks and leachfields. Within the next decade, no major changes are anticipated to these methods of water supply and/or sewage disposal. All newly installed systems should meet Vermont State Health Department standards for water supply and sewage disposal. FIRE PROTECTION Norton has a volunteer fire department; but since most residents' work outside the town, daytime protection is usually limited. Norton also has an informal arrangement with the Beecher Falls Fire Company to render assistance in case of need. PUBLIC BUILDING There are five public buildings in Norton, i.e. US Border Inspection Station, the Village School, Norton's fire house for firefighting equipment, a town garage, and salt storage shed. All are in satisfactory condition. RECREATION Much of Norton offers excellent opportunities for outdoor recreation; particularly hunting, fishing, and winter sports to include snowmobiling. The abandoned farmland, soft and hardwood forest serve as favorable locations for smallgame through bear, deer and moose hunting. The State of Vermont owns and maintains over 10,000 acres of Wildlife Management Areas within the town. Snowmobile trails including connectors to trails in Canada are maintained by local clubs and VAST (Vermont Association of Snow Travelers) and see increasing usage as "green winters" are a rarity in this area. Also Nordic skiing is increasing within the town and is expected to continue to increase as is snowshoeing either along the snowmobile trails or elsewhere in the town.

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E - NATURAL RESOURCES FACTORS WATER QUALITY We recognize the value of high quality water and want to maintain and improve the overall quality which exist today in this area. This Planning Commission fully endorses the efforts of the State to regulate those activities which decrease water quality. We recognize that camps (seasonal), homes and other uses that are too close to the water's edge have both a short-term detrimental effect on water quality and a potential for permanent degradation to the water; therefore, we endorse strict set-back requirements, vegetated buffer strips, and enforcement of Vermont State standards for sewage disposal systems. TIMBER HARVESTING/CLEAR CUTS We are concerned about the impacts of logging on water quality, and endorse the "Acceptable Management Practices for Maintaining Water Quality on Logging jobs in Vermont (1987)". Minimizing soil erosion caused by logging or new developments is a priority. We recognize that clear cuts are an acceptable silvicultural practice, however we are concerned about their environmental and visual impacts. Therefore, we discourage their use in favor of strip cuts, block cuts and selective cuts. We encourage timber owners, loggers and contractors to rethink their harvesting methods to ensure minimum waste and improve the general condition in which the forest is left. MINERAL EXTRACTION We recognize the possibility of mineral extraction within the town; and if sites of this type are developed, they should be done in an environmentally safe manner with particular attention paid to water quality. Once such a mine ceases operation, the area should be returned to (as close as possible) condition as it was originally.

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F- EMPLOYMENT/ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY/ESSENTIAL SERVICES Providing long-term economic development opportunities are important to us; and we are concerned about the changing economic situation for the future. We are opposed to placing this town off-limits to industrial/commercial development or to being placed under a conservation easement except upon our terms. We strongly want to continue to be a small, rural and wild part of the Northeast Kingdom. However, we endorse economic development of traditional plants that fit into our vision of this town as small, rural and remote from urban life style. ENERGY Electrical power is supplied in this area by Citizen Utilities from a feed from Canada with a tie into the New England Power Pool. Since we envision only slow growth during much of the next century, installed capacity appears to be adequate. Adjoining communities supply the town with bottled gas service, fuel oil and other forms of modern energy. MEDICAL SERVICES We, residents, appreciate the quality of medical care provided in our adjacent communities and recognize that we depend on these facilities, we support portion of their operations with grants for ambulance service, maintenance of emergency room staffing, etc. LAW ENFORCEMENT We residents and landowners appreciate the quality law enforcement provided by the Vermont State Police, the Federal law enforcement agencies, i.e. The US Border Patrol, US Customs and US Immigration &Naturalization Service, and the Essex County Sheriff department and believe that current levels of policing will be adequate for the foreseeable future.

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IMPACT ON ADJACENT COMMUNITIES Norton and our Adjacent communities are very closely linked. We depend on each other to maintain the traditional way of rural life. We support adjacent communities by providing labor for their jobs, by supporting their community endeavors, and by providing an area for outdoor recreational opportunities. We shop for services and goods in two countries, and also two states and support directly and indirectly the local service and hospitality industries. Our interlinked relationships has been mutually rewarding and we expect this to continue well into the next century.

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G – APPENDIX # 1; ELEMENTS FOR CHAPTER 117, 24 VSA (1) Statement of objectives, policies and programs... This document presents policies and objectives for the town. (2) A land use plan, consisting of map and statements - Section H, Maps (Zoning and Land Use) and Sect B (3) A transportation plan.... - Section D (4) A utility and facility plan.... - Sections D & F (5) Policies on preservation of natural areas, scenic and historic features,etc.... - Entire plan is statement regarding these goals (6) An educational plan.... - Section D (7) An implementation program - This Town Plan serves as a guideline for implementation (8) Adjacent Municipalities.... - Section F (9) Energy plans.... - Section F (10) A housing element.... - Zoning Map with Conservation Overlay and Section F

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H – APPENDIX #2; MAPS, Cultural Features, Land Use, Zoning with Conservation Overlay Maps and copy of current Zoning By-law.

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