By Justin Bigos, Staff Writer
At its selectboard meeting on Jan. 7, the town of Barnard discussed a redistricting proposal put forward by the planning commission in order to support a commercial expansion at Twin Farms — a luxury resort located on Stage Road in Barnard.
According to Barnard Selectboard Chair Richard Lancaster, Twin Farms had submitted documentation to the planning commission requesting that one of the lots they recently purchased along Stage Road be rezoned for commercial use of one building. The planning commission is involved because the proposed changes would change the zoning map of Barnard, according to Steve Cota, planning commission chair.
“Twin Farms purchased several lots adjacent to their property and applied to include one of those lots into the commercial zone,” said Cota. “This would have resulted in a continuation of the jagged lot-line perimeter of the commercial space of all the new properties’ front on Stage Road. It made much more sense to include the other lots so that the commercial zone would be truly a zone, with Stage Road as the boundary — a much cleaner delineation. This would be a more contiguous commercial area for Twin Farms, and it would also clean up the boundaries for the town in respect to zoning.”
John Graham, managing director of Twin Farms, told the Standard, “Our request to the town was to rezone a piece of property we own on Stage Road that is contiguous to our property. While property does straddle both sides of Stage Road, we have requested only the portion on the side contiguous to Twin Farms be rezoned. We would like to use the house on the property to support guest experiences, including culinary classes and an arts program — both of which [we] currently offer, but do not have adequate facilities for.”
Graham said that Twin Farms is not proposing to build any new structures, but instead to use the existing buildings on their property. Though if the proposal is approved, “it would of course mean the Twin Farms footprint will have expanded,” said Graham.
“Basically, the idea was to just increase the size of the commercial zone to allow a more defined commercial zone based on road frontage, and to allow Twin Farms to expand if they needed to into that area and not have to piecemeal their requests,” said Lancaster. “We’re allowing Twin Farms to use these buildings if they need to, as commercial entities.”
The Barnard selectboard will hold a public hearing on Feb. 4 to consider the proposal. “Our hope is that the residents sense — as we do — that ultimately elevating the experience we offer supports our success, and therefore our enduring ability to hopefully serve at the highest levels,” said Graham. “As has been our experience for many years, we have felt that the relationship with the town, as well as the process, have both been very positive, and one we feel grateful for.”
Lancaster added an optimistic note about the proposal moving forward: “My feeling is that this is probably the best way to assist Twin Farms in maintaining their level of engagement if they want to grow.”
