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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 11/21/2011CITY COUNCIL 21 NOVEMBER 2011 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 21 November 2011, at 6:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Councilors Present: S. Dooley, Chair; M. Emery, J. Knapp (arrived late), P. Engels, R. Greco Also Present: S. Miller, City Manager; R. Rusten, Assistant City Manager; D. Kinville, City Clerk; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; J. Rabidoux, Public Works Director; B. Stuono, M. Young, M. Fowler, J. Little, L. Wilder 1. Executive Session: Mr. Engels moved the Council meet in executive session to discuss personnel, contract negotiations, and litigation. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Following the executive session, Mr. Engels moved the Council exit executive session. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Regular Session: 1. Agenda Review: No changes were made. 2. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to agenda items: Mr. Young asked if there would be any decisions made after Wednesday’s special executive session. Mr. Miller said he didn’t anticipate any. If there are, they will have to be made in an open session. 3. Announcements & City Manager’s Report: Mr. Engels: Attended the Shelburne Road Corridor Study presentation and found it excellent. He thanked the Planning Commission and Justin Rabidoux for a great job on that event and on the City Center planning event. Has driven the new 3-way stop and found traffic moving very well. People in the area are very happy with it. Ms. Greco: Also attended the Shelburne Rd. presentation and Planning & DRB meetings. Ms. Emery: Chaired the Channel 17 Board meeting. South Burlington is 7 hours below its contracted time with Channel 17. Ms. Dooley: Attended the 2012 Triathlon press conference. Competitions will be on Saturday and Sunday mornings which it is felt will be less intrusive. One of the awards from the 2011 Triathlon went to a South Burlington resident in the 40+ male division. His time was lower than the under­40 winner’s time. Bill Cimonetti, who was the local Chair for the event, also received an award. There will be a call-in program on Channel 17 tomorrow night regarding the 3 ballot items for 6 December. Mr. Miller: There will be an information meeting sponsored by the South Burlington Land Trust on 28 November regarding Article 3 on the ballot. A memorandum of understanding was finalized today to allow the land transfers in connection with the widening of Route 2. Bill Cimonetti and others connected with the Triathlon would like to talk with the Council about the 2012 event. (Mr. Knapp arrived during the next discussion) 4. First Reading of Draft Land Development Regulations approved by the Planning Commission; consider scheduling public hearing for 19 December 2011: Ms. Emery moved to waive the first reading. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed 4-0. Mr. Conner reviewed the work of the Planning Commission. He noted there are about 12 different zoning amendments being proposed. He briefly reviewed these amendments: 1. Would amend the performance bonding section to comply with state law (concerns the length of time a bond can be held). 2. Codifies requirements for all submissions to the DRB to be in digital form. 3. Lowers building heights in some cases, eliminates waivers, differentiates the top story of a building when it is within a roof, requires that new homes be no more than one story taller than any adjacent home. 4. Gives full responsibility for notifying of abutters to the applicants. 5. Changes use definitions, eliminates other. 6. Technical amendments 7. Establishes a new Transit Overlay District and relates it to certain uses. 8. Minor changes to Conditional Use standards to be consistent with state law. 9. Changes to Non-Conforming Uses to be consistent with state law. 10. Establishes maximum number of dwelling units in a structure in R-1, R-2, SEQ Residential Districts, QCP 11. Establishes minimum setback for principal structures in a PRD adjacent to another residential property. The setback must mirror the setback of the adjacent property. 12. Establishes places of worship as a permitted use, to comply with state law. Mr. Conner recommended a public hearing for 19 December. Ms. Greco asked why a 50-foot setback was proposed for #11, which is what the DRB wanted. Mr. Conner noted the DRB asked for 50 feet with the option to reduce it to mirror the adjacent property. The City Attorney felt there were no specific standards for reducing it, and this could lead to legal problems. Mr. Conner also noted that the Commission will be looking at the whole PRD issue in the future. Ms. Dooley asked about height limitations in other districts. Mr. Conner said the Commission decided to tackle these first and further discuss others. Ms. Emery then moved to set a public hearing on the proposed amendments for 19 December 2011. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Consider Approval of Return Check Policy: Ms. Kinville noted that Mr. Knapp had asked about this policy in relation to state laws. She said that upon checking, she was told this does not fall under those laws. Mr. Knapp then moved to approve the Return Check Policy with corrections to dates and spelling of names. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Consider Approval of Agreement on Electric Funds Transfer with the Merchants Bank: Ms. Kinville noted that a section was added to indicate that if the city needs to draw more money than it has on deposit for payroll or a bond payment, it can do that. Ms. Greco moved to approve the Agreement on Electric Funds Transfer with the Merchants Bank for the City and Water Department. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Presentation by Vtrans on the Night Time Paving Project of US2/Williston Road: Mr. Rabidoux reviewed the history. He noted that night work requires the approval of the City Council. Mr. Fowler explained that V-Trans has identified problems that would occur if work were done during the day, and this would prolong the duration of the project. He said the city would be better served by allowing night work. Mr. Fowler noted there could be some noise involved, especially with pavement removal. V-Trans will coordinate this work with the widening at Staples Plaza. They will be replacing the top 2 inches of pavement, doing signal upgrades, and sidewalk ramps. It is a $4,000,000 project. Ms. Emery asked if they work by “section.” Mr. Fowler said that would be driven by the city layout. He anticipated 500-foot closures at a time, possibly just one lane all the way. Ms. Greco asked if any roads would be done during the day. Mr. Fowler said there would not. Ms. Greco suggested that raised utility covers be flagged. Mr. Fowler said they will be painted orange. He added they have to be raised until the top course is down. Ms. Emery asked how many nights there would be milling. Mr. Fowler estimated 4. Mr. Rabidoux explained there would be a manager in the field and 3 or 4 inspectors to insure safety. There will also be a PR officer, hopefully the same one as for the widening project. Mr. Rusten asked if V-Trans will notify property owners when work will be done. Mr. Fowler said they will. Ms. Emery felt that milling work done near the residential area should be done during the day. She asked that part of the work be done during the day in that area. Ms. Greco then moved to approve the waiver to allow for night paving with the exception of milling work between the eastern boundary of the Rotisserie and the western boundary of Kinney Drug which work should be done during the day. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Review and Approve Minutes of 7 November and Special Meeting of 17 November 2011: Ms. Dooley noted that in the minutes of 7 November, it was she who read the press release (p. 1). It was noted that as there were 2 Mr. Smiths making presentations, the Minutes should show that Mr. Mike Smith made the presentation in Item #7 and Mr. Mark Smith made the presentation in Item #8. On p. 9, it was noted that the item related to the Skating Association should indicate that a resolution relating to issues would be considered by the Association at a meeting the next day. In the Minutes of the Special Meeting of 17 November, it was noted that the motion should authorize the City Manager and City Council Chair to execute the agreement. Ms. Greco moved to approve the Minutes of 7 November and 17 November 2011 as amended. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Other Business: No issues were raised. 10. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement orders were signed. 11. Executive Session: Ms. Emery moved that the Council meet in executive session to discuss personnel, contract negotiations and litigation and to resume regular session only for the purpose of adjournment. Mr. Knapp seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Resume Regular Session: Council returned to regular session. As there was no further business Mr. Knapp moved for Council adjournment. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Council adjourned. ________________ Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.