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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Planning Commission - 01/12/2016 SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 12, 2016 The South Burlington Planning Commission held a regular meeting on Tuesday, 12 January 2016, at 7:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. MEMBERS PRESENT: J. Louisos, Chair; T. Riehle, B. Gagnon, S. Quest, D. MacDonald, A. Klugo ALSO PRESENT: P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; C. LaRose, City Planner; T. Chittenden, T. Barritt, D. Leban, B. Milizia 1. Agenda: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items: No changes were made to the Agenda. 2. Open to the public for items not related to the agenda: No issues were raised. 3. Planning Commissioner announcements and staff reports: Mr. Conner: Interviews are being conducted for the development review position. The City Council has warned the second public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan for 1 February. The City Council has approved a draft budget for FY 17. It will go to the voters in March. The City Council has approved doing electric permits locally. 4. Review Changes to Draft 2016 Comprehensive Plan made by the City Council and prepare analysis report pursuant to 24VSA Section 4385(b): Mr. Conner explained that the Planning Commission must review the changes made by the City Council and prepare a report on their consistency with state- wide planning goals. Members briefly discussed whether they wished to respond to the City Council’s changes, irrespective of their consistency with state‐wide planning goals. They determined that they did not. Members felt there were no changes that were not consistent with state planning goals. Mr. Riehle moved to send a report affirming that changes made by the City Council to the draft 2016 Comprehensive Plan were consistent with state planning goals. Ms. Quest seconded. Motion passed 6-0. 5. CCRPC Unified Planning Work Program: review and submit candidate recommended projects to the City Council: Mr. Conner directed attention to the prioritized list of what the CCRPC can provide help for. The list indicated the status of projects that are already underway. Mr. Riehle suggested adding something regarding potential waterfront development. Mr. Conner said that might fit in with the Phase 2 of master planning with a “node” for waterfront as well. Mr. Riehle suggested adding waterfront development to #3. Mr. Conner then explained the funding time-lines for the TIF. Market Street is likely to be the first TIF project to be voted on since it is already 90% funded. Ms. Leban asked if the Bike/Ped Committee can get copies of reports on #5 since they did not know this was happening. Mr. Conner said it is a “pre‐scoping” with a basic cost analysis and any wetland or utility issues…anything to make it a more viable project for funding. Mr. Riehle asked if the city potentially gets more funding because it is a “growth community.” Mr Conner said it does to the extent that the city is supporting the goals of the RPC. Ms. Milizia asked how the Natural Resources Committee can get involved in some of these studies. Ms. Louisos said that is the Commission’s intent, to decide whether to “farm out” some things to other committees. Ms. Quest then moved to approve the recommended list and forward it to the City Council with additions as discussed. Mr. Gagnon seconded. Motion passed 6- 0. 6. Continued Discussion of Planning & Work Priorities for 2016-2017: Mr. Gagnon advocated to get done what is already started before taking on anything new. Mr. Conner said that 50-70% of the work for next year probably falls into that category. Mr. Gagnon asked if there is a mechanism in place to be sure information gets shared. He felt that since these issues are going through public comment, if there is no coordination and the public has made comments, there could be issues. He suggested the Commission get status reports from each of the other committees. He also felt it might be good to ask each committee what it is working on for the coming year. Mr. Chittenden noted that at UVM each standing committee has to produce a report of what they did for the year. Ms. Louisos said she will be doing that for the Planning Commission. Mr. Klugo said the Commission needs to meet with the DRB and see if any issues come out of that meeting. He also noted the need to consider how to pay for some of the things the city wants. He suggested the possibility of an industrial piece, though not necessarily on the top of the list. Ms. Louisos asked when the city will hear form the RPC regarding grants. Mr. Conner said by April. Ms. Louisos said those projects will then be for the second half of the year, and the Commission should reconsider the list when those grants are known. Mr. Conner encouraged the Commission to tell staff what it wants to accomplish, and staff can take it from there. Mr. Klugo suggested spending 25% of the time on long‐range projects, 25% on things they can get done, and 50% on “continuing” things. Mr. Conner noted there are 3 kinds of projects: those based on geography, topics, and tools. Mr. Klugo suggested that some “irreversible” things might also be a grouping. Mr. Conner encouraged the Commission to think of what it would like to accomplish 6 months, one year, and two years from now. He stressed that there are no “rights” or “wrongs.” 7. Other Business: A. Summary and discussion of joint meeting with City Council on Draft LDRs and Official Map: Mr. Conner said the City Council will be discussing the LDRs on 1 February. The Commission can discuss whether it wants to provide any guidance. Mr. Klugo suggested deferring that discussion to the next meeting. Members agreed. 8. Minutes: No minutes were presented for approval. As there was no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned by common consent at 9:05 p.m. _________________________________ Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works. 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 tel 802.846.4106 fax 802.846.4101 www.sburl.com MEMORANDUM TO: South Burlington Planning Commission FROM: Paul Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning SUBJECT: January 12, 2016 Planning Commission meeting 1. Agenda: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items (7:00 pm) 2. Open to the public for items not related to the agenda (7:02 pm) 3. Planning Commissioner announcements and staff report (7:10 pm) 4. Review changes to draft 2016 Comprehensive Plan made by City Council and prepare analysis report pursuant to 24 VSA §4385(b) (7:15 pm) See attached memo and draft analysis report 5. CCRPC Unified Planning Work Program: review and submit candidate recommended projects to the City Council (7:35 pm) See attached memo 6. Continue Discussion of Planning & Work Priorities for 2016-2017 (7:50 pm) See attached chart for consideration. The objective at this meeting is for you to identify which projects to move forward with in the next year. We have placed the ones that are already underway, funded, or are important for clarifications to existing regulations towards the top. As with any projects, we’re never at a standstill, so these projects may already account for a substantial amount of the workload, but we’ve tried to help you identify what will go next into the hopper, even if it’s not right away. 7. Other Business (8:30 pm) a. Summary and discussion of joint meeting with City Council on Draft Land Development Regulation & Official Map Opportunity for PC members to discuss the joint meeting and determine any next steps if appropriate. 8. Minutes (8:45 pm) – don’t have any, sorry! 9. Adjourn (8:50 pm) 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 tel 802.846.4106 fax 802.846.4101 www.sburl.com MEMORANDUM TO: Planning Commission FROM: Cathyann LaRose, AICP, City Planner SUBJECT: Draft Comprehensive Plan DATE: January 6, 2016 The South Burlington City Council held a warned public hearing on the draft 2016 Comprehensive Plan on December 15, 2015. They closed the hearing that day but continued discussion through two more meetings, December 21, 2015 and January 4, 2016. On the latter date they voted to warn a second public hearing to be held February 1, 2016. During the course of their discussions, the City Council made several changes to the draft presented to them by the Planning Commission. These are each itemized below. Per state statute, the Planning Commission is obligated to review and prepare an analysis report on these changes for consistency with statewide planning goals spelled out in 24 V.S.A. §4302. A draft report addressing this consistence is attached for your consideration.  Include more text documenting and supporting the Form Based Code Committee and Committee work. The City Council inserted the following: 1. In the Executive Summary, page ii, add Form Based Code Committee to the 2nd full paragraph. The paragraph now reads: Page 1-6, under Planning Process, the third paragraph now reads as: 3. Page 1-10, Implementation, Under Land Development Regulations, add Form Based Code as a tool. Paragraph now reads as: ♦ ♦ 2 ♦ ♦ ♦ 4. Central District updated to reflect Form Based Codes Overlay District and importance of form based code tool in area. See 3.2C, page 3-10. 6th bullet of bulleted paragraph reads as:  Revise 1.1, Vision and Goals The City Council inserted the following: 1. Under Affordable and Community Strong, second bullet, add a focus on enhancement in case maintenance is not the desired standard. Bullet will now read:  Amend Strategy 4, Housing, to make clear that the tools listed are for exploration only. The City Council amended the following such that it now reads:  Include recommendations from Recreation and Leisure Arts Committee (RLA), per November 18th letter from Jennifer Kochman. The City Council amended the plan to reflect all the requested changes itemized below. They may be seen in the attached Plan. 1. Strategy 28, Page 2-47 RLA recommended: 2. Page 2-111 Inventory RLA recommended: 3. Page 2-114 Strategy 79: 3 RLA recommended this change: 4. RLA recommended adding an Additional Strategy: 5. Pages 2-112 and 2-113 Recreation recommended:  Address aquifer recharge areas The City Council amended the plan as follows: Page 2-87  Address Quality of Life The City Council amended the plan as follows: Page 2-48 4 5  Amend description of Wheeler Nature Park The City Council amended the plan as follows: Page 2-31.  Amend discussion of planned cross-town roads The City Council amended the plan to remove text as follows: Page 3-37. Next Steps Staff recommends that the Planning Commission examine the draft report on the changes. The Plan is scheduled for a second Public Hearing on February 1st. If any changes are made after that date, the Planning Commission will review those changes in the same manner it has here. 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 tel 802.846.4106 fax 802.846.4101 www.sburl.com Planning Commission REPORT Re: Consistency with Statewide Planning Goals of City Council’s changes to the Draft 2016 Comprehensive Plan The South Burlington City Council held a warned public hearing on the draft 2016 Comprehensive Plan on December 15, 2015. They have since voted to warn a second public hearing to be held February 1, 2016. During the course of their discussions, the City Council made several changes to the draft presented to them by the Planning Commission. These are each summarized below. Per state statute, the Planning Commission is obligated to review these changes for consistency with statewide planning goals spelled out in 24 V.S.A. §4302.  Include more text documenting and supporting the Form Based Code Committee and Committee work. These changes were intended to reflect the importance of the work done by the Form Based Code Committee.  Revise 1.1, Vision and Goals to include enhancement of quality of life These changes were intended to make clear that the quality of life should not only be “maintained” as previously stated, but enhanced.  Amend Strategy 4, Housing These changes were intended to make clear that the tools listed are for exploration and not to be construed as mandatory tools.  Include recommendations from Recreation and Leisure Arts Committee (RLA), per November 18th letter from Jennifer Kochman. These changes were effective in clarifying the importance of indoor programming space, and to show consistency the name of the department.  Address aquifer recharge areas and include wells This change was intended to place emphasis on protection of private wells, and the quality and quantity of water accessible to the residents who rely upon them.  Address Clean Air and Quality of Life The City Council amended the plan to reflect greater emphasis on access to clean air; it also sought to expand a discussion on the importance of livability for its residents and employees.  Amend description of Wheeler Nature Park  These changes were intended to show that the Park is intended to be permanently conserved. 2  Amend discussion of planned cross-town roads The City Council amended the plan to remove outdated text. The Planning Commission acknowledges that the following are the current statewide Planning Goals spelled out in 24 V.S.A. §4302. (1) To plan development so as to maintain the historic settlement pattern of compact village and urban centers separated by rural countryside. (2) To provide a strong and diverse economy that provides satisfying and rewarding job opportunities and that maintains high environmental standards, and to expand economic opportunities in areas with high unemployment or low per capita incomes. (3) To broaden access to educational and vocational training opportunities sufficient to ensure the full realization of the abilities of all Vermonters. (4) To provide for safe, convenient, economic and energy efficient transportation systems that respect the integrity of the natural environment, including public transit options and paths for pedestrians and bicyclers. (5) To identify, protect, and preserve important natural and historic features of the Vermont landscape, including: (6) To maintain and improve the quality of air, water, wildlife, and land resources. (7) To encourage the efficient use of energy and the development of renewable energy resources. (8) To maintain and enhance recreational opportunities for Vermont residents and visitors. (9) To encourage and strengthen agricultural and forest industries. (10) To provide for the wise and efficient use of Vermont's natural resources and to facilitate the appropriate extraction of earth resources and the proper restoration and preservation of the aesthetic qualities of the area. (11) To ensure the availability of safe and affordable housing for all Vermonters. (12) To plan for, finance and provide an efficient system of public facilities and services to meet future needs. (13) To ensure the availability of safe and affordable child care and to integrate child care issues into the planning process, including child care financing, infrastructure, business assistance for child care providers, and child care work force development. (14) To encourage flood resilient communities. The Planning Commission finds that the changes proposed by the City Council are not only consistent with the statewide planning goals, but also serve to advance them. Several of the changes- e.g. the amendments to aquifers and wells, to air quality, and the conservation easement at Wheeler Nature Park- directly reflect several of the state environmental planning goals. Several other changes are intended to provide greater clarity for the reader, a respectable objective of its own. None of the proposed changes diminish the robust work put forth by the Planning Commission over the course of several years, or the many hours of stakeholder participation and input. 3 The Planning Commission also acknowledges that the State Legislature has set forth a standard for the process by which a community engages in its planning efforts. These goals are enumerated as: (1) To establish a coordinated, comprehensive planning process and policy framework to guide decisions by municipalities, regional planning commissions, and State agencies. (2) To encourage citizen participation at all levels of the planning process, and to assure that decisions shall be made at the most local level possible commensurate with their impact. (3) To consider the use of resources and the consequences of growth and development for the region and the State, as well as the community in which it takes place. (4) To encourage and assist municipalities to work creatively together to develop and implement plans. The Planning Commission affirms that the entirety of its process respects and furthers these goals. The Planning Commission also finds that the City Council has met its duty in respecting these goals, with a fair and public hearing process. Specifically, the transfer of the document and the coordination between the two municipal bodies has enabled an open and productive conversation to assist each in understanding the basis for the substance of the plan, and the rationale for any proposed changes. 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 tel 802.846.4106 fax 802.846.4101 www.sburl.com MEMORANDUM TO: South Burlington Planning Commission FROM: Paul Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning SUBJECT: Proposed FY 2016 CCRPC Unified Planning Work Program projects DATE: January 12, 2016 Planning Commission meeting Again this year the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission is seeking input on possible transportation planning projects they should undertake in their next fiscal year. As discussed at your last meeting, the first action of the City’s is to wrap up the various items funded in previous years. A summary of those projects was in your last packet and is available on Clerkbase if you’d like to review it. For FY 2017, staff has met and reviewed each of the potential projects below. The project list was developed through coordination among the P & Z Department, City Manager’s Office, and Public Works Department. The list is generated from the various different city policy documents –the draft Comprehensive Plan and Capital Improvement Plan chief among them – as well as feedback we’ve gathered from the Planning Commission about where priorities should lie, from your December meeting as well as past discussions. The CCRPC requires that the City rank its submissions. This was a difficult task, and several great projects had to be omitted altogether to have this list be as compact as it is. It is still a substantial set of requests. We look forward to gathering feedback on these or other concepts at the meeting, and to having the Planning Commission provide a formal recommendation to the City Council. Staff is happy to answer questions about any of the proposed projects. Below is a chart summarizing the proposed projects, followed by a brief description of each: Potential UPWP projects: Project Status Match Source 1 Phase II of Kimball Ave / Kennedy Drive / Tilley Drive Transportation Needs Analysis Phase I underway FY 16 Regional Project 2 Amendments to City's Traffic Overlay District to incorporate Transportation Demand Management incentives (approved in FY 2016 UPWP) Funded in FY 16 UPWP. P & Z Consulting 3 Phase II of Master Planning tools for larger types of properties (State funding for current year) - may include business parks, residential & agricultural nodes, villages, and Shelburne Road activity nodes Phase I to be completed in FGY 16 (city and grant funds) P & Z Consulting 2 4 Alternatives consideration for I-89 Bike/Ped Bridge oin City Official Map and Comprehensive Plan Not started, but in TIF Regional Project 5 Phase II of Multi-site Recreation Path / Sidewalk alternatives analysis First 4 sites to be complete in 2016 DPW 6 Complete wildlife / Natural Resources Land Development Regulations standards project Project is 70% complete from past years P & Consulting 7 Develop scenic view inventories & land development regulation standards following methodology from the Open Space Report Methodology established. Could be intern project P & Z consulting 8 Turning movement counts at Swift Street / Spear Street intersection as basis for traffic study DPW 9 Develop river corridor plans for applicable South Burlington waterways Future FEMA requirement; CCRPC seeking pilot community Stormwater Utility 10 Update the transportation impact fee ordinance, connecting to multiple transportation modes and the Capital Improvement Plan Adopted CIP assumes changes have been made P & Z Consulting / DPW 11 Post-adoption adjustments to the City Center Form Based Code P & Z Consulting Brief Summary of each: 1. Phase II of Kimball Ave / Kennedy Drive / Tilley Drive Transportation Needs Analysis Summary: Phase I, basic network analysis, has just started, and includes understanding existing conditions and future challenges. Phase II will focus on public input and examining potential short, medium, and long term transportation improvements to be made. 2. Amendments to City's Traffic Overlay District to incorporate Transportation Demand Management incentives (approved in FY 2016 UPWP) Summary: The traffic overlay district sets a cap on the number of vehicle trips that can occur at rush hour on busy roads. It functions as a pretty hard cap on development. Moving forward, there are opportunities to have a much more dynamic tool that allows for more infill development by incentivizing other modes of transportation and/or traffic improvements. 3. Phase II of Master Planning tools for larger types of properties (State funding for current year) - may include business parks, residential & agricultural nodes, villages, and Shelburne Road activity nodes Summary: Continue the Master Planning project that is about to get started for circumstances outside City Center. 4. Alternatives consideration for I-89 Bike/Ped Bridge in City Official Map and Comprehensive Plan Summary: Look into a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over the Interstate near Williston Road. This has been on the City’s Official Map since 2004 and is in the draft Plan & Official Map. 5. Phase II of Multi-site Recreation Path / Sidewalk alternatives analysis Summary: Phase I did an analysis of future sidewalks / rec paths on Dorset Street, the Spear Street jughandle, Allen Road, and Airport parkway, to advance those projects closer to funding and construction. This would put 4 more future projects in the hopper 6. Complete wildlife / Natural Resources Land Development Regulations standards project 3 Summary: A few years ago the City began to develop updated standards for natural resource conservation; the Open Space report advanced these another step. This project would complete this effort and build the standards into the City’s regulations (may tie into the Master Plan / PUD tool also) 7. Develop scenic view inventories & land development regulation standards following methodology from the Open Space Report Summary: Identify and draft standards for scenic views in the city not presently addressed. 8. Turning movement counts at Swift Street / Spear Street intersection as basis for traffic study Summary: Perform traffic counts, etc. to prepare for a traffic study and future improvements at this intersection. 9. Develop river corridor plans for applicable South Burlington waterways Summary: Following completion of studies in recent years to determine the meandering paths of rivers, river corridor plans determine how to allow for these waterbodies to properly flow within those identified areas. Likely to become a requirement of FEMA All-Hazard Mitigation Plans in the future in order to maintain eligibility for disaster recovery and mitigation grants. 10. Update the transportation impact fee ordinance, connecting to multiple transportation modes and the Capital Improvement Plan Summary: Update the assessment and use of transportation impact fees to account for non-vehicle projects more fully and to point to the CIP as the project list for future improvements. 11. Post-adoption adjustments to the City Center Form Based Code Summary: CCRPC in house assistance to help with the inevitable future tweaks that will be needed to the FBC in City Center. Project Cost Time to Complete Priority Related Items Tax Burden Impacts Underway? LDR Cleanup/definitions/uses ongoing Y Y Natural Resource Standards Y Y TDR Corrections Chamberlin Neighborhood Y Y Post adoption FBC adjustments Y Y Housing affordability (outside City Center)Y Master Plan/PUD Standards Y Y Permit Fees & Other Revenue items Y South Village Request Y Examine TDRs- City Wide Y Y Bike/Ped/Car Transportation between neighborhoods, parks, etc Business Parks Y Citywide FBC Y Linking City's efforts together Density outside City Center/Infill Y East-West Roads Food Hubs and Farm Stores Gap Analysis- Parks, Transportation Y Y Heights Y Industrial Zoning & Needs Meeting with DRB Official Map Y Parking Standards outside City Center Public and private investments Redefine Open Space citywide Redefining Density (units vs SF)Y Improved Clarity Projects Underway New Projects Shelburne Road- Nodes of activity Y Short and Long Term Resilience Y Solar Siting- green areas Sus Ag Items Traffic Overlay District Standards View Corridors Waterfront development River Corridor Standards Lowest Expense Least Time Needed Less Urgent Most Expense Most Time Needed Most Urgent Dependent on Project New Projects 