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Time to make the doughnuts?

Concerns arise over expansion plans for gas station on Dummerston/Putney town line

DUMMERSTON — The owners of Mike & Terry's Exit 4 Sunoco on Route 5, near Exit 4 of Interstate 91 and the Dummerston/Putney town line, want to add a Dunkin' Donuts store with a drive-through window to the site.

Sandri Realty of Greenfield, Mass., wants to build a 924-square-foot addition to the existing 2,904-square-foot gas station.

According to its Act 250 application with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), the renovations would add signage, fix up the rest rooms, and add coolers to the building.

The District 2 Environmental Commission is considering the application, and Sandri Realty is in the process of applying for zoning permits with the town.

But, according to documents associated with the application, concerns are popping up.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation is concerned about the safety of current accesses to the site and with a problem with large trucks parking along Route 5.

National Grid, an electric utility company, is concerned about the location of the proposed drive-through, which they believe is too close to the right-of-way of its high-voltage transmission line.

And Dummerston resident Eva Greene was granted preliminary party status in the case by the District 2 Commission, citing concerns over traffic, aesthetics, and lack of conformance to local and regional plans.

Greene said the station “fails to meet state and local zoning regulations and legal requirements in four categories: signage, minimum setback from a state highway, minimum acreage for rural commercial development, and building on a power line right-of-way,” but she said that the state and the town has done nothing about it.

Town actions

The Dummerston Selectboard and the town Planning Commission have not taken a formal stand on the project.

At its Oct. 19 meeting, resident Paul Normandeau asked the board if it planned to participate in the Act 250 hearings.

After a discussion, the Selectboard decided it had no position on the matter, pointing out that the town's current zoning rules, along with the Town Plan, clearly state the town's adopted policies.

Board members added that they would leave it up to the Development Review Board (DRB) and the ANR to decide if Sandri's plan conforms to town requirements.

At its Nov. 1 meeting, the Planning Commission was also asked to vote on the project. Like the Selectboard, it has no direct voice in the permitting process.

A motion to follow the Selectboard's lead was rejected. Instead, the Planning Commission voted to write a letter to the District 2 Commission on Sandri's application as it relates to the Dummerston Town Plan.

That letter was approved by the Planning Commission at its Nov. 22 meeting.

Other town boards are also considering the project. According to Greene, the Dummerston Conservation Committee plans to oppose it, and the Dummerston Energy Committee will discuss the project at its Dec. 5 meeting.

A trouble magnet?

The Sunoco station was built by Sandri in 1969, not long after Interstate 91 opened and before the stricter land use regulations of Act 250 were adopted in 1970.

Located directly off Exit 4 southbound, and plainly visible from the northbound exit, the station is open 24 hours a day.

According to the Vermont Agency of Transportation, approximately 16,000 vehicles a day pass through Dummerston on Interstate 91.

“Meanwhile, the store has deteriorated over four decades,” said Greene.

“It is a target of robberies and a hangout for drunks,” she said. “Truck drivers use it as a stopover and frequently idle the engines of their large vehicles along the breakdown lane of Route 5.”

Greene said Sandri officials told her that they hope to double their current business at the site if they can open a Dunkin' Donuts.

But that would have an impact on Dummerston, she said.

Greene charges that Sandri is looking to the project because “they can buy a new image and double their profit, while forcing others - the leaseholder and our community - to deal with the consequences of doubling traffic, increased accidents, crime, and pollution.”

The DRB is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m.

Greene said that will be the last opportunity for residents to weigh in on the plan.

If the DRB approves the plan, it will be left to the District 2 Commission to decide if it will go forward.

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