WILMINGTON — The Wilmington town board is slated to hold a public hearing at the Community Center at 6 p.m. on Wednesday for a set of proposed zoning ordinance amendments.

These seek to implement commercial building size restrictions; visual impact, screening and setback requirements for commercial projects and change the guidelines for how site plan approvals and special use permits can be considered. These changes are meant to give the town planning board and zoning board of appeals more regulatory authority and a clearer means to evaluate projects, compared to the current zoning rules, according to town Supervisor Tim Follos.

The amendments were a cornerstone of Follos’ campaign last year, and something he’s been pushing for since 2021, when he first ran for town board. Follos said these were orignally motivated by the 2021 proposed 10,600-square-foot Dollar General store near the State Police barracks in Wilmington.

Though the project was ultimately abandoned, due a failed perc test, Follos said it was a wake-up call of sorts that the town should have stronger land use controls. He said the Dollar General was controversial with the vast majority of public comments opposing it, both due to concerns about how it would affect local businesses, such as the Little Supermarket, as well as its potential adverse aesthetic impacts.

“When I was running for the town board in the summer of 2021, I said, ‘We should improve our zoning code, tighten it up and give … these boards greater authority to regulate the appearance of the next big box store in Wilmington, and even give the authority to say no, and the authority to say no makes them compromise,” Follos said. “If we can say, ‘no,’ then we can say, ‘yes, but it has to look a certain way, it has to be set back a certain distance, etc.'”

The proposed amendments would limit an individual retail trade store to 8,000 square feet of floor area, and a grouped retail business to 40,000 square feet of floor area, absent a special use permit. Follos said these numbers aren’t final, and may change ahead of a vote based on public feedback.

The proposed amendments change the language regarding site plan approvals and special use permits, stating that neither shall be granted “if the proposed use will have a materially adverse impact upon adjoining and nearby properties, or a clearly adverse aesthetic impact on the Town of Wilmington.”

Follos said the intent here is to provide more clarity from the current language, which he said was somewhat vague — requiring a balancing test where an undue adverse aesthetic impact is weighed against the commercial, industrial or other economic benefits that could be derived from the project.

“I think ‘clearly’ and ‘materially’ are much more objective, and ‘unduly adverse’ is much more subjective,” Follos said. “‘Clearly adverse,’ that’s going to be easy for a planning board member to evaluate. ‘Unduly adverse,’ with a balancing test, is very difficult for anyone to evaluate.”

The final set of changes contained in the amendments focus on visual impact, screening and setbacks. They offer three general guidelines. The first is using and preserving existing vegetation and topographic features, and “employing careful siting methods,” in order to minimize the visual impact of all commercial development activities.

The second is a 30-foot setback of natural vegetation that “shall be left in its natural or improved state” for properties boundaries with any public street or highway, and any adjoining properties with different ownership. The third guideline gives the planning board and zoning board or appeals the discretion to require additional screening measures, “such as additional setbacks, planting, and fencing.”

“We’re just trying to give our planning and zoning boards stronger legal grounds to protect the rights of neighboring property owners and the appearance of the community,” Follos said.

He cited the recent developments at the Kampgrounds of America property near the town beach, where some residents expressed dismay at the amount of tree cutting, eliminating what had been a strong vegetative buffer in parts between their properties and the campsites.

The proposed amendments can be viewed in their entirety at tinyurl.com/39h2hz78. To attend Wednesday’s meeting remotely online, visit meet.goto.com/townofwilmington. People can also call in by dialing 1-408-650-3123, then entering the access code 377-399-733.

Follos said he’s not exactly sure what format the hearing will take on. It’s up to the board as a whole, but he intends to propose a typical public hearing at the beginning, where people can present comments to the board, which listens but doesn’t respond directly. Then, upon its conclusion, open up an informal public conversation where the board responds to, and answers questions from those in attendance.

“This is what we said we would do, this is what we campaigned on,” he said. “This is what some of the other candidates campaigned on. I think the town is ready for this. They’ve had some negative experiences and they’re ready to tighten things up and give these boards a little more authority than they’ve had.”