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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/25/1980CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 25, 1960 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, February 25, 1980 at 7:30 pm in the Conference Room, City Hall, 1175 Williston Road Members Present Paul Farrar, Chairman; Kenneth Jarvis, Michael Flaherty, William Burgess (late) Member Absent Martin Paulsen Others Present William Szymanski, City Manager; Ann Volpe, Federal Emergency Management Agency; Gil Barlow, E.C. Jordan; George Mona, member Planning Commission; Bob Atherton, Tony Cairns, Gerry Milot, Marsha Milot, Everett McCaffrey, Jim Gordon, Ronald Schmucker, K. Killilea, Libby Wagner, Gary Farrell, Stephen Page, M/M A.C. Paquette, Lowell Krassner, David Spitz, Planner Minutes of January 30, and February 4, 6, and 14, 1980 Mr. Flaherty moved to approve the minutes of January 30 and February 4, 6, and 14, 1980. Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion and it carried 3-0. Sign disbursement orders Disbursement orders were signed. Public information meeting on flood insurance rate study for South Burlington prepared by Federal Emergency Management Agency Ms. Ann Volpe said South Burlington had joined the flood insurance program in 1975 and that the city had done a good job of floodplain management already. Associated with the program is the offering of flood insurance, which is not offered on the open market. She felt the city had a good program to prevent development in floodplain areas. Some work has been done on maps of the city using the 100 year and the 500 year flood lines. Mr. Gil Barlow, of E.C. Jordan, explained the maps, which were on display in the conference room. It was noted that if a person wished to buy land in the 100 year flood area, he would be required to purchase flood insurance also. Mr. Barlow said the maps showed different rates for the different zones and they also showed the flood areas. The government uses these maps to set insurance rates for particular pieces of land. He said the area around the Winooski River was the only area studied in great detail. The maps also show the floodway, which is the amount of damming the river can tolerate without raising the flood elevation more than 1' upstream. This may not be particularly important to South Burlington. Mr. Barlow said the maps for other small streams in the city had been worked out using old maps. The lake area was determined using the Richeleau Dam study. Mr. Szymanski pointed out possible drafting omissions and Mr. Mona questioned the Red Rocks area. Those will be looked into. Ms. Volpe said the city should use the elevation levels in the report. She noted that there might be a few problems with the zoning the city has now with regards to these maps, notably the AI zoning near the river in some spots. She said that if construction were allowed within the 100 year flood line area, special measures would have to be taken, such as raising the structures above 218' mean sea level or flood proofing them. Some zoning changes may be made, if the city wishes. Ms. Volpe said that in a month or two there would be listed twice in a local newspaper the fact that a 100 year flood elevation is proposed for the city. Then an appeals period will follow and maps will come out in proof form. A 6 month period will follow in which differences between the maps and city records are resolved. She thought that February 1, 1981 would be the deadline for communities to rectify shortfalls, and after that date the amount of flood insurance which could be purchased would increase dramatically. Asked about the minor stream areas where the required setback was not large enough according to the flood boundaries, Ms. Volpe said setbacks could be increased or the city could have a floodplain overlay district. Mr. Farrar asked how the flood areas had been determined, and Mr. Barlow said they had come from several different sources. Certain construction requirements would be put in place for the areas in the overlay districts, if that route were taken. Mr. Burgess came in at this time. Ms. Volpe gave the members copies of the question and answer booklets from her agency and Mr. Szymanski was also given one. Agenda additions Since all members who were going to be present tonight were now present, Mr. Farrar asked if there were any agenda additions. The following item was added under Old Business: Receive the request of Erwin Valgoi to drop the appeal for to remove old motel units and construct new ones at the Swiss Host Motel. Continue public hearing on Interim Zoning Application of Bernard Barney. C.A. Cairns, agent, for permission to construct a 30' x 40' building and occupy same as mini-mart and gas station on land located southerly of Automasters, and northerly of Shelburne-South Burlington town line Mr. Farrar said the Council had received letters from Traffic Engineering Associates and from the State Highway Department Transportation Division (see attached copies). Neither sees an adverse impact from the proposal. Mr. Jarvis noted that the Fire Chief had said he did not have the proper chemicals to fight a gasohol fire if that were stored at this location. Mr. Cairns was not sure if they would have gasohol stored there, but he said that if they did, they would make the Chief aware of the fact so he could be sure he had the right chemicals. Mr. Cairns also said that a letter had been given to the City Manager regarding the negotiations with Velco to move the building. Mr. Burgess moved to close the public hearing and Mr. Flaherty seconded. The motion passed 4-0. Public hearing on the Interim Zoning application of Gerald Milot to construct 4 buildings, housing 34 two bedroom residential units on land located northerly side of Kennedy Drive, bound by property of Ryan. I.C.V. and the City of South Burlington Mr. Steve Page represented Mr. Milot. He was asked if the applicant was abandoning the prior approval and he replied that it would be abandoned if they received this approval and Planning Commission approvals. Mr. Page gave the Council a traffic report for the project (see attached copy). The 4.85 acre site will have 34 townhouse condominiums in 4 buildings. The prior plan for the land was an office use, and this use will cover less of the land because fewer parking spaces are required. Mr. Page said this plan would require more sewer capacity than the previous one and Mr. Farrar asked Mr. Szymanski to address that question at the next meeting. A pedestrian easement will be provided to the city parkland. Mr. Page felt the schools could handle the children in the development, since they are still experiencing declining enrollment. There is a drop in elevation from the front to the rear of the lot and two of the buildings may have drive-in garages under them, which would further reduce lot coverage. Mr. Farrar asked if plans would be submitted to Council showing this, but was told the applicant would prefer not to do so, since they would have to go to the Planning Commission anyway. The thrust of this application to the Council is on traffic impact, Mr. Page said. Runoff from the parking lot will be treated. Mr. Page said only evening peak traffic was studied, since that is the heaviest period of the day. They expect 17 returning cars at that time and 7 exiting cars. Figures were obtained from trip generation references and from field observations of Treetops Condominiums this month. They feel that 2/3 of the traffic will come from the northeast (sources are the study done for the previous office use and Treetops). Mr. Page said he had watched a number of cycles at each approach of the two nearest signallized intersections and had seen no fully loaded cycles (there was green time left over). He said that some cycles had 2-3 cars waiting to turn left through a green cycle, but the overall approach had no fully loaded cycles. It was noted that on page 3 of the report, the letters at the Williston Road-Kennedy Drive-Ariport Drive intersection were composite numbers. The individual left turn lanes are not shown, and their levels could be D or worse. The report assumes that 10 vehicles will return to this location through the Williston-Kennedy intersection at this peak hour. Mr. Page said that assumption was made partly as a result of studies of Treetops and Mr. Farrar asked to see that information, which shows that 4 cars per 10 units return at this time of day. Mr. Page said he felt the capacities of the approaches to the intersections were calculated conservatively. With the load factor observed in this study, the levels would be A or B (chart, pg. 3). Mr. Farrar also asked to see the information on the load factors. Mr. Lowell Krassner noted that there were several approved projects in the area which were not yet built and he hoped that the traffic counts would include projected traffic from those developments. Mr. Ronald Schmucker represented Treetops and recalled that when the office use was proposed, the residents had been very concerned and wanted to preserve a green strip between the two properties 30' wide. With this residential use they are not as concerned but they would like to retain that green area. Mr. Schmucker submitted two letters between Messrs. Schmucker and Milot on this issue to Chairman Farrar. He went on to suggest covenants to maintain the 30' green area and a plan to replant trees next to the green strip which will be lost during construction of building 4. Mr. Milot has agreed to this if he is not bound by a contract regarding the exact location of building 4 and the Treetops residents are happy with the arrangement, Mr. Schmucker said. Mr. Milot agreed that what Mr. Schmucker had just said was correct. Mr. Farrar asked whether, if the garages were put underneath the buildings, the buildings would be moved and was told they might be moved further back. Mr. Farrar wanted to keep the hearing open and have the Fire Chief look at the plan, as well as the traffic consultant. He asked that the consultant take into account traffic from approved but undeveloped projects in the area. Mr. Flaherty moved to continue the public hearing until the next regularly scheduled meeting and Mr. Jarvis seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Public hearing on proposed C1-C2 amendments to Zoning Regulations Mr. Flaherty moved to waive the reading of the C1-C2 amendments to the Zoning Regulations and Mr. Burgess seconded the motion. No one from the audience objected to the motion. The motion carried without dissent. Mr. Spitz put up a map showing the proposed areas to be classified C1 and C2. The total area in the two zones equals the area previously in BR and BPD, but the boundaries have changed. The C1 areas are the most traffic sensitive because they are the most congested now. Based on the Morency report, uses have been divided into high, medium, and low traffic generators. 60 trips per peak hour is the definition of a high traffic generator, 10 of a medium traffic generator, and less than 10 is a low traffic generator. Mr. Farrar felt that to look at the effect of a specific use, one had to consider how much land it required. Mr. Spitz said most uses listed in the report were based on size criteria. Low traffic generators will be allowed in any commercial zone, medium traffic generators in C2 and high traffic generators in neither unless they are in a PCD (planned commercial development). It was noted that with regard to gross floor area to lot size ratios, the sizes would be treated as housing is in an R7 zone, for example, where if a person has 1 1/2 acres, he can build 10 units. Mr. Farrar asked why a maximum lot size requirement was in the zoning. He felt this would encourage subdivision, which the city does not want to do. He also asked about the 350' frontage requirement, which is intended to reduce the number of curb cuts. Mr. Farrar noted that a 10 or 20 acre parcel without 350' of frontage could not be developed as a PCD. Mr. Spitz said that when a road was put in to the development, that would become the required frontage. Mr. Farrar then asked about splitting the land. If someone in that situation had 6 acres, the road would create 2 3 acre parcels, which could not be PCDs. It was decided that it would not be desirable to have a PCD on two sides of a street. Mr. Spitz said he could check to see if there were any such situations in the city. It was suggested that the minimum lot size be made larger, to discourage subdivision. Mr. Spitz went over the specific criteria for a PCD. Mr. Farrar asked how that would be handled if the city planned a specific improvement, such as widening Williston Road, which would impact existing traffic conditions on that road. If the bond issue for the project has not passed, that might be a problem. After some further discussion, Mr. Flaherty moved to continue the public hearing on the proposed C1-C2 zoning to the next regularly scheduled meeting and Mr. Jarvis seconded. The motion passed 4-0. Continue review of Master Plan chapters on Southeast Quadrant and Development Management, if time permits The hour was late, so this item was postponed. It was suggested that a special meeting be held to discuss it. Public hearing on proposed use of Federal Revenue Sharing Funds Mr. Farrar read the notice inserted in the Free Press as follows: Revenues Available Funds available $154,195 Funds anticipated $ 57,100 Interest anticipated $ 13,550 Amount available $224,845 Proposed Use Financial Administration $85,440 Public safety $49,465 Public Transportation $89,940 Total Proposed Use $224,845 Citizens attending the public hearing shall have the right to provide written and oral comments and suggestions respecting possible uses of entitlement funds. There was no public comment. Accept resignation of Doris J. Bailey from the Natural Resources Committee Mr. Flaherty moved to accept the resignation of Doris J. Bailey from the Natural Resources Committee and to direct City Manager Szymanski to send her a letter of appreciation for her 8 years of service on the committee. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion and all voted aye. Interview Mr. Albert Farrington for appointment to the Zoning Board, consider going into executive session for review of applicants for the position, and resume regular session to make appointment to that Board Mr. Farrington was not present at this meeting. Review waiver of tax penalty charges and sign liens Mr. Szymanski gave the Council lists of both charges and liens. Mr. Jarvis moved to receive the report of the City Manager on the waiver of tax penalties. Mr. Flaherty seconded the motion and all voted aye. Mr. Flaherty then moved to sign the personal property liens. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion and all were in favor. Review Zoning Board agenda There were no comments. Set date for review of 1980-81 budget The date of Wednesday, March 5 was tentatively set. Old business Mr. Flaherty moved to receive the communication from Erwin Valgoi regarding the Swiss Host Motel and to dismiss the application. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion and it carried 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 pm. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.