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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/06/1979CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 6, 1979 The South Burlington City Council held a meeting on Monday, August 6, 1979 at 8:00 p.m. in the Conference Room, City Hall, 1175 Williston Road. Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Michael Flaherty, Martin Paulsen, Kenneth Jarvis Member Absent William Burgess Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; MM P.K. Ozinga, Irma Farnham, Lisa, Jean and Al Brunini, Ann Groves, Laurs King, Irv and Esther Abrams, Elizabeth Eaton, Nancy Parker, Audrey and Dick Gracey, Pete Wood, Marietta and Norm Chappell, Lucy Samara, Christopher, Charles and Patricia Shea, William Schuele, Lubo and Pauline Dellin, Paul Jordan, George and Janet Danis, James Mounier, Alan and Sally Levy, Gladys Smith, John and Joann Child, Mildred Moulton, Mary Stuart, Bodie and Frederick Wallis, Homer Stuart, Francis Sheridan, Reed Brown, Norma J. W. Spaven, H.W. Ray, Sylvia Sheridan, Hank Caswell, Robert Kelly, Sandy Kleppinger, Sally Caswell, Kay Neubert, Eric Schuele, Gerry Milot, Donald Swain, James McGee, Ronald O'Bryan, Rowland Peterson, Paul Graves, Benjamin Stein, Colin Lindberg, Peter Judge, Ned Austin. Minutes of July 13, 16 and 30, 1979 Mr. Paulsen moved to approve the minutes of July 13, 16, and 30 as printed. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed with Mr. Jarvis abstaining on the approval of the July 13 minutes because he was not present at that meeting. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Meet with Brewer Parkway residents regarding planned street improvements Mr. Farrar said the question was whether Brewer Parkway would be repaved with or without curbs on the lower end. Mr. Szymanski said the original plan had been to put in the curbs, but last fall a petition was received requesting that curbs not be put in and it was decided not to put them in. Recently, however, there have been requests to reconsider that decision. Mr. Al Brunini read the original petition favoring no curbs and two letters also with that position which were sent to the city. He said that there were 59 homes on the street and the petition contained the names of 48 homeowners who did not want curbs, or 81% of the street. The first petition passed around did not contain many names, but after being told that by the city, more names were added to it, to bring it up to the 81% mentioned, Mr. Brunini said. Mr. Jack Spaven felt that curbing the road would enhance the character of the neighborhood, give better control of surface water, improve the appearance of the street, stop cars running over lawns, and increase property values. Mr. Farrar said that city policy was that new streets had curbs and that existing streets that were reworked were reworked in keeping with the character of the neighborhood and the wishes of the residents. Mr. Szymanski said that if curbs were put in they would be done next year and would extend beyond the island. Mr. Audette, head of the Street Department, said the trees in the island were dying because of being run over by cars and because of the winter salt in that area. Ms. Sheridan felt that after being told the advantages of curbs by the City Engineer, some people who had signed the petition were not sure they were right to do so. Mr. Reed Brown asked if curbing would insure the preservation of the trees in the island and added that he felt that if part of the street were curbed, the entire thing should be. Asked how wide the lanes would be after the work was finished, Mr. Farrar said there could be 2 16' lanes with an 11' island or 2 18' lanes with a 7' island. If 16' was chosen, parking would have to be restricted because of the narrowness of that size lane. The present road is 13-14' wide, so for a 16' lane, 1' would be taken from each side of the island and the outer sides of the road. It was suggested that the UVM Extension Service be asked how best to protect the trees in the island. It was also mentioned that if the road were widened only on the house side and not on the island side, the street would lose 6 large maple trees. Mr. Farrar asked how many people would support section to widen the lines to 18' and put in curbs and none responded. He then asked if anyone would support action to widen the street and take the maples. One person was willing to let them go. He then asked if anyone supported endangering the trees in the island and again got no response. Mr. Farrar then said that unless they could find a way to put in curbs and save the trees, the curbs would not be put in. He said the city could ask an expert to say whether curbs could be put in safely and asked Mr. Szymanski to contact the Tree Warden about that. Mr. Farrar asked how many present wished to repair and repave the street without curbs and 23 people responded. He then asked how many wanted to wait until more information was received and 14 responded. 14 people said they might want curbs under some conditions. Mr. Farrar said the city would proceed on the present plan, which is for no curbs, unless some information was received which would indicate that a change should be made. Mr. Hank Caswell expressed the residents' gratitude for this opportunity to express themselves. Continue public hearing of Normand Ramsey for an 18 unit motel at 1198 Williston Rd. This hearing was continued at the last meeting for more traffic information, and a sewage assessment. Mr. Lance Llewellyn worked with the City Engineer on the sewage assessment. Mr. Szymanski said he agreed with the figure that the motel would use 1800 gallons per day and he said there were 24,000 gallons per day left in the plant. He cautioned the developers, though, that they would be put on the list for sewage space after site-plan approval from the Planning Commission and that just because there are 24,000 gallons left today does not mean there will be room for them when they reach site-plan. Mr. Milot understood this point. The previous use of the land, a single family home, uses about 300-350 gallons per day sewage capacity. Mr. Milot gave the Council a letter from the engineer regarding sewage dated 8/6/79 (copy attached). Mr. Don Swain, traffic engineer, then presented traffic information to the Council in letter form and verbally (copy of letter attached). He said they took information from the S.B. Planning Commission and used ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers) standards to determine that an 18 unit motel at 95% capacity will create .9 vehicles per room at peak hours, for a total traffic flow of 16 per peak hour. He did not feel that 16 vehicles would adversly impact the intersection of Williston Road and Dorset Street. Mr. Swain said that he had done a 5-day survey of the area to see how much space there was between cars and to see if the stacking lane west on Williston Road backed up to the driveway of the project. He said it would take about 6 seconds for a car to cross westbound traffic lanes and get into the eastbound lane from this project and get up to 30mph. In the 2 hour periods this was watched, there were about 200 gaps per 2 hour period. Mr. Farrar asked if this meant that the average car would wait a minute or two to get out. Mr. Swain felt the number of traffic gaps was high and said the conclusion of the report was that the development would not create more of a burden on the intersection itself because of the low volume of cars. He felt the traffic impact would be negligible at peak hours. He said he had used 6 seconds to allow the vehicle to get up to 30 mph because that speed was necessary in order to blend in with traffic on the street. Mr. Flaherty was concerned with the vehicle which would be trying to turn into the motel and which could not because of vehicles stacked up to the driveway. That car would block one of the Williston Road lanes, perhaps back to the intersection. Mr. Swain felt there would be few times a turn could not be made into the motel. There is level of service C for the turning lane at the peak hour (on Williston Road to go to Dorset Street). Mr. Flaherty's concern was with the evening peak when people might not be able to turn in, and would be backing up cars and/or causing cars to change lanes. Ms. Kay Neubert said her experience was that there were many times that cars backed up past the present driveway to the site. Mr. Schuele agreed. Mr. Paulsen was also afraid that a car in the east lane trying to turn in would back up traffic to the intersection. Told there were 200 times in 2 hours a car could make that left turn, he asked to see those figures. Mr. Paul Graves stated that he was an adjacent property owner and said he was concerned with the intensity of the proposed use. He felt the parking layout was such that people would have to back into the drive, which would not allow time for a car entering the parking lot to decelerate. He also felt that people would turn into this property looking for the Econolodge, whose sign is nearby, and then not be able to get back into traffic, since the Econolodge is east of this property and a left turn would be necessary. He said there was no provision for snow storage and that snow might be put on his property and that there was no room for a dumpster, so that might also be put on his land. Mr. Graves also felt that not enough parking was provided and did not want people parking in his lot. He did not object to the use, he said, just to the intensity of it. Ms. Neubert also expressed concern about motor homes being able to move around in the parking lot. She was told that there was room for a fire truck to get in and out, so a motor home should also be able to. Mr. Szymanski noted that at the time the survey was done, GE was on vacation and UVM was not in session either. He also felt that motels catered to out-of- towners who did not know the area well at all and felt that worsened the impact. He also stated that he felt the traffic situation was worse than it had been made out to be. Mr. Flaherty asked if they could tell what the average waiting time for a car would be during the peak period. Mr. Farrar felt that was a reasonable question. Mr. Farrar suggested asking the city's traffic consultant for his comments on the data presented by the applicant, and he asked that the applicant try to make better predictions on the traffic impact, since there seems to be some doubt on whether the impact is serious. He also asked Mr. Szymanski to ask the City Attorney whether the question of the intensity of the use was germaine to this hearing. Mr. Farrar said the question was what was the probability that a person turning in or out of the project would be stuck and would impede traffic. By common consent the hearing was continued until the next meeting, when it was hoped that the information requested would be ready. Review additional data and formulate action and stipulations on closed public hearings James Meunier to operate a taxi dispatch office in conjunction with other business use at 10 Patchen Road Mr. Paulsen moved to instruct the staff to prepare a motion of approval for James Mounier for a taxi dispatch office at 10 Patchen Road because the facts indicate that there will be no more than 2 cabs located there, and that will be a stipulation. It will also be stipulated that there will be no routine repair work done at this location. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and it passed with Mr. Farrar abstaining because he did not take part in the entire hearing process. The Partners - Rowland Peterson agent - to construct an office building at 1251 Williston Road The Council looked at a copy of the Planning Commission's preliminary approval motion, and considered adding those stipulations to their motion. Mr. Paulsen moved to instruct the staff to prepare a motion of approval for the Partners for an office building at 1251 Williston Road. Mr. Jarvi seconded. Mr. Peterson noted that the Planning Commission's approval stipulated that the intersection of Hinesburg Road and Williston Road be at level of service C and he said that if it was not, the Partners would have to bring it to that level. He felt there was no problem there now and that in a little while the city would be widening Williston Road anyway. Mr. Farrar noted that might be farther in the future than the city would like it to be. Mr. Petersen asked that that stipulation be waived by the Council. Mr. Jarvis felt that was the decision of the Commission. Ms. Neubert felt the stipulations should be added to this motion, saying that not to do so was a blanket approval. Mr. Paulsen felt the stipulations were already imposed and did not need to be restated by this body. It was noted that any approval given by the Council did not guarantee sewage capacity. Mr. Flaherty saw no problem with adding the Commission stipulations and noted that on another application the Council had asked the Commission to require a certain setback on the buildings and they had not done so because that had not been a stipulation of the previous Council motion. The motion carried with Mr. Flaherty voting no and Mr. Farrar abstaining because he had not been present for the entire hearing. Champlain Oil, (Hank's U-Save) to expand convenience store sales area of existing gas station at 1300 Williston Road Mr. Jarvis moved to ask the staff to prepare a motion of approval for Champlain Oil at 1300 Williston Road, but also to investigate with the City Attorney whether the Council should and could attach a stipulation that the other application of Champlain Oil be dropped. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion. It was understood that if this were legal, the Council would do it. Mr. Flaherty felt this application was substantially the same as the one twice turned down by the Council. Mr. Jarvis felt this was 1/3 the size of the other application. The motion passed with Mr. Flaherty voting no and Mr. Farrar abstaining because he was not part of the entire hearing. Norman and Marietta Chappell to convert an existing dwelling to a real estate office at 1433 Williston Road Mr. Jarvis said the applicant had indicated that he would make changes to the drive to enhance traffic flow if he were asked to. Mr. Flaherty moved that the South Burlington City Council approve the conditional use application of Norman and Marietta Chappell to convert an existing dwelling to a real estate office at 1433 Williston Road, according to the proposal of record and based on the following findings: 1. The proposed use is consistent with the health, safety, and welfare of the City of South Burlington and standards 2, 3 and 4 of Section 5 of the Interim Zoning Regulations. 2. The proposed use is consistent with standards 1 and 5 based on the evidence submitted by the applicant. Stipulations 1. The existing drive to 1433 should be for ingress only. 2. The garage at 1433 should be demolished and the connecting drive to 1437 constructed. Egress shall be via the florist double drive. 3. The florist drive curb opening should be widened approximately 5 feet on each side to improve the right turn movement. 4. The three of four angle parking spaces along the west side of the flower shop should be changed to one or two parallel spaces, so as not to infringe on the driveway. 5. If the parking lot at 1433 is to be paved, the surface water shall be intercepted and piped into the storm drain southerly of this property, outletting into the Davis Parkway storm drain system. 6. The applicant will construct fencing which is consistent with that which is on the east boundary and this will be constructed on the south and west boundaries, or such screening as is mutually acceptable to both the applicant and the adjacent property owners will be constructed. Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion. Mr. Szymanski was asked to check to see if this application would have to have site-plan approval from the Planning Commission. Mr. Schuele asked whether this was not spot zoning. Mr. Flaherty replied that Williston Road was in transition at this time and when the Master Plan was written and the zoning worked on, it was suggested that these areas be made commercial. It was decided to leave them residential, however, so that a board hearing a request such as this could allow uses which were compatible with a residential area. He felt many of the homes on Williston Road would not remain residential. Mr. Schuele replied that if the zoning was incorrect, perhaps it should be changed. He felt that by nibbling away at the zoning, the city was degrading the Plan. Ms. Neubert called the attention of the Council to a petition signed by 98 residents of the area who were against the application. She said they had tried for many years to keep commercial uses out of the area from where there are homes on Williston Road to the Ethan Allen Motel. Those lots are small and not suitably sized for commercial uses, she said. She also noted that the lots that fronted on Williston Road backed up to other homes in the rear and those families did not want commercial uses adjacent to them. Mr. Paulsen noted that this property had been commercial for 8-10 years now and said the proposed use would not change that character. The motion passed with Mr. Farrar abstaining because he had not been at all the hearings. Formal action on staff prepared motions for interim zoning applications Roland and Evangeline DesLauriers for office buildings at 345 Dorset St Mr. Paulsen moved that the South Burlington City Council approve the conditional use application of Roland and Evangeline DesLauriers of 345 Dorset Street permitting the construction of two office complexes, according to the proposal of record, based on the following findings: 1. The proposed use is consistent with the health, safety and welfare of the City of South Burlington and standards 2, 3 and 4 of Section 5 of the Interim Zoning Regulations. 2. The proposed use is consistent with standards 1 and 5 based on the evidence submitted by the applicant. Stipulations 1. That this proposal is subject to site plan review by the Planning Commission. 2. That approval is for those uses submitted by the applicant only; any other use will require approval by the City. Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion and all were in favor. Terry Jackson Marshall for antique business in conjunction with residential complex at 1475 Shelburne Road Mr. Jarvis moved that the South Burlington City Council approve the conditional use application of Ms. Terry Jackson Marshall, 1475 Shelburne Road permitting an antique business in conjunction with a residential complex, according to the proposal of record, based on the following findings: 1. The proposed use is consistent with the health, safety and welfare of the City of South Burlington and standards 2, 3, and 4 of Section 5 of the Interim Zoning Regulations. 2. The proposed use is consistent with standards 1 and 5 based on the evidence submitted by the applicant. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and it carried 4-0. Brick Oven Restaurant, Arnold Cohen Agent to convert an existing pizza parlor into a restaurant and lounge at 1653 Williston Road Mr. Flaherty moved that the South Burlington City Council approve the conditional use application of Mr. Arnold Cohen, of the Brick Oven Restaurant, 1653 Williston Road allowing for the conversion of an existing pizza parlor into a restaurant and lounge, according to the proposal of record, based on the following findings: 1. The proposed use is consistent with the health, safety and welfare of the City of South Burlington and standards 2, 3 and 4 of Section 5 of the Interim Zoning Regulations. 2. The proposed use is consistent with standards 1 and 5 based on the evidence submitted by the applicant. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and all voted aye. Hospitality Inns Inc. Gary Farrell, to convert an existing motel unit to an office complex at 870 Williston Road Mr. Flaherty moved that the South Burlington City Council approve the conditional use application of Hospitality Inns Inc., 870 Williston Road permitting an existing motel unit to be converted to an office complex, according to the proposal of record, based on the following findings: 1. The proposed use is consistent with the health, safety, and welfare of the City of South Burlington and standards 2, 3 and 4 of Section 5 of the Interim Zoning Regulations. 2. The proposed use is consistent with standards 1 and 5 based on the evidence submitted by the applicant. Stipulations 1. That the use for office purposes of the, so called, Stowe building be limited to a two year period or less commencing August 1, 1979 end ending August 1, 1981, after which time the building will revert back to a 34-unit motel. 2. That the expansion and modification to the parking area be subject to site plan review by the Planning Commission. Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion. Mr. Schuele asked the Council to delay its approval until there was a review of the hardship of the case, on which the Zoning Board gave approval to build in the Conservation - Open Space (CO) zone. A parking lot was approved in the CO zone and Mr. Schuele did not think it could be shown that the hardship was not created by the applicant, which is necessary for approval. Mr. Jarvis felt the use had been technically approved at the July 30 meeting and that this motion was merely putting the wording in the proper manner. Mr. Schuele said that the Natural Resources Committee was concerned about the encroachment of the parking lot on the CO zone, and he asked the Council to review the hardship. Mr. Flaherty suggested sending a memo to the Planning Commission regarding the issue. The motion passed with Messrs. Paulsen and Farrar abstaining because of a potential conflict of interest. By common consent Mr. Szymanski was instructed to sent a memo to the Planning Commission asking that they carefully review the proposed parking because of its encroachment on the CO gone, and the concerns of the Natural Resources Committee. Sign Warning for special city meeting Mr. Farrar read the warning. Mr. Paulsen moved to sign the warning. The motion was seconded by Mr. Jarvis and passed with all in favor. Meet with Ned Austin to discuss the Bartletts Bay Road problem Mr. Austin said he was just interested in being able to get in and out of his driveway and did not care how that was arranged. Mr. Farrar suggested giving Mr. Austin a right of way over the drive maintained by Mr. Mazur and that will be explored further. Sign relinquishment and maintenance agreement with State Highway Department for portions of city streets acquired for interstate highway construction Mr. Szymanski asked to postpone this item. Review and authorize chairman to sign land transfer titles for land changes at corner of Kennedy Drive and Williston Road Mr. Flaherty moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the land transfer titles on receipt of approvals from the City Manager and City Attorney that all things are in order. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and all voted aye. Interview architects for proposed municipal building Benjamin Stein Mr. Farrar explained that next year the city hoped to build a municipal building which would house city offices, the police, and another bay for the fire department. Mr. Stein said he worked very closely with boards until they reached the final criteria for the preliminary drawings. He works on an hourly basis with a stipulated maximum price for the preliminary stage. His office consists of himself and he gives very personal service, he said. He also felt he was good at presentations and would do this for the public when the time came. He gave the Council some background information on himself, and listed some buildings he has worked on. He felt it would be possible to come up with a design by the end of the year, and said his cost projections had always been very close to the actual figures. He said he sometimes employed outside engineering or site work help as necessary. Asked about a negotiated contract vs. going out for bids, he said he personally under normal circumstances preferred having a prequalified list of bidders. Colin Lindberg Mr. Lindberg said he had an office in Burlington and 9 employees. He has done a lot of rehabilitation work and said he left some information with the city on what he has worked on. He said he personally preferred a management arrangement, noting that negotiated contracts were sometimes a problem with public money. He said usually he used the contractor as a manager, not the architect, because the contractor was more involved with real costs. He felt it would be possible to have a design by the end of the year or even sooner. Review Planning and Zoning agendas There were no comments. Old business There was none. Meet as Liquor Control Board to act on application for liquor license for Benji's Pizza Plus, 1208 Williston Road Mr. Szymanski said this application would have to go to the City Council under Interim Zoning anyway so he wanted to wait on the liquor license approval. The meeting was adjourned at 11:15 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.