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Development Review Board

DRB Agendas & MinutesThe Development Review Board (DRB) is a 5 member board which conducts hearings and issues decisions on proposed development projects in Fairfax.   The DBR meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7PM at the Town Offices. Additionally, the DRB schedules working sessions and site visits as needed. The rules of procedure for the DRB can be found here.

Meetings can include Sketch Plan Reviews, Preliminary Plat Hearings, Final Plat Hearings, Revisions, Variances, Appeals or Conditional Use/Site Plan Hearings.  Hearings must be publicly warned and notification sent to all adjoining property owners.  Before each hearing, each Board member must familiarize themselves with the case by reviewing all pertinent information.  The minutes are available on the Town of Fairfax website 5 calendar days after the hearing.  After the final hearing, the Board will go into a deliberative session to discuss the information presented and make a decision.  The decision is formally written as a “Findings of Fact and Order” (which must be recorded by the applicant in the Town Records). The final survey map for the project (Plat), if required, must be reviewed by the Board, and signed by the Chairman before it is filed, by the applicant, in the Town’s land records.

 An Interested Person is anyone who may legally appeal to the Development Review Board or the Vermont Environmental Court, as prescribed by the Vermont Municipal and Regional Planning Act. These include:

    • The party owning title to the subject property, or the designated agent of said property, or a municipality or solid waste management district empowered to condemn it or an interest in it
    • Persons owning or occupying property in the immediate neighborhood.
    • Any ten voters or property owners in the Town who file a petition with the Development Review Board
    • The Selectboard of the Town or any adjourning Town
    • Certain State Agencies

 The Zoning Administrator conducts Administrative Reviews for eligible 2-lot subdivisions and boundary adjustments.  In addition, the Zoning Administrator actively assists residents through the DRB process, produces and posts public notices, invites adjoining landowners to hearings, takes minutes at hearings, drafts decisions for the DRB, and mails correspondence to the Board and participants. 

Public Notices for hearings appear in the following locations at least 15 days prior to the hearing:
  1. Town Office
  2. Fairfax Post Office
  3. School bulletin board
  4. The Fairfax Town Website
  5. St. Albans Messenger

Read the Fairfax Development Regulations