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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/18/1980CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 18, 1980 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, August 18, 1980 at 8:00 pm in the Conference Room, City Hall, 1175 Williston Road Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; William Burgess, Martin Paulsen, Michael Flaherty, John Towne Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Richard Ward, Albert Audette, David Spitz, Sidney Poger, Ethel Schuele, Donald Tetzlaff, William Copp, Marjorie Lavalla, Elizabeth Hill, Free Press Agenda additions 1. Attorney fees for delinquent taxes 2. Update on City Hall progress Minutes of August 4, 8, and 11, 1980 Mr. Burgess moved to approve the minutes of August 4, 8, and 11, 1980 and Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion. Mr. Paulsen noted that there had been a statement in the August 11 minutes regarding running out of school space in 4 years and said he would like to discuss that figure later in the meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Interviews for Zoning Board of Adjustment and Library Board of Trustees Donald Tetzlaff for Library Board - Mr. Tetzlaff said he liked libraries and felt the city's was a very good one, with which he would like to be associated. He has lived in the city 2 1/2 years, but was raised in Burlington. Asked whether he would like to serve on any other boards in the city, he stated that this was the only opening he knew of. < William Copp for the Zoning Board - Mr. Copp said he had not served on any Zoning Board before this time. He works for the city of Burlington and is somewhat familiar with planning and zoning. He has lived in South Burlington since April and, due to an interest in municipal government, wants to become part of the community. He has read the Master Plan and Zoning Ordinances and supports the concept of controlled growth. He felt zoning variance requests should be considered on a case by case basis. The meeting time was not a problem and Mr. Copp said he would be willing to serve on another board. Review draft of ordinance regulating peddlers and consider for first reading Mr. Szymanski explained why the ordinance had come into being. Mr. Farrar read the proposed ordinance. Mr. Burgess questioned whether the way the ordinance was worded prohibited people who carry merchandise door to door vs. those who take orders without having samples. He also wanted to know whether the way the ordinance was worded restricted the activities of people who were exempt from the IRS, or did they have to have a license. He wanted to know how tax exempt organizations, like the boy scouts, would be treated under this ordinance. Mr. Flaherty asked about computer salesmen, for example, also. Mr. Burgess asked about the ordinance's effect on a person who sold fresh fish from the back of a truck. Mr. Ward said the ordinance only applied to people in the city right of way. The Council wanted answers to the questions above. Mr. Burgess moved to table the first reading on the proposed ordinance. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion, and all voted aye. Interview for Community Library Board of Trustees Marjorie Lavalla - Mrs. Lavalla said she was very interested in the library. She would like to promote it and encourage more use of it by the elderly. She has lived in the city 18 years and has worked with all the present trustees. She said she might be willing to serve on another board if her background could be of value. Continue discussion of updated Master Plan On page 73, Mr. Paulsen wanted to insert periods after "soils are poor" and "drilled wells" on lines 19 and 20. Mr. Poger felt it was important to refer to the recharge areas and he suggested wording such as "and where substandard systems threaten the recharge area" be added after "soils are poor". Mr. Paulsen saw no reason to refer to substandard systems. It was decided to rephrase the section and add a reference to recharge areas. Mr. Paulsen felt that the 1969 Water Master Plan should be referenced in this section of the Plan (it is elsewhere) and it was agreed to add that. Mr. Spitz said he had a 1979 water plan which is the master plan for new lines in the city. Mr. Paulsen asked whether that included the 1969 plans. In the last two lines of page 73, Mr. Paulsen noted that if the mains were sized according to the Master Plan, they would not need to be increased in size, unless the zoning has changed since the plan was drawn. Mr. Spitz said a lower density had been used in the Quadrant, but the report had also figured on a faster population growth rate than the city has experienced. Mr. Paulsen said the report would have used existing zoning densities and planned for the saturation point. Noting that the zoning densities used were those of 11 years ago, Mr. Burgess wondered if the city might be at some risk of error in some parts because things have changed in the intervening years. The Council asked that the assumptions in the report be checked to see whether there might be some problems in the future with main sizes. Mr. Paulsen felt that lines 2 and 3 on page 74 should be investigated, but it was noted that there was no problem with compromising the network if it and the plant matched, and the statement did not need to be there. Mr. Paulsen asked about #1 on page 77. Mr. Farrar noted that there had been no discussion of increasing residential densities. It was decided to remove the words "outside the Quadrant" in #1. In #3, Mr. Paulsen asked about "contiguous development" - did this mean that development had to occur in a straight line, and that no undeveloped areas could be skipped over? Mr. Poger said that interpretation had not been the intention of the Commission. It was suggested that the wording in #3 be changed from "areas contiguous to existing developed areas" to "new developed areas" or "areas near existing developed areas". This wording can also be placed in line 23 of page 81. Mr. Paulsen asked about "in-filling" in line 17, page 65 and was told that was the Commission's preference, but it was not mandatory. On page 66, it was suggested that the figures from CWD be updated. Also on that page, lines 19-22, Mr. Farrar was not sure that was a conflict and it was suggested that the sentence be removed. On page 69, Mr. Paulsen felt the storm drainage study should be done. On page 67, Mr. Farrar asked what lines 12-13 said and Mr. Spitz said he would check into it. Mr. Paulsen questioned whether the statement on lines 3-4 on page 70 could be made, but he was told this was just a statement of goals. Mr. Paulsen asked when the study mentioned on line 12 of that page would be done. It was also felt that the city would have figures on the landfill capacity and they should be inserted in the Plan in this section, at the top of page 71. Regarding schools, on pages 9 and 10, Mr. Paulsen noted that there had been a 20% drop in school population with a sizeable increase in occupied dwelling units in numbers, so he was not sure the city would be out of school space in 5 years. Mr. Farrar reviewed the assumptions he had used to come up with that projection, but he noted that projections were tenuous and depended on what assumptions one used. This was discussed further. Mr. Farrar felt the city should plan for at least one elementary school in the Quadrant. On page 5, line 24, Mr. Farrar noted that the goal had been or a rate commensurate with the county growth rate, and that is what happened. On page 6, line 2, Mr. Farrar qeustioned whether that was true. It was decided to replace "an entire" with "most of" or "a significant part of". On page 33, the clause on lines 1-2 was discussed and Mr. Spitz suggested adding wording such as "although open space areas are necessary in residential areas, organized, developed parks will be needed". On page 34, Mr. Farrar asked whether there was any problem with the amount of $18,000, but Mr. Poger said it could continue at the present rate. On page 36, Mr. Farrar suggested adding wording that "the city should acquire another 375 acres of parkland, in total". On page 37, Mr. Farrar asked that the question of development of the Potter property be checked out. On page 40, Mr. Farrar felt the figure of Digital employees should be omitted. On page 41, in the footnote, Mr. Farrar asked who that referred to and was told that "We" was the Winooski Valley Park District. Referring to the pedestrian trail system in the city, Mr. Farrar did not feel that the city had overlooked pedestrians, on page 46, but Mr. Poger said the Commission had been discussing walking as transportation, not recreational walking. On page 48 Mr. Farrar asked if the city wanted to provide rail sidings. On page 56, Mr. Farrar wondered if table 14 should appear in the Subdivision Regulations instead of the Plan and it was decided to do this. In figure 3 on page 61, Mr. Farrar suggested that 1972 be used as the base and everything scaled back to that. Mr. Spitz will do that. On page 72, line 22-3, Mr. Farrar asked what "physically unsuited for development" meant and was told that referred, not to land which was zoned improperly, but to land which was hard to build on, such as steep banks. On page 75, lines 13 and 14, Mr. Farrar did not feel that density had much to do with the price of housing. Mr. Burgess moved to schedule a public hearing on the Master Plan for September 15. The motion was seconded by Mr. Paulsen, and all voted aye. It was felt that the best way to handle the Plan was to have the changes typed into the document, instead of being separate. The Council then discussed which areas in the Quadrant to rezone as Industrial. Mr. Spitz had shown several possible areas on a map and he told the Council how many acres were in each area. The area under the airport approach cone is 196 acres. Area 2 is south of that east of Hinesburg Road to Van Sicklen Road, except for one already developed area, and contains 403 acres. There are about 83 acres near Digital to consider, area 4 ties into the existing business area on Allen Road for 48 acres, and there is a large parcel (312 acres) below Van Sicklen Road east of Hinesburg Road. He recommended areas 1 and 2, or some parts thereof. Mr. Farrar mentioned the area south of the Interstate west of Hinesburg Road. How to treat this industrial zone was discussed. It could be zoned Agricultural-Industrial, for example. Mr. Farrar wanted to make the city's intentions explicit with regard to this land, noting that they could say that they had looked at specific areas for future Industrial zoning. What he wanted to do now is determine where these areas should be. It was felt that there would be a need for some convenience stores or drug stores in the Quadrant, but not for large commercial complexes or department stores. Mr. Farrar asked if there was any reason to enlarge the commercial zone near Kimball Avenue to the south. Mr. Burgess wanted to look at the proposed areas before he made a decision. Review Waiver of Tax Penalties The Council looked at a list of penalties the City Manager had waived. Mr. Burgess moved to accept the report, Mr. Towne seconded and it carried 5-0. Make appointment to the Zoning Board of Adjustment Mr. Flaherty moved to appoint William Copp to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Mr. Towne seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Review Planning and Zoning agendas There were no comments. Set dates of regular September meetings It was decided to meet Wednesday, September 3 and Monday September 15. Attorney fees for delinquent taxes Mr. Towne moved that the City Council grant the City Attorney the power to add an amount not to exceed 15% of uncollected taxes onto the bill for those accounts that have been turned over by the Tax Collector to the City Attorney for collection. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and all voted for it. Update on City Hall progress Mr. Szymanski gave the Council a progress report. Mr. Farrar suggested appointing one Council member as a liason. Mr. Flaherty moved to appoint William Burgess as the City Council liason with the contractor. Mr. Paulsen seconded the motion and all voted for it. Old business Mr. Szymanski updated the Council on the Salary Review Committee. Mr. Towne felt a brochure and information on the bond issue for the municipal building should be sent to the voters. He also felt there should be a public hearing. Discuss additional personnel for City Hall Mr. Farrar said he would like the Council to decide what they would want an Assistant City Manager to do and then to decide how to select one. Additional help for the bookkeeper was also discussed. It was decided to meet on August 25 at 8:00 pm to discuss this item further. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 pm. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.