Chester board denies driveway appeal, gets presentation on sidewalk study

By Shawn Cunningham
©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC

By a 3-1 vote last Wednesday, the Chester Select Board voted to deny an appeal by the owner of a Main Street property for a curb cut to install a new driveway. But while the vote sounds resolute, some board members spoke of how conflicted they were over the decision.

At issue was a request by Kevin Longo, owner of the Henry Office Building that sits across the street from the Whiting Library, for a permit for a curb cut to put a driveway on the east side of his building. Longo wants the new driveway so he and his tenants would no longer have to use the driveway belonging to the Bargain Corner, his neighbor to the west, for access to Longo’s parking area at the rear of his building. Despite an existing easement that allows such access, tensions between the neighbors have been rising.

At an earlier meeting, Longo made a lengthy presentation in hopes the Select Board would reverse Highway Foreman Kirby Putnam’s denial of his permit. He recounted the difficult relations he and his tenants have had with his neighbors and called the state highway standards to which the town conforms “recommendations.” Those standards prescribe the distance between driveways and the dimensional standards for one-way and two-way drives. Putnam’s rejection of the curb cut application was based on those standards.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Longo spoke again about the situation with his neighbors and noted that he and Lauren Fierman, whose home is east of his building, have entered into an agreement on how a driveway would be constructed and maintained. He also showed a number of photos of driveways in the downtown area that do not conform to the current standards and characterized Putnam’s denial as “selective enforcement” and “spot zoning.”

Board chair Arne Jonynas said that was because those driveways were constructed before the town instituted zoning in the early 1970s. Town Manager Julie Hance said that Putnam has not had any other applications for curb cuts downtown.

Bargain Corner owners Skip and Amy Norton, who were in the audience, challenged a number of Longo’s characterizations of their actions, with Skip Norton saying that he is “as friendly neighborly as anyone can be.”

Board member Lee Gustafson spoke in support of the application, saying that he would hate to lose the businesses in the Henry building and that “we already have enough empty buildings in town.”

Board member Arianna Knapp said she was concerned that making this exception could create future problems, and board member Tim Roper agreed saying “if we think we solved it for 2025, what happens when the properties change hands?” Roper also wondered if the town would be liable for going against its own guidelines if an accident were to happen there in the future.

Gustafson asked what denying the permit would solve, but Knapp replied that the board is “not here to come up with a solution, it’s our impulse, but we are not empowered to.”

Board member Peter Hudkins moved to support the decision made by Putnam to deny the application. Knapp, Roper and Hudkins voted yes while Gustafson voted against the motion.

Study for sidewalk to high school

Matt Bissell, a project engineer with the Dufresne Group, made a presentation as part of a “local concerns” meeting ahead of Dufresne conducting a “scoping study” — which is a preliminary look at the options available for constructing a sidewalk from Pleasant Street to the Green Mountain High School. The study is financed by the VTrans Bicycle and Pedestrian grant program.

Bissell told the board that Dufresne would be evaluating Route 103 south and the town’s sewer right-of-way along the south branch of the Williams River near the Mountain View community. The sewer right-of-way is already an informal walking path used by students on their way to and from school.

According to Dufresne President Chrissy Haskins who attended the meeting via Zoom, when the study is complete in April, the engineers will return to the board with a matrix for evaluating the options as well as cost estimates. They will not make a recommendation. The final presentation will be in September and will be up to the board to decide which option to choose.

Hudkins said that in work he had done in the past, a client decided to put in sidewalks after they saw where students walked. He said that’s common sense. Roper asked if it would be beneficial to businesses along Route 103 to have the sidewalk. Gustafson noted there is a “pot shop” along Route 103 and that is “should be bypassed by the kids.” State law requires cannabis stores to check identification and allow only those over 21 past into the shop.

Presentations on Town Meeting Day bond votes

The board will have Dufresne’s Naomi Johnson at its Feb. 19 meeting to explain the sewer force main project. A bond for almost $3 million will on the March ballot for voters to consider. All registered voters can vote on the bond, but the cost or repayment will be borne by the users of the wastewater system.

The town will also make a presentation at the same meeting on the anticipated purchase of the solar field on Route 103 north at the Jeffrey Well site. A $1.14 million bond will also be on the ballot and the payments for that bond are anticipated to come from the revenue and savings from generating electricity by the field.