HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Planning Commission - 07/11/2023SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
11 JULY 2023
The South Burlington Planning Commission held a regular meeting on Tuesday, 11 July 2023, at
7:00 p.m., in the Auditorium, City Hall, 180 Market Street, and via Zoom.
MEMBERS PRESENT: J. Louisos, Chair; M. Mittag, D. MacDonald, P. Engels, D. Leban, L. Smith, F.
McDonald
ALSO PRESENT: P. Conner, Director of Planning and Zoning; K. Peterson, City Planner; R. Doyle,
l. Bailey, A. Chalnick,
1. Instructions on exiting the building in case of an emergency:
Ms. Louisos provided instructions on emergency exit from the building.
2. Agenda: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items:
No changes were made to the agenda.
3. Open to the public for items not related to the Agenda:
Mr. Doyle said he noticed in reading the City Plan that words such as transparency and
communication don’t appear. He asked the Commission to think about how information is
accessible to the public and draw public engagement.
Ms. Leban said that is very pertinent. She noted that the city’s website is not routinely updated
which leads to misinformation.
4. Planning Commissioner announcements and staff report:
Ms. Leban advised that Pubic Service Case #2221 – Clean Heat Standard has been issued and
will last 3 years. Comment needs to be provided by the 23rd. She has a copy if any members
want to check into it.
5. Discussion regarding public outreach:
Ms. Peterson reminded members that public listening sessions will take place on 25 July at 7
p.m., on 27 July and 1 August at Noon, and on 29 July at 10 a.m.
SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
11 JULY 2023
Mr. Conner advised that Ms. Louisos will provide an update to the City Council at the Council’s
Monday night meeting. He also noted that staff members will attend the 1 August Rotary
meeting to provide an overview of the City Plan.
Ms. Peterson noted that the deadline for written comment on the City Plan, including comment
from city committees is 2 August. On 8 August, the Commission will discuss public comment
that was received in writing or at listening sessions. On 22 August, the Commission will get a
draft with any changes that have been made, and there can be a motion to go to a public
hearing. Any changes made tonight can go out for the 8 August session to go along with public
comment.
Mr. Mittag said he thought certain things have been omitted from the opening statement,
specifically the bold face type at the beginning regarding climate change as the most important
thing.
Members agreed to use the words guiding principles” instead of “goals.” They also agreed to
add the city logo.
Ms. Leban suggested removing the words “to keep the city safe” from the Climate Resilient
paragraph. Members agreed.
In the section on “Balanced High Scale Mixed Use,” Mr. Duncan MacDonald suggested using
“mixed residential and commercial use” instead of “mixed use.” Members agreed to the words
“Balanced Mixed Residential and Commercial High Scale.”
In the Housing section, Ms. Leban suggested using “young people” instead of “20 somethings.”
Ms. Leban also noted that the Clean Heat Standard won’t exist until 2026, so they should be
careful about relying on that.
Ms. Leban was concerned with setting goals the city can’t reach. Mr. Conner said they are
trying not to “self limit.” A goal should be a goal.
Ms. Leban questioned whether to include “life-saving codes to single-family homes” as this
can’t be enforced. She understood similar language for rental housing. Mr. Conner noted this
is an 8-year plan, and if it is not in the plan, there is a question as to whether the city can do it.
Mr. Conner noted that addressing short-term rentals is now a required part of a Comprehensive
Plan.
SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
11 JULY 2023
In the Economy section, Mr. Mittag suggested replacing “growth” with “vibrancy.” Members
agreed to add “community focused” to “climate resilient.”
In the Energy Section, Ms. Leban asked to add “greenhouse gas reduction” to the first sentence.
She also noted that the 4th bullet point is next to impossible to do. Mr. Conner said that
language comes from the Climate Action Plan.
Mr. Mittag said the diagram doesn’t agree with the CCRPC percentages. Mr. Conner said staff is
confident with the numbers, and they are the numbers used in the Climate Action Plan.
Ms. Leban asked to add “pedestrian” crossings to the paragraph at the bottom of page 22 and
to add “with no bike lanes” following the words “wide vehicle lanes.”
Mr. Smith said in the last paragraph, personal vehicles must have reduced emissions or be
changed to electric.
Mr. Mittag asked to change “human” to “community oriented space” on pages 25 and 27. Mr.
Conner said those 2 do not mean the same thing.
Ms. Leban asked to add “highly efficient” to new homes on p. 28, paragraph 4, and to cross out
the reference to heating systems. In the 3rd paragraph from the bottom, add “benefit from.”
Mr. Smith said they should be talking about microgrids in this section and should be
encouraging this, especially with energy intensive uses. Ms. Peterson said she would find an
appropriate place for that.
In the Environment Section, Ms. Leban said people think planting trees will solve the problem.
Greenhouse gases need to be eliminated.
Mr. Smith questioned the use of 51% in paragraph 2 and asked why that is a goal if they are
already at 51%. Mr. Conner said that percentage doesn’t mean the land is necessarily
conserved.
Mr. Smith also asked to add a bullet to say: Create a city-wide tree ordinance.
Mr. Mittag asked to add: Encourage the inclusion of community garden space. Mr. Francis
MacDonald suggested : Increase garden plots by 100%. Ms. Louisos said she supports that. Mr.
MacDonald also asked to add an action item: Actively promote “native plants and pollinator
species.”
SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
11 JULY 2023
Regarding stormwater, Mr. Conner said the City can be very proud of having the most active
stormwater department in the state. He added that the next 8 years will be very hard, with
hard, big dollar choices.
Mr. Smith suggested moving the top paragraph on p.40 to the Agriculture section.
On p.40, Mr. Mittag suggested adding to the noise pollution sentence “and is worthy of
examination.” He also suggested: consider noise pollution reduction including a possible noise
reduction ordinance.
Mr. Engels suggested reaching out to neighborhoods and encouraging neighborhoods to form
or take advantage of existing organizations. He suggested adding: Involve people in a citizen-
centric form of government. He showed a condensed form of those ideas. Mr. Smith liked the
idea of neighborhood organizations which could lead to a ward system in the city. Mr. Engels
felt the likelihood of the City Charter Committee recommending wards is very remote. Mr.
Conner suggested slightly broader language than “neighborhood associations.” He noted they
can be unifying or dividing. Mr. Smith noted that Burlington’s Neighborhood Planning
Association model works well. Mr. Engels said it could be done administratively which wouldn’t
involve a Charter change. Ms. Peterson said they are already doing some of that already on the
staff side. She was comfortable adding some of that but not any kind of government change.
She suggested finding a place for it where it makes sense in the document (possibly in the
Community section).
In the Transportation section, Ms. Leban suggested adding “demand slower vehicle speeds” to
the large paragraph, 13th line, on page 43.
Due to the late hours, members agreed to continue the discussion at a special meeting on 18
July. Staff will notify members of the location.
As there was no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned
by common consent at 10:20 p.m.
_____________________________, Clerk