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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Affordable Housing Committee - 04/13/2021April 13, 2021, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes- APPROVED Page 1 Approved on April 27, 2021 AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMITTEE April 13, 2021, 10:30 a.m., meeting held online Members attending: Leslie Black-Plumeau, Vince Bolduc, Sandy Dooley, John Simson, and Chris Trombly Member absent: Patrick O’Brien, Others: Monica Ostby, PC liaison; Ariel Jensen-Vargas and Darrilyn Peters, SoBu residents AGENDA 1. Call to order, agenda review, public comment, approval of minutes (03/30/21), announcements 2. Communications Update 3. Discussion and possible action regarding Exit 12B proposal 4. (added) Discussion and possible action regarding Long sketch plan application for Spear Street development 5. Discussion regarding Environmental Protection Standards 6. Discussion regarding “Gray to Green Communities: Addressing Affordable Housing and Sustainability” email from Councilor Emery 7. Adjourn 1, Call to order, agenda review, public comment, approval of Minutes (03/30/21), announcements Call to order: Chris called the meeting to order at 10:31 a.m. Agenda review: Sandy moved and John seconded motion to amend and then approve the agenda by adding, “Discussion and possible action regarding Long sketch plan application for Spear Street development”, as agenda item 4; and changing previous items 4, 5, and 6 to items 5, 6, and 7. Motion approved: 5-0-0. Public Comments: None. Minutes: Leslie moved and Vince seconded motion to approve the 03/30/21 meeting minutes with minor acreage changes requested by Alan Long. Motion approved: 5-0-0 Announcements: John reported that Emilie Krasnow has applied for appointment to the committee. He interviewed her recently as she has just joined the SoBu Rotary. If appointed, he looks forward to her joining the committee. Ariel Jensen-Vargas has also applied for appointment to the committee. Chris reached out to Matt Boulanger, SoBu resident who is Williston’s Town Planner, about applying to committee, but no reply to date. Sandy learned that Will Clavelle is now a City resident (he works in BTV’s CEDO office); she has not reached out to him at this point. Minelle Sarfo-Adu is also interested in applying and is awaiting City Council’s decision on whether to appoint residents too young to vote to City committees. Ariel suggested that Minelle could be a non- voting member and mentioned the possibility of the committee’s facilitating Minelle’s having a mentor. Members are positive about having Minelle participate in whatever role the City Council approves and she is agreeable to, mentioning the benefit of having a young person’s perspective and contributions. Prompted by discussion of youth, Monica mentioned that Market Street is not kid-friendly—nothing for them to do there. 2. Communications Update: topics discussed included: having standing week/day/time for monthly meeting; distinguishing between short-term and long-term messaging; another book discussion group or monthly Zooms re a book or other subject to which broader audience is invited; possible subjects: The Color of Law, smart growth from a regional perspective, CCRPC’s ECOS Plan (recently updated); add committee’s recent memo to CC and PC about Interim Zoning work to Committee’s webpage; Rotary awarded grant to school to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion; countering misleading statistics sent to City Councilors and Planning Commissioners (example: Bellavance email); Leslie sent clarifying data to CC and PC chairs (maybe all members); P. Conner provided virtually identical clarification to Sandy re this email (Sandy will send Paul’s email to committee members); Monica wants to pursue student book group re The Color of Law; members encouraged Monica to reach out to Minelle, as Minelle wants to make this book required reading for all SoBu HS students; recalled Fair Housing Project’s offer to pay for books for student book group re The Color of Law; revisiting our 2013 report; updating goals in the report; importance of emphasizing development design consistent with strong neighborhoods; much has happened since 2013, especially in City Center; committee retreat once new members April 13, 2021, SoBu Affordable Housing Committee Minutes- APPROVED Page 2 are invited; need to prepare for revisions to Comprehensive Plan; need to continue messaging to decision-makers re having TND PUD rules include inclusionary zoning. Committee decided to reorder agenda and go to item 5. 5. Discussion regarding Environmental Protection Standards EPS): Discussed Patrick’s email regarding proposed new rules governing verification of Class 3 wetlands. Who is responsible for field delineation of Level 3 wetlands and who pays? Likely the applicant/developer. Monica – it would be good for Patrick to attend one of the public input sessions (4/27, 7 PM & 5/4, 12 PM) to raise these concerns. The Public Hearing date is May 20. PC did not increase stream buffers from 100 to 300 feet. Committee supports proposed Environmental Protection Standards as long as land available for development in current draft remains available for development. Members support having grasslands zoned so that residential development is permitted. The density of residential development permitted will depend on the PUD regulations that are proposed, especially which PUD models will be allowed in the SEQ. Will there be a choice of PUD models or only one permitted in the SEQ? The concerns about the draft Conservation PUD raised in Vince and Leslie’s memo also need to be addressed. The proposed Article 9 changes, also part of the EPS package, including eliminating reference to the “fuzzy” maps in the Comprehensive Plan are also important to protect the City from JAM-Golf-type litigation. (change in order) 4. Discussion and possible action regarding Long sketch plan application for Spear Street development: Following discussion, Sandy moved and John seconded the following motion, regarding Interim Zoning application #Z-21-01 for a development on lots located 1720 & 1730 Spear Street, to be transmitted to the City Council. The Affordable Housing Committee endorses Interim Zoning application #Z-21-01 and encourages the City Council to approve it. The bases for the Committee’s endorsement are as follows: the application’s (1) adherence to the proposed Environmental Protection Standards, in particular the conservation of the Habitat area (29 acres) located on the property; (2) its adherence to the draft Traditional Neighborhood Development PUD regulations, in particular the presence of different housing types; (3) its voluntary inclusion of affordable dwelling units; (4) its establishment of a the physical connection between the South Pointe and South Village developments; (5) its elimination of two curb cuts on Spear Street; and (6) as a result of collaboration with City staff, its reflection of the work being done under the City’s Interim Zoning bylaw. Motion passed: 5-0-0. (change in order) 3. Discussion and possible action regarding Exit 12B proposal: Following discussion, John moved and Vince seconded the following motion regarding the importance of considering economic benefits in the I-89 2050 Study, to be transmitted to the City Council. (Context) South Burlington Business Association president Tim McKenzie was a guest at the Committee's March 30 meeting. His remarks enhanced committee members' understanding of regional economic challenges and opportunities. As a result, we encourage attributing greater weight to the likely economic development benefits of I-89 exit alternatives. Economic development resulting from these alternatives will provide wide-reaching benefits to South Burlington and regional residents. It is likely to bolster local salaries and wages for area workers, which helps improve overall well-being in the region, including housing affordability. Housing affordability is the ratio of resident income to their housing expenses. On average, when a resident's income is high enough to allow their housing expenses to consume no more than 30% of income, their housing is considered "affordable." For this reason, increases to area worker incomes will increase the portion of residents with affordable housing, even when home prices remain the same (or increase by a lesser extent than income). Motion passed: 5-0-0. 6. Discussion regarding “Gray to Green Communities: Addressing Affordable Housing and Sustainability” email from Councilor Emery: due to lack of time, deferred to a future meeting. 7. Adjourn: At 12:41 p.m. Leslie moved and Vince seconded motion to adjourn. Motion approved: 5-0-0.