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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/06/2012CITY COUNCIL 6 AUGUST 2012 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 6 August 2012, at 6:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: R. Greco, Chair; S. Dooley, P. Engels, P. Mackenzie Also Present: S. Miller, City Manager; R. Rusten, Deputy City Manager; Chief T. Whipple, Police Department; J. Rabidoux, Director of Public Works; K. Murray, I. Blanchard, City Hall Staff; J. Louisos, B. Stuono, Planning Commission; J. Stuart, J. Olesky, B. Cimonetti, J. Connelly, S. Dopp, M. Young, K. Whippy, S. Goren 1. Executive Session: Ms. Dooley moved the Council meet in executive session to discuss personnel, contract negotiations, and litigation and to continue deliberative session on Interim Zoning applications. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed 4-0. Regular Session: Mr. Engels moved the Council exit executive session. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 1. Agenda Review: Mr. Miller advised that the Minutes of 16 July would not be available in the Consent Agenda due to a corrupted file. 2. Comments & Questions from the Audience, not related to agenda items: Mr. Goren said he has a food trailer on Lime Kiln Road and was told that because of the time-frame for approval, he couldn't have tables and chairs for customers but could have only a peddler's license. He said his customers are asking for seating, and he would love to provide this for the rest of the season as the previous owner of the business had. He said this situation is causing him to lose money. Mr. Miller said there is no authority for the Council to do this. The Ordinance could be changed, but this would still be a 2-month process. Mr. Miller said he would check to see if there was an appeal from the previous owner. 3. Announcements & City Manager's Report: Ms. Dooley: Had the second meeting of the Affordable Housing Committee and finished review of the scope of work for the consultant. The Committee will be touring some affordable housing. Mr. Engels: The Form Based Codes Committee will meet at noon on Thursday. Ms. Greco: Met with residents of Harbor View at their request to discuss the Clerk issue. Also met with the "Stop the F-35s" coalition. Letters have been sent to the Congressional delegation requesting the maps and scoring sheets used by Air Force. Nick Germanos said the final EIS is completed and is being circulated in the Air Force. Was contacted by Gene Richards regarding airport noise proposals. The Sustainable Agriculture Committee should be ready for an RFP next week. 4. Consent Agenda: The Minutes of 2 July and the National Guard right-of-way item were removed from the Consent Agenda at the Council's request. Ms. Dooley moved to approve the Consent Agenda minus the above two items. Ms. Mackenzie seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Greco noted residents' concern about the National Guard road and whether it is related to the F-35s. Mr. Rabidoux explained that this is part of a base security upgrade project which includes a new security entrance checkpoint and moving the road further from 2 large tanks of jet fighter fuel for safety. Mr. Engels moved to approve the new National Guard Avenue right-of-way as presented. Ms. Mackenzie seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Presentation from the Community Gardeners: Members reviewed the history of the gardens and noted that in 2011 they were moved to another location by the National Gardening Association. They met with NGA several times and resolved some issues, including the fact that some garden space was not usable. They were moved to a better location with more accessibility to water. They also got USDA to do a soil test and found the soil has a very clay base. The Community Gardens now have 37 plots and 45 gardeners, most of whom live within a mile and most of whom are over 50. There are 15-20 people on a waiting list. The group's goals include: 1. Providing a venue for more garden locations in the city 2. Providing recreational opportunities 3. Enhancing awareness of state history 4. Fostering learning, especially in the areas of food and nutrition 5. Providing a place for solitude and reflection. Mr. Engels asked if there is a plan to move the group again. Members said there is, by 2015. They have had the soil tested in the new location and it is worse than what they now have. Ms. Greco asked if city-owned land can be identified, would the group be willing to go there on a "forever basis." Members cited the uniqueness of the present location with its proximity to other gardens. 6. Briefing on the 2012 USA Triathlon to be held 18-19 August: Mr. Cimonetti noted that Triathlon is an Olympic sport which had a photo finish last week. The local event is over the same distances. Last year, events were held on one day with 2 championships. The Olympic distance events included a .9 mile swim, a 26+ mile bike ride and a 6.2 mile run. The Sprint Championship was half of those distances. Over 2500 people participated last year. Mr. Cimonetti noted that the USAT did an economic study after last year's event and found that the economic impact on the area was $4,500,000, with a majority of rooms and meals located in South Burlington. This year, the Committee was asked if they could accommodate more participants. The way to do that was to have the event over 2 days, with the Olympic distance on one day and the Sprint event on the other. There are 2400 entrants in the Olympic distance event and 1300 in the Sprint event. Mr. Cimonetti then reviewed the impact of events on South Burlington, including the Olympic distance bike course which uses the eastbound lane of I-189 and parts of Dorset St. and Swift Street. The swim and sprint events are entirely within the City of Burlington. On Saturday, there will be road closures between 8 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. The I-189 eastbound lanes will be closed all of that time, and there will be "rolling closures" throughout the event. A complete list of closures will be in The Other Paper, The Shelburne News, the Free Press and Front Porch Forum. Chief Whipple added this information will also be on the city's website. Mr. Cimonetti said there will be a lot of volunteers and paid help from the South Burlington Police, Public Works, Fire Department, etc. Police support is paid for and has a positive effect on the city's budget. Ms. Dooley noted that Mr. Cimonetti received a reward for his leadership in this effort. Mr. Cimonetti said they have all learned what it takes to attract a major event. 7. Interim Zoning - Continued Public Hearings: A. Continue Public Hearing for Interim Zoning Application #IZ-12-07, Rye Associated, 52 unit PUD with 20,000 sq. ft. of commercial space in 4 buildings: It was noted that the applicant had asked to continue. b. Continued Public Hearing: Interim Zoning Application #IZ-12-08, 900 Dorset Street: Mr. Olesky said they have no additional written information to submit. Ms. Greco noted the Council has not had time to deliberate and will provide the applicant with some of their concerns. Mr. Olesky noted the applicant is willing to reduce the size of the parking lot and provide additional landscaping. It is their intent to extend the existing hedgerow. The applicant is also interested in doing something with a community garden and could provide some space for the Community Gardeners. Mr. Olesky said they have a problem understanding what form based codes will mean for this area. Mr. Engels said it hasn't yet been determined what form based codes will look like for the rest of the city. Ms. Dooley asked if "equitable" housing is "affordable housing." She said the Council is looking for ways in which the development will address the goals of interim zoning. Mr. Olesky said this is very difficult to do when no specifics are provided by the Council. Mr. Engels then moved to continue IZ-12-08 until 20 August. Ms. Dooley seconded. Motion passed 4-0. c. Continued Public hearing: Interim Zoning Application #IZ-12-09, John Larkin, 5 lot subdivision, 200 Allen Road: The applicant was not present. Mr. Engels moved to close the public hearing. Ms. Mackenzie seconded. Motion passed 4-0. Ms. Greco said the Board will render its decision in 45 days. 8. Interim Zoning - New Applicant and Public Hearing: A. Public Hearing: Interim Zoning #IZ-12-10, John & Kathleen Pennucci, two lot subdivision, 1721 Dorset Street. Mr. Stuart said the property is just east of Dorset Farms. The applicants propose to create 2 lots, one of 1.7 acres with an existing homestead, and the other of 8 acres which is not planned for development. The plan is to sell the lot with the existing homestead. Mr. Stuart said the topography is relatively flat, primarily Vergennes clay soil. There could be agriculture when and if the remaining land is developed. There is municipal water and there will eventually be municipal sewer. There is now an on-site system that should be replaced. This plan had originally been approved but the mylar was never filed. Ms. Greco asked about addressing the interim zoning goals. Mr. Stuart said that realistically, lot #1 is already developed. It is not suitable for agriculture except for the occupant. The other parcel is ideal for that. The intent is to sell lot #1 and keep lot #2 with no development. Ms. Dooley moved to continue IZ-12-10 until 20 August with an option to deliberate in between. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 9. Discuss Scheduling Additional Interim Zoning Applications for public hearings: Mr. Miller said there are 2 new applications to schedule for public hearing. Members agreed to add these to the 4 September agenda. 10. Consider Scheduling a Public Hearing for 27 August on the TIF District Plan and Introduce a Resolution to Create a TIF District and authorize submittal of an application to Vermont Economic Progress Council: Mr. Miller said staff is asked to schedule a public hearing for 27 August. This will be advertised in The Other Paper. The city is anxious to move this process forward. Ms. Blanchard said an overview of the plan will be presented on 20 August. Ms. Dooley noted a mix up between "east" and "west" sides of Dorset St. This will be corrected. Ms. Dooley moved to set a public hearing for 27 August at 6 p.m. or soon thereafter. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 11. Other Business: a. Mr. Young asked for an explanation of items C, E and F on the Consent Agenda. Mr. Miller said #C requires an in-kind match (no cash) and will help expand services of the Criminal Justice Center. This is very helpful for the Police Dept. The addition to the payroll is covered by the grant. When the grant runs out, it will be up to the City Council to decide whether to continue the position or not. On item #E, consultants met with the Energy Committee and staff. Their recommendation is to use Encore Development as the city's preferred developer. Each project must come to the City Council for approval. There is no immediate expenditure. There will be no projects that do not provide a positive cash flow to the city. #F would put over $64,000 from the FY12 budget into a reserve fund. This was budgeted for this purpose. This will allow purchase of equipment when it is needed. b. Minutes of 2 July; It was agreed to hold these minutes until the correct motion could be added. Ms. Greco noted that with regard to the Minutes of 26 July, there was no attempt to avoid a public meeting by going to the Guard HQ in twos. This was a Guard request which didn't want a public meeting on their site because of security concerns. She noted the Guard would like to talk with the Council. Members said this would have to be a warned meeting. Mr. Miller said the city would also notify the Airport and the Burlington and Winooski Mayors' offices. Ms. Mackenzie said it behooves the city to have its ducks in a row first and know what issues they want to move forward on first. As there was no further business to come before the Council, Ms. Dooley moved to adjourn. Ms. Mackenzie seconded. Motion passed 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.