HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Economic Development Committee - 10/25/2021 Drafted: 10-27-21
Approved: 11-22-21
MEETING MINUTES
Economic Development Committee, South Burlington
Meeting of 10-25-2021 held in Room 301 South Burlington City Hall, 180 Market Street
Members Present: John Burton, Tom Bailey, Seth Bowden, Jacob West, Sriram Srinivasam and
Linda Norris (who arrived at 5:42 PM)
Members Absent: John Wilking
Staff and Guests: Jessie Baker, City Manager
The Meeting was called to order by John Burton, Chair, at 5:35 PM.
(1) AGENDA: The agenda was reviewed and approved.
(2) PUBLIC COMMENT: Since no public was present, there were no public comments.
(3) MINUTES: Tom moved and Jake seconded a motion to approved the minutes of the
Ausgust 23, 2021 and September 27, 2021 meetings. The motion passed unanimously.
(4) PROPOSED LDR AMENDENTS: Jessie provided some history and context for the LDR
amendments including a discussion of Interim Zoning. Except for Tom and John, the
members acknowledged that they had not read the amendments nor the published
summaries, and, therefore, the committee’s taking a position about the proposed
amendments is premature. John circulated a memorandum that addressed some of the
issues that the LDR amendments raised. Sriram expressed his concern that limiting
development in South Burlington would result in more people commuting further to jobs
result in negative impacts on the climate. Seth framed what he saw as the issues: (1) How
much land was burdened by the amendments and what effect would this have on
economic development? (2) What are the secondary impacts such as on businesses and
commuting? He then focused on the process the committee should use going forward to
review such proposals. The members discussed the proposals further and John agreed to
see what relevant data could be collected by the next meeting.
(5) ECONOMIC TRENDS DATABASE: John summarized his efforts in utilizing likely
research resources at UVM to provide the sorts of the data the committee is seeking. The
committee discussed creating a framework for reviewing the economic consequences of
proposed City actions and the need of the committee to be informed of such pending
actions.
(6) CITY MANAGER UPDATES: Jessie provided an update on the status of TIF financing
program, including the move to amend the City’s TIF plan in advance of the five year
anniversary renewal. The proposed amendment will remove four infrastructure projects
from the program because they have already been accomplished or are no longer needed
and reduce the estimated price tag from $55 million to $26 million. Completing the TIF
projects will require bond votes during 2022 and 2023.
(7) FUTURE MEETINGS: The committee scheduled its next meeting for 11-22-21 at the
same time. The attempt to schedule a December meeting was deferred because of
scheduling conflicts.
(8) ADJOURN: The meeting was adjourned at 7:13 PM.