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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/21/2002CITY COUNCIL 21 JANUARY 2002 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 21 January 2002, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members present: J. Condos, Chair; C. Smith, T. Sheahan, S. Magowan, D. O'Rourke Also present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Finance Director; Rep. Sonny Audette; J. B. Hoover, Director of Planning & Zoning; S. Fortier, UVM; K. Vose, R. Perlstein, A. & L. Norris, A. Crook, K. Shea, D. Burke, A. Johnston 1. Comments and question from the audience, not related to agenda items: Mr. Shea said he is the president of a hot dog vending company which has carts throughout Burlington. He would like to open one at the new Lowe's, when they open. South Burlington has a 90-day license per year and he would like to be there on a permanent basis. He has permission of the property owner to do this. Mr. Condos said the Council would have to look into this to see how the ordinance reads and also would check with the Planning Commission. He noted that Lowe's is still a long way from being under construction. 2. Announcements/City Manager's report: Mr. Sheahan: will attend the Regional Planning Commission meeting on Monday, 6 p.m. Mr. Magowan: CCTA meeting on Wednesday. Chris Cole will be at the next City Council meeting to discuss the CCTA budget. Mr. Hafter: Will be meeting with Dubois & King tomorrow, 10 a.m. regarding the design of the permanent commuter rail station. Mr. Sheahan noted the very small income from the train compared to its cost. The Dorset Park Skating Association will be dedicating the second skating rink on 27 January, 4 p.m. The Housing Vermont Newsletter reported that Councilman Condos received Housing Vermont Directors' Award for his role in bringing affordable housing to the area. The MPO will have a long-range planning session at Winooski H.S. The Police Department annual awards will be held on 7 February, 4 p.m., at the Clarion Hotel. The Legislative Breakfast will be on 4 February. 3. Discussion with residents of Whately Road re: scenic view protection zone: Ms. Hoover reviewed the history of this issue and noted that the Council recently passed an amendment that provided relief for some of the pre-existing homes but not for others. Mr. Condos asked if developers can be told to put utilities underground. Ms. Hoover said they can in new subdivisions. b) rezone a single family lot on Swift Street from institutional/agricultural to residential-4: Ms. Hoover said the current zoning was a mistake and the amendment would correct that. c) rezone two parcels owned by UVM on Spear Street from residential-4 to industrial/agricultural: Ms. Hoover noted that the proposed zoning is the one used for educational uses. d) amend zoning regulations to allow a 65-foot setback from the boundary of adjacent residential districts for institutional-ag lands north of Quarry Hill Road and west of Spear Street: Mr. Condos asked why this is being proposed. Ms. Hoover said the proposed UVM parking garage would still be a non-conforming use with the 100 ft. setback. The Planning Commission felt this area has more of an urban feel. Rep. Audette said the road has a 66 foot right-of-way and that the parking lot is beyond 35 feet. Ms. Fortier noted that this change was recommended by Ray Belair because of the requirement for a 100 foot vegetative buffer. She also recommended changing the language of 2.303 to clarify that the front, side or rear yard setback be 65 feet. Mr. Condos asked if UVM will be required to put in landscaping when the garage is built. Ms. Hoover said 3% of the total cost. Mr. Condos asked for as much as possible. Mr. Sheahan then moved to close the public hearing. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Sheahan moved to waive the reading of the amendments and approve the second reading of amendments for Sections 1,2, 14, and 15 as detailed in the memorandum of 17 January from the Director of Planning and Zoning and incorporating new language for 2.303. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. e) Official city map: Mr. Magowan stepped down during this discussion due to a conflict of interest. Ms. Hoover said this amendment addresses an area on the O'Brien property that was originally designated for a park somewhere on the property. The amendment would identify the specific site of the park/open space. This will allow the city to purchase the land. Mr. Sheahan moved to amend the official city map as in Section 16 of the proposed amendments. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Magowan rejoined the Council. 4. Stormwater legislative and regulatory update: Ms. Hoover updated members on recent activity regarding the new stormwater legislation. She noted the legislation sets a very high bar to prove a development won't add more sediment to an impaired waterway. It would make decisions on the basis of existing conditions of the site. Ms. Hoover noted that the regulations are unfounded, and the costs could be very high. She said that a group of towns is working together to find a way to meet the regulations jointly. There is a possibility of getting funding through Sen. Jeffords' office for a demonstration project to meet Phase II requirements. If this does not come through, another possibility is a community block grant. The general permit program will begin in April. South Burlington will be affected by permits for brooks (Bartlett, Centennial, Potash, etc.). Mr. Condos asked where the Airport fits in all of this. Ms. Hoover said that remains to be seen. Mr. Hafter noted that federal highways also have runoff. Ms. Hoover said the good news is that David Raphael recommended speaking with a group in Boston that does work with the Army Corps of Engineers and they have said there is money available through the Lake Champlain Restoration funding. They will be coming here in about a month. The Corps would pay for all planning and 67% of the work. The city would have to figure out how to pay for the rest. Ms. Hoover told members that she is on a national task force that is addressing some of these issues. Mr. Condos noted that as a result of his activities with VLCT, he has been appointed to a national steering committee on energy and natural resources. The committee will have contact with Sen. Jeffords' office on a regular basis. 5. Discussion with David Burke re: berms on Vermont National Property: Mr. Burke said that a plan has been submitted to the DRB which is an improvement on what is out there today. He said they had heard that the Council did not like the plan and it was the developer's feeling that the Council had not seen the latest information. Mr. O'Rourke said he was concerned that the Council should not be reviewing a plan on which the DRB hears testimony and that is related to a pending application. Other members agreed. Mr. O'Rourke said what he recalls is that there is a 250 ft. restricted area that has been violated. Ms. Hoover said filling and earth moving is not an allowable use in that area. Mr. Burke briefly described what is now being proposed for the area including berms of a maximum 7 ft. in height with a gentle slope. Mr. Hafter said the city's concern was with compliance with the ordinance and the intention of the zone to preserve open space and views. Mr. Hafter will communicate the Council's specific concerns to the DRB and indicate they were not commenting on any plan that has been presented. 6. Update on Woodstock Correctional Facility: Mr. Condos noted that the Woodstock Correctional Facility is the oldest in the state and the most costly. To cut costs, a decision has been made to close the facility and to integrate the 75-95 inmates into society. During testimony, it was learned that the Corrections Department has approached St. Johnsbury to expand their facility by 100 beds. At the same time, the Department is bringing back 100 inmates from Virginia. The worst offenders will be kept in prisons; others will be placed on "furlough" if they have met the minimum time for their sentences. There may be as many as 350 inmates furloughed into communities in the next 6 months, and Mr. Condos noted there is already not enough supervision for the existing furlough program. Mr. Condos said the problem for South Burlington is that the city's Police Department winds up with the responsibility for the furloughed inmates when something goes wrong during the night. The city needs to relate its concerns immediately to the Legislature, specifically concerns with public safety and unfounded mandates. Mr. Hafter said another concern is that as less serious offenders are released, those in the prisons become more "hardened" offenders and there is a question as to whether the facility can handle this type of inmate. There are 19 homes on the east side of Deerfield Drive that have a "strict standard." They can only do alterations that are not taller than the existing home and are not visible from the baseline. The problem is that with these particular homes, just about anything they do would be visible from somewhere on the baseline. The Planning Commission does not want to take any action without Council input. Ms. Hoover said there are 3 possible options: a) the same "relaxed" standard as along Pheasant Way (this would give more building mass and would allow people to see less of what is currently visible between the houses); b) allow people to do what they want without increasing the building mass (if you add something, you must remove something else); c) allow a percentage increase in building area visible from the baseline (on a case by case review). Mr. Sheahan said he is more concerned with vertical height than with the mass to the sides. Mr. O'Rourke agreed. He felt there is a difference between an ordinance that deals with bare land and one that is imposed on existing homes. Mr. Norris, who lives in this neighborhood, said that his home is unusually shaped and they are precluded from doing modifications even in back of the house. Ms. Hoover suggested there might be a cap to the total square footage added to a house. She noted that most of the homes are already within a few feet of the property line. She felt a square footage basis would be better than a "footprint" basis. Members said they tended to favor option 1. Ms. Perlstein said that in their deed they have a defined building envelope. Mr. Condos said that is something the city can't do anything about. He added that going up to the roofline would give them some flexibility. 3. Public hearing on amendments to the Zoning Regulations, zoning map and official map: a) allow churches/houses of worship, daycare centers, and public utility substations and distribution lines in various districts from which they have been omitted: Ms. Hoover reviewed the history of this amendment noting that the Planning Commission was in favor of allowing houses of worship in C-1 and C-2 districts and also as a supportive use in the Airport District. The substations are a formality and can't be kept out of a district. 7. Review Development Review Board agenda for 22 January 2002: No issues were raised beyond those already communicated to the DRB. 8. Review minutes of 7 January 2002: Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the minutes of 7 January as written. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. As there was no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.