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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Planning Commission - 03/20/2017 SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 20 MARCH 2017 The South Burlington Planning Commission held a special meeting on Monday, March 20, 2017, at 12:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. MEMBERS PRESENT: T. Harrington, T. Riehle, B. Gagnon, M. Ostby, D. MacDonald ALSO PRESENT: P. Conner, Director Planning & Zoning, T. Mckenzie, K. Braverman, C. Snyder, A. Gill 1. Agenda: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items (12:00 pm) No changes made 2. Open to the public for items not related to the agenda (12:01 pm) No public input 3. Consider request for a “minor change” to the Official Map, Mary Street / Market Street, Chris Snyder of Snyder-Braverman (12:02 pm) Discussion began with Mr. Conner introducing the application for a minor change to the official map from Snyder-Braverman. Mr. Conner explained that they requested that the future alignment of Mary Street, from its existing terminus to Market Street, be located entirely on the property they control. The alignment was shown straddling the boundary of their property and that of the adjacent property to the west. Mr. Conner clarified that the Planning & Zoning staff recommended accepting the change. Ms. Harrington inquired about the effect on South of Market Street. Mr. Conner proposed handling that issue at a later date. Commissioners agreed. Ms. Ostby inquired about the land owners to the west approving the change of route. Mr. Mckenzie, property owner of the Synder-Braverman project area, clarified that the issue was brought to them by landowners (Judge Properties) to the west to make change. Ms. Ostby asked about ongoing access to school. Mr. Mckenzie replied that the school will always be given access to the road as long as it remains a school Mr. Mckenzie clarified also that the change in the location of proposed road has affected their plans to develop the land, but decided to proceed. Motion by Mr. Gagnon to approve the minor change on the official map as presented. Motion seconded by Ms. Ostby. Motion passed 5-0. 4. Consider request for a “minor change” to the Official Map, Eldridge Street / Old Farm Road, Andrew Gill, O’Brien Brothers Agency (12:12 pm) Discussion began with Mr. Conner introducing the application for a minor change to the official map from O’Brien Brothers Agency. Mr. Conner stated O’Brien Agency was requesting that the Old Farm Road connection for this planned street be moved north as depicted on their approved Master Plan. At that time, the alignment was shown connecting to Old Farm Road south of the barn. Mr. Conner noted that Planning & Zoning staff support the change. Mr. Gill discussed the potential safety concerns with the current configuration of Old Farm Road in relation to newly planned connection road. Mr. Gill said that the present application to the Development Review Board showed a planned connection, but not yet a physical street connection because of safety issues associated with adding traffic to the Old Farm Road / Kimball Ave intersection under its current configuration. Mr. Gill explained the changes would occur in phases of the future proposed project. Ms. Ostby questioned the connections on other side of Old Farm Road. Mr. Gill clarified that the other properties that may be affected also owned by O’Brien Brothers. Ms. Ostby questioned the effect cuthrough roads would have on residential neighborhoods and the potential problems that may ensue. Mr. Conner noted that is time there is no official connection. Mr. Conner displayed another road that may be established through a more commercial area to ease this concern. Mr. Riehle asked for clarification on where access roads may be. Mr. Conner clarified that one would replace Old Farm Road and the other could be a connection to Tilley Drive. Mr. Riehle then questioned how curb cuts would affect biking since it is an outline for the overall plan. Motion to approve the minor change on the official map as presented, with the additional clarification that the planned street connection would be depicted as connecting all the way to Old Farm Road by Mr. Macdonald. Motion seconded by Mr. Riehle and approved 5-0. 5. Other Business (12:22 pm) No other business 6. Adjourn (12:22 pm) Minutes Approved by the Planning Commission March 28, 2017 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 TO: South Burlington Planning Commission FROM: Paul Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning SUBJECT: Mary Street & Market Street: consideration of proposed “minor changes” to location of proposed public facilities on the Official Map DATE: March 14, 2017 Planning Commission meeting Ken Braverman of Snyder-Braverman has submitted a request for the Planning Commission and City Council to consider a “minor change” to a roadway alignment shown on the Official Map for City Center. Specifically, they are requesting that the future alignment of Mary Street, from its existing terminus to Market Street, be located entirely on the property they control. At present, the alignment is shown straddling the boundary of their property and that of the adjacent property to the west. Vermont State Statutes (24 VSA 5521(2)) allows for minor changes to an adopted Official Map to be considered and approved by resolution of the City Council, upon recommendation by the Planning Commission. In considering what action the Planning Commission chooses to make, staff offers the following questions to be addressed: 1. Determine whether the change, as proposed, would qualify as a “minor change.” There is no case law on this language to our knowledge 2. If it’s determined to be a “minor change” decide whether to recommend the change to the City Council. Staff review & recommendation Synder-Braverman is proposing to shift the planned Mary Street extension approximately 30 feet to the east, to be entirely on their property. This will allow their project – a proposed senior housing project – to move forward independently of the decision-making of the adjacent property owner. It is staff’s opinion that the proposal qualifies as a “minor change” and is supportive of the proposal as presented. Staff reviewed the request in the context of the involved properties and with a view to overall connectivity of streets in the vicinity. With regards to the involved properties, Snyder-Braverman is proposing to shift the entire planned Right-of-Way (ROW) from the existing Mary Street to Market Street onto their property. Separately, Synder-Braverman is proposing to dedicate this ROW to the City as part of a subdivision application before the Development Review Board. This minor shift of the ROW to the east will likely slightly off-set the street alignment should Mary Street continue further to the south in the future. As part of the Market Street project and the Williston Road Network Study, both being developed by the City’s consultants, VHB, staff is comfortable that these can be sufficiently addressed. Staff supports a recommendation by the Planning Commission to the City Council to approve this minor change as requested by Snyder-Braverman via resolution. CITY OF SOUTH BU R L I N GTON CITY O F BURLINGTONBlock StandardsAppicability Non-ExemptINTERSTATE 89WHITE STDORSET ST HIN ESBURG RD ASPEN DRRUTH STGARDEN STP A T C HEN RD MIDAS DR MARY STMAR K E T S T WILLISTON RDIBY STSAN REMO D R LegendForm Based Code Area (346 acres)Existing Road ParcelsExisting StreetsPlanned StreetsPlanned Street Right of WayParksTax Parcel BoundaryEP:\Planning&Zoning\Planning\OfficialMap\OfficialMap2016\OfficialMap_2016.mxd exported by:mbrumberg On 3/10/2016City of South BurlingtonPlanning & Zoning - Official Map (Form Based Code Area)Effective April 11, 2016*Approximate locations of proposed roads, to be used for planning purposes only. Please refer to original studies for exact road centerlines.07001,400350Feet 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 tel 802.846.4106 fax 802.846.4101 www.sburl.com TO: South Burlington Planning Commission FROM: Paul Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning SUBJECT: Eldridge Street / Old Farm Road: consideration of proposed “minor changes” to location of proposed public facilities on the Official Map DATE: March 14, 2017 Planning Commission meeting Andrew Gill of O’Brien Brothers Agency has submitted a request for the Planning Commission and City Council to consider a “minor change” to a roadway alignment shown on the Official Map for the Old Farm Road / Eldridge Street area. Specifically, they are requesting that the Old Farm Road connection for this planned street be moved north as depicted on their approved Master Plan. At present, the alignment is shown connecting to Old Farm Road south of the barn. Vermont State Statutes (24 VSA 5521(2)) allows for minor changes to an adopted Official Map to be considered and approved by resolution of the City Council, upon recommendation by the Planning Commission. In considering what action the Planning Commission chooses to make, staff offers the following questions to be addressed: 1. Determine whether the change, as proposed, would qualify as a “minor change.” There is no case law on this language to our knowledge 2. If it’s determined to be a “minor change” decide whether to recommend the change to the City Council. Staff review & recommendation O’Brien Brothers Agency has been developing a Master Plan for the west face of Old Farm Road for quite some time. Commissioners may recall a bubble-diagram shown to the Planning Commission a couple of years ago. Last summer the property owners began their review process with the Development Review Board. They received a Master Plan approval last month and presently under review for their Preliminary Plat. The City’s Official Map shows a road connecting from Eldridge Street to Old Farm Road. O’Brien Brothers is proposing this as well, but further to the north. Distance-wise, the proposed connection is somewhat different from the Official Map. However, the involved properties and connecting streets remain the same. The Department of Public Works has reviewed the layout and is comfortable. Staff recommends the Commission find this to be a “minor change” and that it recommend approval by the City Council as proposed. VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL March 8, 2017 South Burlington Planning Commission C/O Mr. Paul Conner, Director of Planning and Zoning South Burlington Planning and Zoning 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 Re: Request for Minor Change to South Burlington Official Map Dear Planning Commissioners, We write to you today with regard to the ongoing permitting process for the development of land owned by O’Brien Home Farm, LLC and O’Brien Family, LLC, located adjacent to Eldredge Street, Old Farm Road, Kimball Avenue and Kennedy Drive, in South Burlington, Vermont (the “Parcel”), which is the subject of an approved Master Plan, and which is currently proceeding with development review applications for the construction of new single family and duplex homes. We write to request that the Commission review our project and its interaction with the Official Map of South Burlington, which is attached as Exhibit A. Specifically, the Official Map shows a connection between Eldredge Street and Old Farm Road, at a certain point on the Parcel. Applicant is requesting that the Official Map be amended, such that the connection point shifts north slightly, to align with the proposed connection, shown in the approved Master Plan for this Parcel. The approved master plan for the Parcel is attached as Exhibit B, with one minor change, in that the road shown on the official map is sketched in a dotted line for review by the Commission. As you will see, the connection shown on the official map is a road between Eldredge Street and Old Farm. The Master Plan is proposing to construct the majority of this connection in the form of New City Road A. Additionally, an easement will be granted to the City from the end of New City Road A to Old Farm Road, securing, with certainty the land needed to achieve the connection shown on the official map. It is the belief of the Development Review Board, that the location shown in the approved Master Plan is a suitable location for the eventual connection to Old Farm Road. This is also the belief of the owner of the underlying land. The connection shown on the City map is in fact quite problematic; cutting through very steep hillside, and requiring substantially more earth work and environmental disruption than is ultimately needed to achieve the same connection at the alternate location proposed. 2 Title 24, Chapter 117 Section 4421 of the Vermont Statutes (the “Statute”), allows for a simple procedure for modification to the official map in minor instances such as this. Specifically, the Statute states: “minor changes in the location of proposed public facilities may also be made to particular sections of the official map, if the change is recommended by a majority of the planning commission, and approved by resolution of the legislative body.” We request that the Commission recommend to the council that the connection on the Official Map be moved to correspond with the proposed connection in the approved Master Plan, attached at Exhibit B. We believe that this minor change (a few hundred feet north) is without impact to the City’s ultimate goal of connectivity. This change is simply using better information to locate the road where it makes the most sense for upcoming projects, and future growth. It is also locating the road on much more subtle grades, which will help mitigate the environmental impacts of work associated with construction. We kindly request the Commission’s review of this matter, and we appreciate your consideration. Thank you. Sincerely, Andrew Gill, Director of Development Exhibit A Official Map Amendments adopted March 21, 2016 Effective April 11, 2016 CITY OF SOUTH BU R L I N GTON CITY O F BURLINGTONBlock StandardsAppicability Non-ExemptINTERSTATE 89WHITE STDORSET ST HIN ESBURG RD ASPEN DRRUTH STGARDEN STP A T C HEN RD MIDAS DR MARY STMAR K E T S T WILLISTON RDIBY STSAN REMO D R LegendForm Based Code Area (346 acres)Existing Road ParcelsExisting StreetsPlanned StreetsPlanned Street Right of WayParksTax Parcel BoundaryEP:\Planning&Zoning\Planning\OfficialMap\OfficialMap2016\OfficialMap_2016.mxd exported by:mbrumberg On 3/10/2016City of South BurlingtonPlanning & Zoning - Official Map (Form Based Code Area)Effective April 11, 2016*Approximate locations of proposed roads, to be used for planning purposes only. Please refer to original studies for exact road centerlines.07001,400350Feet Exhibit B