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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 05/20/2002CITY COUNCIL 20 MAY 2002 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 20 May 2002, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members present: J. Condos, Chair; S. Magowan, D. O'Rourke Also present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; J. B. Hoover, Director of Planning & Zoning; P. Taylor, Board of Civil Authority; M. Pond, B. Simmons, J. Powell, D. Perley, D. Weinberg, A. & L. Norris, B. Willis, J. Crook; A. Johnston, The Other Paper 1. Comments & questions from the audience, not related to agenda items: No issues were raised. 2. Announcements & City Manager's report: Mr. Magowan: CCTA meeting this week. Mr. Condos: Will be attending a National League of Cities and Towns meeting on energy/environment/natural resources from 29 May to 2 June. Mr. Hafter: Reception for new Fire Chief on 28 May, 7-8:30 p.m. at the Fire Station On 3 June, 4 p.m., there will be a ceremony at the Community Library to formally receive the Freeman Foundation grant. Mr. Condos reminded citizens that city elections would be held on 21 May. 3. Update on affordable housing development in South Burlington -- O'Dell Housing, and Lime Kiln Housing: Ms. Pond of Lake Champlain Housing said that today was the kickoff for the O'Dell project. The development will consist of 160 units in 4 buildings. Two of the structures are up and occupancy of the first building is scheduled for September/October. Lake Champlain Housing will have an office on the site to provide support. There will also be some underground parking. The project is almost completely subsidized housing. The Lime Kiln project will consist of two buildings of 24 units each with underground parking. 80% will be subsidized. Mr. Condos noted that Vermont's two Senators and Congressman are strong supporters of affordable housing. Mr. Hafter noted that both projects are tax-paying and will help support the schools and City services. Ms. Pond introduced John Powell, the new Director of Housing Development at Lake Champlain Housing. 4. Report from Peter Taylor regarding meeting of BCA on the reapportionment issue: Mr. Taylor indicated he had just returned from a meeting regarding reapportionment. Under the current plan, Burlington, S. Burlington and Winooski would have 9 districts among them. BCA members from those communities tried to work out a division of the districts but failed to get an agreement. The documentation will now go to the Legislature. Mr. Condos said he is comfortable with this going back to the Legislature. He felt there is a strong case for South Burlington getting 4 seats because it is the community experiencing the most growth. Mr. O'Rourke thanked the BCA and the sub-committee for all the work they put into this issue. 5. First reading of amendments to Zoning Regulations and Zoning Map: a. Section 22.90 expansion of pre-existing residential structures in view protection overlay district: Ms. Hoover identified the area in question. She noted the homes pre-date the view protection district. About 22 homes are involved. The current proposal is to set up a "façade envelope" for each house. Outside of this envelope and within a "box," a homeowner could put a 400 sq. ft. addition in whatever way desired. Mr. Weinberg said that given how the houses are staggered, what you see between homes is mostly other homes. He was concerned that the regulation would force people to construct something that is not aesthetically pleasing. Mr. Perley said that view protection was to protect a view from a proposed park. He questioned whether there will be such a park. Mr. Condos said it is still on the City map. Mr. Hafter added that even if there is not a park, there will probably be a bike path up there. Ms. Moore said she recently got a permit for a dormer but didn't know till then that they were in a view protection area. She said it was more expensive to do the work they did. Mr. Crook said he appreciated the work done by the Planning Commission. The proposed language fits his needs but he still didn't feel it was right. He felt people should have the same rights as those across the street to build additions that don't exceed the rooflines. Mr. Norris agreed. He felt these homes have a limitation others don't have to deal with. Ms. Hoover said there was a direction given to the Planning Commission to find something more effective with a limitation. She said the Commission does not have the time or energy to take this up again. Mr. Willis said he felt the "tragedy" of the house blocking the view from Overlook Park is "spilling over" to their homes. He felt the relaxed standard was the fairest. Mr. Condos was concerned with having a "wall of house" all the way across. Ms. Norris said there are really only 9 houses on Whately that are involved and there would be very little impact. Ms. Hoover said the Commission has left this for the Council. She noted that the compromises have been carefully constructed to avoid losing pieces of the view, but she felt there could be a case may for using the roofline height. Members felt their inclination was to have the relaxed standard and hold the public hearing on that. Mr. O'Rourke moved to amend Section 22.904 to add the word "and" between clauses A and B and to delete clause C so that the Section now reads: "Will not extend vertically into a plane drawn parallel to the plane of the Scenic View Protection District at the highest point of the existing structure; and will not extend above the highest point of the roofline of the existing structure to be altered." Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. b. Section 9.20 permit schools as a conditional use in R4 District: Ms. Hoover noted that Rice H.S. is a non-conforming use in a residential district, and this would make it a permitted use. c. New Section 25.119 establishing setbacks for schools and accessory structures: Ms. Hoover said this section would establish a 5-foot minimum setback for accessory structures. d. Section 3.50 encroachment into the CO District to provide safe access: Ms. Hoover noted that at the Humane Society driveway, the CO Zone comes right up to the edge of the drive. This can create some scary grading plans. The amendment would allow the DRB to approve an incursion into the CO Zone of the minimum necessary to achieve a safe access with no impact on the brook. e. Section 26.202 to authorize the DRB to waive requirements for public roads: Ms. Hoover said that currently there is a requirement that if you create a road for more than 3 homes, the road must become a public road. The Zoning Regulations do not allow this to be waived. Ms. Hoover said this is really a City Council issue and involves budgeting for road maintenance. She felt the DRB needs a clear standard. Mr. Hafter said staff concerns center on snow plowing. Some time in the future, residents will probably ask the city to take over what may now be a private road. When these roads are substandard, there are problems. There is also a concern with maintenance of the roads for emergency vehicle access. Mr. Hafter indicated he had a memo from Bruce Hoar who does not want to waive standards for public roads. The city feels that for more than 3 homes a road should be public and be built to public road standards. Ms. Hoover noted there is a conflict between zoning and subdivision regulations. Mr. Hafter said City staff recommends changing the subdivision regulations. Ms. Hoover agreed that Section 401.1k should be deleted from the subdivision regs. Members agreed not to vote on this proposed amendment. f. Zoning Map to rezone R-4 to Airport parcels on Shamrock Road and Airport Drive Extension: Ms. Hoover showed these areas on the zoning map. Property owners and abutters were notified and will be notified again for the public hearing. Ms. Hoover said the Commission is concerned for people who want to say in the homes. The Airport has offers on all but one house in the area. This is part of the Airport plan, but there is concern with pushing people out. It is also good to have a buffer between the Airport and residential areas. Mr. Condos felt there should be a condition in the ordinance that if someone removes a residential unit, they should replace it or contribute to a fund for replacement housing. He noted the Airport has been buying up and eliminating the city's affordable housing stock, and it shouldn't be incumbent on the city to replace it. Mr. O'Rourke noted that with the plan for Airport Drive, the Airport is actually bringing the Airport closer to residential uses. Mr. Condos also noted that the Airport has plans to have all traffic come out of the Airport facing White St. This would put traffic through a completely residential neighborhood. Mr. Magowan then moved to waive the first reading of the amendments and to set a public hearing for 17 June on amendments #a as amended, #b, #c, #d and #f and to amend subdivision Section 401.1k on private roadways by deleting it from the regulations. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Consideration of approval of Entertainment Special Event Permit, Circus Smirkus, July 5-7, 2002, at Technology Park, 30 Community Drive: Mr. Hafter said there will be no animals involved. Staff has worked with the applicant to meet city criteria. The city must approve the tent prior to occupancy. Mr. Magowan moved to approve the permit for Circus Smirkus with noted conditions. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Discussion of MPO project prioritization process and assignment of points for 2003-5 TIP: Mr. Condos expressed concern that all communities, regardless of size, have the same number of points to assign. Mr. O'Rourke added that there are projects that involve more than one town. Mr. Hafter felt the Council should focus on where points could make a difference. Members agreed to award points as follows: 25 to the Kennedy Dr. project, and 12.5 points each to Shelburne Rd. and Lime Kiln Rd. No points were given to Exit 13. 8. Accept resignation of Eric Schmitt from DRB: Mr. Magowan moved to accept with regret the resignation of Eric Schmitt from the DRB. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Review DRB Agenda for 21 May 2002: Members expressed concern with items #8,9,10, and 11. Mr. Hafter will let Ms. Hoover know of the concerns. 10. Minutes of 6 May 2002: Mr. Magowan moved to approve the minutes of 6 May as written. Mr. O'Rourke seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 11. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement orders were signed. As there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.