HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Economic Development Committee - 12/15/2021
MEETING MINUTES
Economic Development Committee, South Burlington
Meeting of 12-15-2021 held in Room 301 South Burlington City Hall, 180 Market Street
Members Present: John Burton, Tom Bailey, Sriram Srinivasan, Linda Norris and Jacob West
(remotely)
Members Absent: None, since John Wilking and Seth Bowdon have resigned (See below).
Staff and Guests: Jessie Baker, City Manager and Ilana Blanchard, City Special Projects (who
left the meeting at 6:25 PM)
The Meeting was called to order by John Burton, Chair, at 5:34 PM.
(1) AGENDA: The agenda was reviewed and approved.
(2) PUBLIC COMMENT: John Burton acknowledged that no members of the public were
attending.
(3) MINUTES: Tom and Jessie corrected the draft minutes. Thereafter, Tom moved and
Sriram seconded a motion to approve the corrected minutes of the November 22, 2021
meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
(4) CC FY22 POLICY PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIES: With input from Jessie and Ilana,
the Committee members looked at the Committee priorities and discussed that the
Committee could engage with the following:
Options for City owned land including change in use and possible future uses on the
575 Dorset Street property.
The possibility of construction of a rec center.
Status of City Center development and TIF funding.
Possible uses and constraints on ARPA funding.
Working with GBIC and SBBA to explore how to attract and retain clean energy
businesses.
Looking at all of the City’s zoning, not just commercial, from the economic
development perspective. Housing, beyond inclusionary zoning, would be considered.
The South Burlington habit of charging a price for increased density (e.g.,TDRs) was
criticized.
The Committee’s need for increased staff support was emphasized.
Reforming development permitting to allow for expediting of high priority/high
impact projects.
Consider what studies and other work is necessary to contribute to the 2024
Comprehensive Plan.
John expressed concern of the “lost revenue” to the City from the proposed zoning
restrictions. The study prepared by John Stewart was mentioned.
Srini described the beginning work of the Climate Change Task Force. He emphasized
that that task force has an ambitious time line of June that includes public engagement.
The task force is supported by Melanie Needle of CCRPC. Although addressing climate
change must be considered regionally, statewide and beyond, Srini indicated the task
force is focused on what South Burlington can do and appears to be data driven.
(5) FUTURE MEETINGS SCHEDULE: Jessie announced that John Wilking and Seth
Bowdon have resigned from the Committee. The replacement process was discussed and
then future meetings were scheduled for January 11th, February 8th and March 8th. The
meetings will be held in the City Hall at 5:30 PM.
(6) PROPOSED LDR AMENDENTS: Aspects of the proposed LDR amendments were
discussed and as were the restrictions in them that limit development, both residential and
commercial. However, there did not appear to be a consensus for an appropriate response
and no motion was made aimed at a Committee resolution.
(7) UPDATE ON REQUEST FOR DATA/RESEARCH FROM UVM: John provided a
summary from the UVM Office of Engagement and the Committee members discussed
possible requests for research/data that could be requested. The Committee seemed to
agree that a “dashboard” of key indicators would help establish a baseline of data and
help in forecasting future City needs and vulnerabilities.
(8) CITY MANAGER UPDATES: Jessie the City budget proposals.
(9) ADJOURNMENT: Tom moved to adjourn and Linda seconded. The meeting was
adjourned at approximately 7:00PM.