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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Planning Commission - 05/23/2023SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 23 MAY 2023 1 The South Burlington Planning Commission held a regular meeting on Tuesday, 23 May 2023, at 7:00 p.m., in Room 301, City Hall, 180 Market Street, and via Zoom remote technology. MEMBERS PRESENT: D. MacDonald, Acting Chair; M. Mittag, P. Engels, D. Leban, L. Smith ALSO PRESENT: P. Conner, Director of Planning and Zoning; K. Peterson, City Planner; R. Greco 1. Instructions on exiting the building in case of an emergency: Mr. MacDonald provided instructions on emergency exit from the building. 2. Agenda: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items: No changes were made to the agenda. 3. Open to the public for items not related to the Agenda: No issues were raised. 4. Planning Commissioner announcements and staff report: Mr. Conner updated his written staff report. Members were reminded that the next Planning Commission meeting will be on 31 May at 7:00 p.m. 5. City Plan 2024: Updated Sections – Community Services, Energy & Climate, Economy, Water & Utilities: Ms. Peterson noted that the Economy and Energy sections have gone to the respective city committees; the water & utilities section has gone to Public Works; all sections have gone to the City Manager. She added that anything done at this meeting will go into the final draft. It is anticipated that there will be a full final draft by the end of June. There will then be 4 meetings for discussion in July and August at which any community members, Commission members, etc., can propose changes. The plan is for no new substantive language after 27 June. SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 23 MAY 2023 2 Mr. Smith said the first page/first section is the most important page in the document, and he would like to see language drafted indicating “this is what we are trying to do.” Ms. Peterson said the Vision and Goals are the mission statement. The intention is that the 27 June meeting will include the language that introduces the plan. Mr. Smith said this may be the only opportunity to prevent catastrophic changes, and the next 10 years are critical. He would like to see that very clearly spelled out in the beginning of the plan. Ms. Leban noted some of the comments at the public input sessions such as “not upsetting the apple cart.” She cited the need for a “paragraph of magic words” to get people to understand. Ms. Peterson said staff has been working to get climate action throughout the plan, and they are willing to ramp it up, if there are places that members see to do that. Mr. Mittag said he was concerned they have not focused enough on climate change. Mr. Conner said that realistically people will see 3 pages: the goals, introductory statement, and the land use map. He then showed the October draft of the visions/goals statement. He noted that sometime in July, Ms. Louisos will be giving a report to the City Council, and it would be good to ask the Council if they are OK with those pages. Mr. Conner also noted that South Burlington is big enough to have plans under the Comprehensive Plan (e.g., Bike/Ped Master Plan). Community Facilities and Services: Mr. Mittag suggested adding the word “policy” in front of the word “objectives.” Ms. Leban suggested prioritizing the objectives by putting the more important ones nearer to the top of the list. Ms. Peterson cautioned against numbering as it goes into determining when things get worked on. Mr. Conner added that statements need to be to the point in order to refer to them when applying for grants. Ms. Leban said it reads better if you delete “seek opportunities to…” Ms. Peterson said that some objectives require partnerships, and “seek opportunities to” indicates the city will be reaching out to partners, not doing something on its own. Ms. Leban questioned the language “coordinate closely” with the School District. Ms. Peterson said this relates to bonding requests, and it is important that both the City and School District are not going for major bonding at the same time. Mr. Conner added there is also coordination SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 23 MAY 2023 3 with regard to different types of housing development so the School District can plan ahead. He stressed that it is the same taxpayers who pay for the city and school services. Ms. Leban said she was not happy with paragraph 2 of the Social Services section, specifically words such as “may be exacerbated” and “to some extent.” She also felt that paragraph should end with the word “needs.” Mr. Conner interpreted this concern as a general comment to address “soft language” in the plan to make it a more “punchy” document. Ms. Leban referred to the Police Department and said it is important to mention the Police role in traffic safety. She cited the need to get people to slow down. Ms. Peterson said staff is walking a fine line, trying not to get into “operations” and telling a department what to focus on. Mr. Conner suggested thinking a step higher: “have enforcement that meets the needs of all users.” Mr. Mittag said he wanted to remove references to “development” and to change the regulations title to “Land Use Regulations” from “Land Development Regulations.” Mr. Conner said the City Attorney has reservations about that. He also noted that other city documents use the word “development” so cross-referencing and re-adopting ordinances and documents would be a long process. Mr. Mittag said that saying “residents and members of the community” was redundant. Ms. Peterson said they are not the same. Members of the community includes people who work in the city, visit the city, etc. Regarding Mr. Mittag’s written comments, Ms. Peterson said “use of” and “usable” are two different things. Mr. MacDonald whether there has been any input from UVM. Mr. Conner said there hasn’t been any specific to the plan. He said staff can work to schedule them in to present to the Commission regarding their Master Plan. Ms. Leban asked how the last line under “child care” reconciles with State actions. Mr. Conner said there are many ways to “partner.” Impact fees can be waived for child cares, there can be grant opportunities with Champlain Housing as a partner. He noted that a grant application was recently signed for a child care facility on Shelburne Road. SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 23 MAY 2023 4 Ms. Greco said the climate crisis is the existential threat of our generation, and it has to be addressed. Unless the plan puts that as the highest priority, it is just words on paper. She urged the Commission to be bold, even if it is costly. Energy Section: Ms. Leban suggested adding “and battery storage” in paragraph 2 after the words “energy generation.” Mr. Mittag asked to add to the top of the section: We are facing a threat from a warming planet and worsening climatic conditions. We must acknowledge this threat and incorporate mitigation and adaptation measures as a top priority policy objective in the plan.” Mr. Conner suggested that staff work on paragraph 2 for more forceful language. He specifically noted Mr. Mittag’s use of the word “obligation” and said there is no legal obligation. Members agreed with the need for stronger language. Ms. Peterson said she would caution against Mr. Mittag’s “Fast Track Implementation of the Climate Action Plan.” She said there are more elements of that plan, and it has a separate implementation process that is underway. Mr. MacDonald said they have not defined “electrifying homes.” Mr. Conner agreed, but he said the Comprehensive Plan is not the place to do that. Mr. Mittag referred to his list of 7 additional “objectives.” Ms. Peterson said those are at the level of city operations, not general policy statements. Mr. Conner added that objectives are what you are going to do, but they don’t say how you are going to do them. Members asked about addressing the Airport. Mr. Conner the City of Burlington has very strong climate goals, and it would be a better plan to partner with them, which is really the best that South Burlington can do. The Airport is also working on its own very large climate plan. Ms. Leban suggested adding scooters to the second paragraph. Mr. Conner suggested instead adding “and evolving technology in transportation” as they can have no idea what will exist in 5 years. SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 23 MAY 2023 5 It was noted that the extra budget referred to at the end of paragraph 3 was for “fog line striping. Ms. Peterson felt that level of detail was not needed. Ms. Leban suggested adding the need to insure better safety. Mr. Conner noted that “curb to curb” safety can happen in a number of ways including but not limited to traffic calming. He suggested saying “As we look forward, this should be advanced to the next stage.” Mr. Smith asked how they can incentivize smaller footprint homes. Mr. MacDonald said that is not a conversation they can have. Mr. Conner said there is possibly an opportunity in the housing section where they address the “missing middle.” He added that there is a way to do that. Economic Resilience and Prosperity Section: It was suggested to add the word “local” to increasing business ownership, including members of unrepresented groups. (6th bullet point) It was also suggested to change “economic growth centers” to “vibrant economic centers.” (5th bullet point) Ms. Peterson said those are 2 different things. Mr. Smith said if the economy is vibrant it doesn’t need growth. Mr. MacDonald disagreed. Ms. Peterson said the important word is “centers,” and having economic growth in designated centers. Ms. Leban questioned the overuse of the words “pedestrian scale.” Ms. Peterson said the general rule is if you mean the same thing, use the same words. In the Land Use section, Mr. Mittag asked to change the word “development” to “creation.” Mr. Conner said the important thing is the potential to integrate housing into areas that have traditionally been commercial. This section sets the stage for a lot in the future. Mr. Smith asked if they can use permitting to get the kinds of businesses the city needs. Mr. Conner said it can be done by square feet, not by business type. Water & Utilities Section: Mr. Conner said staff will try to find more specific targets under the objectives in this section. They are working with consultants to get measurable goals. SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 23 MAY 2023 6 Mr. Mittag asked to say “Use best management practices in construction of stormwater construction.” Ms. Peterson said that is operational. Mr. Conner added that South Burlington is a tremendous leader in stormwater, and the aim is to add more strength to these statements. He noted that there is a lot of work to be done. Ms. Leban suggested stronger language in strategy #5. Mr. Conner agreed. He also noted that the Stormwater staff are working on language. He also cited the need to celebrate the work that has been done and the importance of hearing from residents so they can be part of the process. Under the bike/ped section, Mr. Mittag said the word “as” in the last sentence should be “is.” Ms. Peterson disagreed and said that would change the meaning. Mr. Smith asked about having single haulers in neighborhoods. Mr. Conner said it should be a more generalized statement such as “improve efficiency and lessen impacts of solid waste hauling to improve quality of life and reduce geeenhouse gas emissions.” Mr. Conner spoke to the need to address what infill means to the community and to thriving neighborhoods. 6. Meeting Minutes of 25 April 2023 Mr. Mittag moved to approve the minutes of 25 April 2023 as written. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed 5-0. 7. Other Business: Town of Essex Planning Commission Public Hearing on proposed amendments to Official Zoning Bylaws and Official Subdivision Bylaws, 25 May 2023, 6 p.m. For information only. As there was no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned by common consent at 10:10 p.m. _________________________ Clerk