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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 04/30/2012CITY COUNCIL 30 APRIL 2012 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 30 April 2012, at 5:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: R. Greco, Chair; S. Dooley, P. Engels, P. Mackenzie, H. Riehle Also Present: S. Miller, City Manager; R. Rusten, Deputy City Manager; S. Dopp, B. Goldberg, J. Olesky, S. Brennan, S. McIntyre, R. Hughes 1. Agenda Review: No changes or additions were made. 2. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to agenda items: Ms. Dopp asked if there has been any progress in contacting land trusts, etc, regarding overseeing the Wheeler Nature Park. Mr. Miller said that Paul Conner has contacted two trusts. One is interested in talking with the city, and one hasn't responded. He suggested Ms. Dopp talk with Mr. Conner for more details. 3. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Mr. Miller: Served as convener for the ECOS Steering Committee. A lot was accomplished. Was contacted by Ms. Dooley regarding a visit from officials of the Republic of Georgia. They will be in the city on Thursday. Ms. Mackenzie: Attended the Champlain Housing Trust breakfast last week. There is a conference on 8 May regarding broadband availability and its contributions to economic development. Ms. Riehle: Met with Ms. Greco and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Planning Commission and had a good discussion with them. Went to the VLCT training on Saturday at Lake Morey. She suggested that in the future the City Council meet with councils and select boards of similar sized communities. Ms. Dooley: Attended the legislative forum. Will be attending the DARE graduation tomorrow. Ms. Greco: Went to ECOS with Mr. Miller. On Friday, walked some of the parcel east of the Wheeler Natural Park. There is a group interested in possible agricultural use. Will attend the Police Recognition Dinner on Friday. Spoke with Jim Knapp regarding affordable housing. He will provide Mr. Miller with information and should have something within the next few weeks. Mr. Engels: The training regarding hearing IZ applications with Cathy LaRose was very helpful. All members attended a dinner together. Ms. Dopp reminded members and others that Saturday is Green-Up Day. 4. Consent Agenda: There were no items on the Consent Agenda. 5. Training on Criteria and Site Plan Review for IZ Applications: Ms. LaRose said staff did its best to draft comments that will put the criteria in front of the Council. Mr. Conner gave members copies of a site plan (from an already closed application). Ms. LaRose reviewed the site elements including wetland buffers, property lines, roads, etc. Mr. Miller noted that if roads are built to city standards, the city will accept them; if they are not, the city won't. Ms. LaRose said there are 3 actions the Council can take: 1. Close the hearing 2. Continue the hearing to another date 3. Make a decision. She noted that when a hearing is closed, no more testimony can be taken. That also starts the clock, and a decision must be made within 45 days. A hearing may be continued to get ore information or to review options. If a hearing is continued, a date must be set for the continued hearing. As long as testimony is still being taken, the clock does not start. Ms. Dopp asked if deliberative sessions are open to the public. Ms. LaRose said they are private. Ms. Greco asked if there is anything the Council can't ask. Ms. LaRose said they are limited in scope to the criteria that are laid out. Ms. Greco asked if they can ask about the cost of housing. Mr. Conner said it must relate to current criteria. He recommended they first ask how an applicant is meeting affordable housing criteria. They should stick to "affordable rather than a price point." Ms. Riehle asked if all designs use the same kind of legend. Ms. LaRose said most of them do, but they can be different. 6. Discuss when to meet in Deliberative Session regarding the U.S. 2 Widening/Sheraton 3rd Lane Project Necessity Hearing that was held on 16 April 2012: Members agreed to hold this session on a regular meeting night. 7. Discuss the procedure for reviewing minutes prior to Council meetings: This discussion was postponed. 8. Discuss when to schedule the Steering Committee meeting in May: Mr. Miller noted the School Board recommends against a 5 p.m. start and would like to meet on a night other than when a Council or School Board meeting is scheduled. Members agreed on Tuesday 22 May at 5:30 or 6 p.m. Mr. Miller will check with the School Board to see if this is OK with them. Mr. Conner suggested following that meeting with a joint City Council/Planning Commission meeting. Items 9 and 10 were postponed to allow the public hearings to begin as scheduled. 11. Interim Zoning Application #IZ-12-01 of New England Federal Credit Union for a Planned Unit Development to: 1) raze an existing office building, and 2) construct a 3,920 sq. ft. drive-in bank facility, 1000 Shelburne Road: Ms. Greco reviewed the criteria for an "interested party." Mr. Olesky said the property is located on the corner of Laurel Hill Drive. It is now a shared facility with lease space to tenants. It currently has 2 curb cuts and a third access through a connection with the lot to the south (via informal agreements). The intent of the project is to update the site. They will decrease the size of the building to 4850 sq. ft. They currently don't meet the front yard setback. They will retain that non-conformance in order to separate the commercial use from the residential use. They will eliminate the western curb cut and widen the eastern curb cut. They will also create a drive-up to the ATM which currently doesn't exist. Mr. Olesky indicated the parking lot and spaces for employees. There will be a new concrete sidewalk, and the sidewalk on the south side of Laurel Hill Drive will be extended to the property line. There will also be a pedestrian path from Laurel Hill Drive. The main entrance to the building will be on the east side of the building. Parking lot drainage will be upgraded. Mr. Olesky showed the location of a screened dumpster and 6 light poles. He noted there will be a lot of landscaping along the property line abutting the residential lot. The existing fence will be maintained there as will the mature trees. The final plat has been approved by the DRB. Ms. Dooley questioned the adequacy of the turning radius. Mr. Olesky said it has been run through a program and has been found to be adequate. Ms. Greco noted an increase of 36 peak hour trip ends. Mr. Olesky explained that the calculation comes from the ITE manual which gives more numbers to drive- ins. He didn't feel there will be any increase in the customer base, and there will be 8 or 9 fewer staff people with the elimination of the tenant. Mr. Olesky also noted that the property falls in the traffic overlay zone now, but with the reduction of the curb cut and pulling the building away from Shelburne Road, it will no longer fall under the overlay. Ms. Dooley questioned the bike rack in the back of the building. Mr. Olesky said that has been relocated to the Shelburne Rd. side. Mr. Brennan then showed the floor plan with the entries meeting in a lobby area. The portion of the building along Shelburne Rd. is 2 stories. It then "steps down" to one. He also showed elevations and said the building will have a "heavier" look to the bottom and a use of "lighter" materials to the top. It will be a LEAD certified building. There will be windows for everyone. Regarding landscaping, Mr. Brennan noted that plantings will delineate between this property and the hotel property. The "glass corner" will really show up with landscaping. There will also be landscaping between the driveway and the parking area. A lot of landscaping money has been used for the buffer between this property and the adjacent residential property. Mr. Young asked the height of the building. Mr. Brennan said it will be no taller than the existing building. Ms. Dooley asked if any neighbors came to the DRB hearing. Ms. LaRose said there were some questions from the hotel property people to the south. No other issues were raised. Ms. Mackenzie then moved to hold a deliberative session following the open session. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Dooley moved to continue the hearing until 21 May 2012. Ms. Riehle seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 12. Application #IZ-12-02 of University Mall, LLC, to 1) raze an existing commercial building, and 2) construct a 6,000 sq. ft. building to be used for shopping center use, 205 Dorset Street: Mr. Conner noted that the applicant is no longer including a drive-in bank. It is now 2 retail stores with no bank. Ms. McIntyre said the property is at the southern entrance to the Mall and is a separate parcel which is accessed through the Mall property. The plan is to demolish the existing building and relocate the existing ATM. They will then build a new retail building. They will change as little as possible of the entrance drives, Dorset Street, parking, etc. They would reduce some pavement and add more green space to be more pedestrian friendly. Ms. McIntyre said they are asking for a waiver to move the building to 15 feet from the property line so it is more accessible to the sidewalk. Three new sidewalks are proposed: one on the southern entrance drive, one to the north side of the proposed building (which will serve the handicapped access), and one in the area where the ATM will be relocated. There will be a 15-foot landscape buffer on Dorset Street. Ms. McIntyre noted that the DRB supports the parking waiver. This lot will be added to the PUD which will increase lot coverage from 31.2% to 31.4%. They are anticipating two 3,000 sq. ft. retail spaces. There will be 2 entrances off Dorset St. and 2 off the rear of the building. The building would be twice the distance back from Dorset St. as it is now. The retaining wall will be gone, and there will be landscaping to make it more attractive. Ms. Riehle asked if one retail store could take the whole building. Mall representatives said they are trying for as much flexibility as possible. They currently have interest for half the building. Ms. Dooley said she was concerned if this non-conforming lot were to be taken out of the PUD. Ms. LaRose said if that were to happen, it would have to become a conforming use and lot. Ms. Greco stressed that this is at the entrance to the City Center. Ms. McIntyre said that is the reason to take the old building down. Mr. Young asked about the flat roof. The Mall representative said they like the look of a pitched room, but the question is how to screen the HVAC equipment, etc. Mr. Stuono noted this application has not yet been to the DRB in this form. Ms. LaRose said the identical application must go to both boards at some time. Ms. McIntyre asked when they will know that they satisfy the standards. She cited the expense of moving forward. Ms. Greco said the Council will not drag anything out. Ms. Dooley moved to enter deliberative session. Ms. Riehle seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Dooley moved to continue IZ application #IZ-12-02 until 21 May 2012. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Greco said the Council will deliberate between now and 21 May and will let staff know if they have any questions. Other Business: Ms. Dooley thanked Ms. Greco for sharing the affordable housing report. She said the question in her mind is whether what Jim Knapp plans encompasses regulatory changes. She suggested putting this on the next agenda for discussion. Ms. Mackenzie suggested asking Mr. Knapp. Ms. Dooley moved to put the question of Mr. Knapp's affordable housing plans on the next agenda. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed 3-2 with Mr. Greco and Ms. Mackenzie voting against. 13. Consider entering executive session for discussion of personnel matters, litigation and real property matters. Ms. Greco moved to executive session to discuss personnel matters, litigation and real property matters. Ms. Riehle second. 14. Regular Session: The Council returned to regular session. Ms. Greco moved adjournment. Ms. Riehle seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The council adjourned. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.