Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 02/08/2001COMMUNITY FORUM 8 FEBRUARY 2001 A Community Forum on proposed development in the City Center was held on Thursday, 8 February 2001, at 7:00 p.m., in the Tuttle Middle School, Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT. The forum was attended by approximately 70 people including City Council members, City Manager, City Planner, Administrative Officer, Planning Commission and Development Review Board members, and residents of the city. The forum was facilitated by Peter Cole. City Council Chair Jim Condos opened the forum by welcoming participants. He stressed that the Council wants to hear from the public and wants the process to be very open. He also stressed the importance of balancing housing, growth, residential, and commercial needs. Mr. Cole then reviewed the history of the town meeting series. He noted that it was designed to get people to do some planning and strategizing. About 90 people participated in the first phase of the process and worked for several months to put together a report that had been presented to the City Council. This report included a "Top Ten Recommendations" piece, some of which are included in the design to be presented at this forum. Mr. Condos then reviewed the "Top Ten Recommendations" and updated efforts to address these issues: #10: Protect our natural resources: The city asked voters for a 1-cent tax to protect natural resources. This was approved, and the fund has been established. In addition, the Natural Resources Committee has received a $10,000 grant to prioritize lands to be preserved based on wildlife, views, and other criteria. #9: Design traffic to move efficiently, but with minor impact on residential neighborhoods: There is support for major traffic arteries to get traffic off local roads. The city is also looking at some traffic calming techniques for residential areas. As a last resort, amendments to the traffic ordinance are also used to protect neighborhoods. #8: Encourage bike/pedestrian transportation: Phase III of the bike path will soon be finished. The City won $600,000 grant from the state for this Phase. There will be a 150 ft. bridge over the wetland as the path heads to Farrell St. When Phase III is completed, the City will have more than 15 miles of recreation paths, more than any other Vermont community. The City is also looking to connect its path system with Williston. The Interstate project on Williston Rd. was held up by the City to insure better pedestrian access. There is finally an acceptable plan, and work should begin soon. Construction will occur in one lane at a time so that there will always be 2 lanes open in each direction. The City has also received a $5200 "Livable Communities" grant to inventory all of its paths and easements. #7: Incorporate the design of pedestrian friendly access throughout the entire city: There are sidewalk and mass transit corridors on Shelburne Rd. Safe pedestrian crossings are also being stressed for all major roads. #6: Ensure that we give priority to building and maintaining an exemplary education system: Mr. Condos said that Act 60 has made this difficult, but the city is working to change that. The School Board is updating its Strategic Plan as well. #5: Provide vehicles for greater citizen participation: Mr. Condos said this is a very important goal. Forums such as this are very important to the city. To encourage participation, the Council has held meetings in residential neighborhoods. The most recent City Council meeting included a discussion on citywide traffic issues. #4: Stabilize our tax rate to insure affordable living: City representatives are working to amend Act 60. Public hearings on the proposed 2001-2 budget are coming up at the end of February. On March 15, the Steering Committee will meet to review city and school budgets. A public hearing on the budgets will be held on 5 April. #3: Adopt a 1-cent property tax earmarked for development and/or open space: The conservation fund has been established. It was overwhelming approved by the voters. In 2001, $125,000 was put into the fund. The new budget includes $130,000 more for the fund. The City Council will also be considering a 1-cent tax for three years to be used to form a local development corporation. #2: Prepare and distribute a report on the impact of Act 60 on our community: Mr. Condos said this was not as easy as its sounds. A report was prepared for The Other Paper. There was also a report to the Steering Committee that assessed the impacts of Act 60. #1: Increase density in core areas of the city: This is the subject of tonight's meeting. In addition, there will be two public hearings on the update of the city's Comprehensive Plan. These will be held on 19 March and 16 April. The city is also reviewing the updated Regional Plan and will have to match its Comprehensive Plan to the Regional Plan. David Raphael then presented information on the City Center development project being proposed by Randy Munson. Mr. Raphael noted that Mr. Munson owns the 40 acres in the City Center. The plan has not begun any of the permitting processes as the developer wanted to get some public input first. Mr. Raphael then showed slides of what the area looks like today. He showed the beginnings of development on Market Street and additional maps and grids of the area. He also showed a slide of "sprawl" in the town of Jericho and said that possibly the City Center project could reduce pressure on outlying districts. The major problem with the City Center is getting there. It is set back from all the major streets. In order to address this, the original grid plan will be altered somewhat and emphasis will be placed on other transportation networks such as bike paths and walking routes. One key piece of the plan is pedestrian space. The plan would incorporate underground parking so there would not be a sea of pavement. The plan also foresees an active cultural life for the area including great public spaces, attractions, art, sculpture, etc. Municipal uses such as a new City Hall, library, post office, etc. are also foreseen. In order to accomplish the vision, public/private partnerships will be utilized for new municipal buildings, wetlands conservation, and alternative transportation (shuttle systems, etc.). Commercial uses would include specialty uses, corporate offices, etc. The developer may ask to increase building heights up to 5 or 7 stories. There would also be a residential component including town houses, upper story apartments/condos, affordable housing, etc. Every street in the City Center would have a bike lane. There would also be some on-street parking. The plan also considers a pedestrian connection to the Dumont property. This could include a possible park at that location. There will be some sort of 'landmark' entryway to the City Center, possibly an archway system. There is still a lot of work to do. The permitting process will be the most important piece, and they are hoping to begin this process soon. The expectation is to break ground for the first building in 2002. The developer envisions a flexible plan that will be built over a period of time. In the question/answer session that followed, the following issues were raised: 1. An Iby Street resident said that originally there was a plan to have a tree-lined area behind their homes. Now he sees big buildings. This would destroy the neighborhood. Mr. Raphael said there would be only 2-story buildings along Iby Street. The developer will be very sensitive to that neighborhood. Mr. Condos added that most buildings would be built up to the curb, so there will be a buffer between buildings and the residential neighborhood. Mr. Hafter stressed that each part of the project will go through the city permitting process so residents can raise issues with the Development Review Board. 2. The question of mixture of uses was raised and a resident asked if there are any examples where combining uses has been successful. Mr. Raphael cited older downtowns have been doing this. He specifically noted the town of Middlebury where there are people living in the third story of the merchants' block. Mr. Hafter said there would be some mixed use development in the new Shelburne Road development in South Burlington. 3. A resident wanted to know how specific plans had to be for Act 250. Mr. Raphael said they would have to present footprints, traffic data, wetlands concerns, and conformity with the Comprehensive Plan. He indicated that they would probably first go to Act 250 with an overall plan and then with specific buildings as they came on line. 4. The question of view corridors and "private ownership" of views was raised. Mr. Raphael said they haven't gotten that specific yet. He showed some road corridors that would lead toward views. He also suggested a corridor between buildings leading to the Dumont parcel. 5. A resident asked how Munson's needs would be integrated with the city's needs and whether there would be access from Barrett St. into the Dumont property. Mr. Hafter said the city owns a right-of-way at the end of Barrett Street into Dumont Street. He said they were not envisioning bringing Barrett or Hopkins St. into the grid system. Mr. Raphael said it hasn't yet been determined how development will be handled, whether Mr. Munson will do it all or will sell off to individual developers. Mr. Hafter noted that a number of developers wanted to put "big boxes" into the City Center area and Mr. Munson had not allowed this because of his vision for the area. 6. A resident asked who controls how buildings end up. He asked why the city ended up having to look at the backs of the Hawthorne Suites buildings. Mr. Hafter said he hoped the city would learn from its mistakes. 7. A resident asked about handicapped accessibility. Mr. Raphael said that has to be considered by law. Mr. Condos noted that at present, 10 units of congregate housing are being built behind Chappell's and will serve the physically impaired. He stressed that the city is very concerned with addressing these needs. 8. The possibility of facilities for the arts was raised. Mr. Raphael said there could be small performing arts spaces to address a growing rebirth of community theater. There might also be exhibit space. Mr. Condos stressed that the City wants the area to be "alive." Mr. Bresee of the Rec Path Committee stressed the need to address transportation into and out of the area. He asked about the possibility of an on-ramp at Exit 13. Mr. Condos reviewed the history of that issue. He noted that the rule now is that a full interchange has to be built. He suggested the city do it in "phases" and delay building the rest of the phases after the on-ramp is built. Mr. Condos then briefly outlined the "next steps." He said the city will continue to address the "Top Ten." The Comprehensive Plan update must be completed by 25 May. The City Center plan will go to the Development Review Board in the near future in order to get a conceptual plan on the books. It will take about 12-18 months to go through that process. The meeting was then adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.