HomeMy WebLinkAboutAO-19-01 - Supplemental - 0146 Market Street (7)
February 13, 2019
Bill Miller, Chair
South Burlington Development Review Board
South Burlington, Vermont
Subject: Certificate of Occupancy for Allard Square Apartments
Dear Mr. Miller,
It has come to my attention that the certificate of occupancy for this residential apartment
building managed by Cathedral Square Corporation was denied because the public entrances
to the building have access controls.
As the largest source of funds for the development of affordable rental housing in the state,
VHFA monitors 8,500 apartments annually. It is very common for residential apartment buildings
to keep access controls at public entrances for the safety of the residents.
We urge you to allow Allard Square Apartments as well as future residential buildings built in
South Burlington’s City Center Form Based Code district to choose to maintain access controls
at their public entrances if they deem it in the best interest of their residents. Form Based Code
best practices for public standards focus on the form/material composition of entrances, their
spacing, and ultimately how they interact with the surrounding public realm. We contend that the
requirement that an entrance’s form and design elements interact with the public realm is not
compromised by an entrance having access control. We also do not think it was the intent of
the code to require space within a building to be absorbed into the definition of public realm
(whether it is for commercial or residential use). In fact, those requirements would undermine
the flexibility in use that the code is intended to inspire.
I would also like to share the concern that the public entrance definition includes a reference to
“business hours”, which is challenging to interpret.
Sincerely,
Seth Leonard
Managing Director of Community Development
CC: Paul Connor, Marla Keene, Dalila Hall (City of South Burlington)
Cynthia Reid, Cathedral Square Corporation