KingsFourMan wrote: ↑Oct 26th, '23, 12:05
“The original design done by SP Land and their Architect was done more or less to prove that an ACT 250 permit could be obtained. When Great Gulf purchased the property from SP, they fully anticipated that they would redesign the concept design. Additionally, the real estate market is changing now as a result of interest rate and we felt that we could now take the time to do it better”
You've jumped the shark, here. Expecting two different entities, separated by a decade in time, and a different set of experiences to agree on the best way forward is ridiculous. Attributing it to interest rates is baloney. Great Gulf's upfront costs will increase due to these changes. That's the interest rate they're concerned with.
Act 250 encompasses 10 areas. To summarize, it must be determined that the project:
1. Will not result in undue water or air pollution.
2. Has sufficient water available for the needs of the subdivision or development.
3. Will not unreasonably burden any existing water supply.
4. Will not cause unreasonable soil erosion or affect the capacity of the land to hold water.
5. Will not cause unreasonably dangerous or congested traffic conditions
6. Will not create an unreasonable burden on the educational facilities of the municipality.
7. Will not create an unreasonable burden on the municipality in providing governmental services.
8. Will not have an undue adverse effect on aesthetics, scenic beauty, historic sites, wildlife, etc.
9. Conforms with the Capability and Development Plan
10. Is in conformance with any local or regional plan or capital facilities program.
They are not changing the number of people or square footage. Therefore, the impact of the development for most of these 10 items is unchanged. What has changed is #5 traffic evaluation (which is probably better due to the centralized bus station and the elimination of roads), and #8 aesthetics, which are also improved due to increased green space. In the Mountain Times, Sneyd stated,
Mountain Times wrote:“We had a decision to make: Do we change things ever so slightly, and then go for an administrative approval from Act 250?” Sneyd explained. “But as soon as we realized that we were changing traffic, we thought, ‘okay, it’s not going to be an administrative approval.’ So we’re going to have to go through this process — it’s the whole thing again,” he said
I believe he's being politically savvy. It's not a huge change for a project of this size; yet he is showing proper respect towards the approval process. It certainly isn't starting from zero.