The commission will now schedule hearings to determine who has party status for the project and under what Act 250 review criteria.
True North Wilderness Program (TNWP), Waitsfield, is seeking a state Act 250 permit for the wilderness therapy program it operates on land on Dana Hill Road and in the Howe Block of the Camel’s Hump State Forest.
Russell Chalom, an abutter to the property, asked for a proper hearing to fully understand the project that is being proposed. He notes that the project as described in the Act 250 application differs from the project that was approved at the local level by the Waitsfield Development Review Board last December.
Another neighbor, Kinny Perot, has also requested a hearing. Perot notes the discrepancies between the local permit and what is requested in the state permit such as the inclusion of reference to a bed and breakfast as well as a meditation retreat on the same parcel.
True North is run by Madhuri Maves and her husband Tyler Maves. They operate their program on 25 acres of land owned by Madhuri Maves’ parents, Tom Barefoot and Joni Zweig. True North received a local permit last December.
That permit from the Waitsfield Development Review Board brought True North’s permitting up to date with its uses and was issued despite the objections of a neighbor with concerns about the impact of the program on the land and the water. The permit was issued with an ownership condition requiring that ownership of the land remain in the Barefoot/Zweig/Maves family to keep the permit valid.
In January, True North Wilderness filed a state Act 250 permitting application for the program seeking permitting to construct two tent platforms, one yome and three composting toilets. The application was filed by Barefoot and Zweig, doing business as True North Wilderness, and references an “adjacent Plum Creek B&B” that will be used to house participants in True North Wilderness and meditation retreats.
That application references a state wastewater permit calling for serving 14 True North campers and 6 staff members at any time, plus 6 overnight guests at the bed and breakfast, or 42 people at the bed and breakfast having one meal, or 84 people at the bed and breakfast with no meals served. The wastewater permit also notes that all True North and bed and breakfast/meditation retreat uses will be served by a drilled well on site. The water supply portion of the wastewater permit also states that:
“The uses on this project shall not exceed 24 persons per day for more than 60 days without obtaining a permit for a Transient Non-Community Water Supply. Prior to exceeding this threshold, the landowner shall contact a licensed designer and obtain the necessary permitting from the Water Supply Division.”
When the Waitsfield DRB reviewed the project, the issue of Plum Creek being run as a bed and breakfast was not addressed, although reference was made to the camp being used for meditation retreats. There was no mention at the DRB hearings of a drilled well at Plum Creek.
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