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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/21/2023 CITY COUNCIL 21 AUGUST 2023 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 21 August 2023, at 6:30 p.m., in the Auditorium, 180 Market Street, and by Go to Meeting remote participation. MEMBERS PRESENT: H. Riehle, Chair; M. Emery, T. Barritt, A. Chalnick ALSO PRESENT:J. Baker, City Manager; Chief S. Locke, Deputy City Manager; M. Machar, Finance Director; E. Quallen, Public Works Deputy Director of Capital Projects; Dr.T. Childs, C. McDonald, D. Peters, B. Sirvis, L. Williams, M. Mittag, E. Fitzgerald, D. Campbell, K. Bailey, R. Doyle, S. Dooley, N. Senecal, S. Conley, C. Moore, B. Britt, J. Stevens, A. Magyar, D. Austin, A. Overmaking, J. Asperte, C. Trombly, K. Sevilla 1. Instructions on exiting building in case of emergency and review of technology option: Ms. Baker provided instructions on emergency exit from the building and reviewed technology options. 2. Additions, deletions or changes in the order of Agenda items: No changes were made to the Agenda. 3. Comments and questions from the public not related to the agenda: Ms. Sevilla asked that the City consider revising its winter parking ban to mirror that of Burlington which institutes the ban only on nights when there is a snow event. 4. Announcements, Councilors Reports from Committee Assignments,and City Manager's Report: Councilors reported on meetings and events they had attended in recent weeks, including an update on the noise abatement program from the Airport Commission. 20 homes are being sound-proofed now, and a grant has been received for about 50 homes in Phase 2 of the program to occur next summer. There will be a meeting at Chamberlin School on 14 September, 7 p.m., to update the community regarding the bike path and the noise abatement program. Ms. Riehle noted that Airport Director Nick Longo has asked to come to a Council meeting. CITY COUNCIL 21 AUGUST 2023 PAGE 2 Ms. Baker: In response to a question as to how the city is supporting the homeless, Ms. Baker said the biggest solution is housing for all, and the city is doing its fair share. Over 60 new homes will be added in the next few months. There is also coordination with health and substance abuse issues. The city is seeing an uptick in the use of City Hall spaces (e.g., the Library) and more calls regarding people in need. The former Ho Hum Motel is being converted to the housing for the homeless. The City Council did a walking tour of City Center and is considering possible changes to the Form Based Code. There was a lovely event on Thursday evening at Veterans' Park to honor retiring City Clerk Donna Kinville and welcome new City Clerk Holly Rees. All land records are on-line now. The City is entering into an agreement to stake the Wheeler Nature Park boundary as part of the Conservation Easement process. Champlain Housing Trust and CVEO have asked South Burlington to join with them regarding a food shelf in Burlington. There will be a public hearing regarding that application. The city is advertising for available positions on committees. The hope is to hear applications on 18 September. There is an Intern working in the Library. Checkouts are up 23% (5,000 items a month), and over 10,000 Library Cards were issued last year. 5. Consent Agenda: a. Approve and Sign Disbursements b. Approve Minutes c. Receive the July Financials d. Authorize an application for a Building Communities grant for an ADA accessibility Project on behalf of Davis Studios e. Approve a Municipal Energy Resilience Program grant application for Station 2 and Wheeler House. CITY COUNCIL 21 AUGUST 2023 PAGE 3 Ms. Emery moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 6. Receive a Proposed Residential Rental Ordinance and information on space planning. Provide direction to staff: Chief Locke said fees were changed from what the Council saw the last time. Fees should cover annual expenses. There is an exclusion for farm businesses. Regarding space allocation to administer the program, Chief Locke said they had looked at adding onto the Fire Station, but the numbers have proven to be higher than anticipated. They are now looking for direction as to next steps. Chief Locke said there is concern with passing an Ordinance with no space available. Ms. Emery noted an email from Tom Getz regarding his concern with adding to the cost of building affordable housing. Mr. Getz said this could add $3000 a year per building and could affect applications for federal grants. He also noted how often affordable housing needs to be inspected. Ms. Riehle said new housing would not need to be inspected for 3 years. Chief Locke said Mr. Getz is not talking about safety inspections. He is proposing random inspections which, Chief Locke said, he opposes. He stressed that rental housing needs to be safe. He noted that with each round of inspections taking up to 3 years, it could be 5 years between inspections unless there are tenant complaints. Mr. Barritt said the main reason he supports an ordinance is to ensure that every unit is safe, that smoke detectors are hard-wired and interconnected. Mr. Chlanick said he is concerned that the ordinance is a little heavy-handed. He noted that renting space in homes is how some people pay for food and their own housing. He wanted to be sure the ordinance is not harming people. Chief Locke said they might want to differentiate between currently rented space and newly proposed rentals, except for health and safety inspections. Ms. Emery noted the ordinance gives people a year to "re-invent" themselves. She said the rentals are taking that housing off the market. There is no place for the workforce to live in the city. She felt the long-term rentals can help people make a living. She stressed the housing crisis and the need to respond to it. CITY COUNCIL 21 AUGUST 2023 PAGE 4 Mr. Conner noted that in March, per AirDNA, there were about 75 active short-term rentals in the city, 60 of which were considered "whole units" (45 single family homes, 15 in large buildings). 65%of those were available 90% of the year. Public comment was then heard as follows: J. Stevens: Burlington enacted legislation against out-of-staters buying homes for airbandbs. There are people in his neighborhood charging$4000.00 a week. They can afford fees, etc. There is an airbandb on either side of him, and he has been chastised by the occupants. They have lived there 25 years, and the last 2 years have changed. It is destroying community unity. A Magyar: A Burlington resident who was active in a "win-win" short term rental. An owner-occupied with rental rooms would not need inspections. There are women who cannot afford to live in their homes without renting rooms. In Burlington, it costs $80.00 to register. She suggested that for those that are not owner-occupied, there could be a nightly fee and the money could go to a housing trust. She also noted that with a short-term rental, she can get renters out; she can't do that with a long-term rental. D. Sandy: Applauded the city for doing this. There are 2 airbandbs on her street; neither owner has ever lived in those houses. The summer has been a nightmare. Even though there are rules, the people just do what they want. She resents the intrusion into the neighborhood and said it is like living next to a hotel. She noted that in Stowe there can't be airbandbs in certain parts of the town. She asked the Council to do what is right for neighborhoods. C. Moore: Can't afford her home without short-term rentals. She asked that owner- occupied short-term rentals be allowed. Ms. Emery said that is allowed by this ordinance. Ms. Moore said she enjoys sharing her home because it is an historic home. A Overmaking: Has 2 short-term rentals, one in her home and one across the street which she uses for income. They both have hard-wired systems and have been inspected. She agrees with the rental registry, but it would be a financial blow to shut down her non-owner-occupied rental. That is how she can live in the city and care for her children. She has never had a complaint. She also employs people in the city to do yard work and cleaning. J. Asperte: A Colchester resident who owns a house in South Burlington, a duplex which she upgraded. It will take 5-7 years to recoup those expenses, then it will become a long-term CITY COUNCIL 21 AUGUST 2023 PAGE 5 rental. She recommends South Burlington restaurants to tenants. She asked that the non- owner-occupied short-term ban be eliminated. D. Campbell: Owns a short-term rental to help fund retirement. He approved of all the safety codes. Thought the registry could help people who are having problems with neighbors' short- term rentals. He said most people follow the rules and need the income. The regulation would put him "out of business." He felt the housing crisis can't be solved "on our backs." He would grandfather existing short-term rentals as a best solution. S. Dooley: Supports the registry and short-term rental regulations. She felt affordable housing should be exempt from the fees. She noted that Mr. Campbell spoke of"being put out of business," but the house is a residential use, not zoned for a hotel. She also questioned whether the city should be taxing the property differently. Ms. Baker said it would be taxed at the "non-residential" rate. N. Senecal: Urged moving forward on the short-term rentals then getting data regarding long-term rentals. Asked if there is a way to create zoning as to where short-term rentals can go. C. Trombly: Noted that the Affordable Housing Committee discussed this at their most recent meeting. They noted that tenants are afraid to complain about safety and other issues because they're afraid their leases won't get renewed if they complain. The Committee favors exempting fees for affordable housing. Cindy: An East Terrace resident with a lot of long-term rentals. Said that airbandbs are a tourist industry and a "great entrepreneurial spirit." They pay rooms and meals taxes. Mr. Barritt noted that Burlington has a vigorous rental registry at a cost of about $110/year to register. The value is health and safety. Every renter deserves that assurance. Ms. Emery said she fully supports the owner-occupied short-term rentals due to the housing crisis. She suggested a generous grace period, exempting affordable units and increasing fines to cover the shortfall, having a list of which buildings are inspected each year, coordinating with other agencies. Chief Locke said it is not possible to coordinate with other agencies. They would have to go to $160.00 to cover the loss from exempting affordable units. CITY COUNCCIL 21 AUGUST 2023 PAGE 6 Mr. Barritt suggested reducing the costs for affordable housing operated by groups such as Champlain Housing. He was OK with tweaking the ordinance along the way. Mr. Chalnick was opposed to people from out of state buying properties for airbandbs but felt the city needs more data before doing anything. The income would have to cover the costs. He agreed with reduced costs for affordable housing but didn't feel zero was the right number. Mr. Riehle favored the intentions and purpose of the ordinance. Would like to see grandfathering of current owners until their property is sold. The home then would have to be owner-occupied. Totally supports all safety rules. Ms. Baker said staff will bring back a draft ordinance. 7. Review the FY23 General Fund surplus and consider making allocation decisions: Ms. Baker said there is a significant overage, mostly driven by revenues. Ms. Machar said there is over$2,000,000 surplus for the first time, about$900,000 of which is derived from local option taxes. Ms. Baker said that will be taken into account in the next budget. Ms. Machar said other overages come from electrical inspections and planning fees, mostly in City Center. The 0.2% interest rate at the beginning of the year is now at 4.2%. Staff is recommending some one-time spending items up to about$1,000,000 and putting the remainder in the fund balance. Ms. Riehle suggested increasing each of the Social Services allocations by$2,000. She also suggested additional funding for the Trinity Education Center and asked how much money they have raised independently. Dr. Childs said they have raised $38,000. She said she would do a full proposal so the Council can see the numbers. Ms. Machar suggest they go through the full budget process. Mr. Chalnick said he would like to see a sidewalk inventory and noted some sidewalks are in terrible shape (#3 on the proposed list). Mr. Barritt said some roads are very bad and cited Swift Street at the top of the hills. Ms. Machar said they can add that the road repair amount include sidewalks. CITY COUNCIL 21 AUGUST 2023 PAGE 7 Ms. Riehle asked where the city stands on line painting. Ms. Quallen said it is discussed weekly and is based on available equipment. They also cannot paint when it is raining, and this has been a very rainy year. Some larger roads are contracted out. Mr. Barritt then moved to approve the surplus allocation as present in Ms. Machar's memo. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed 4-0. S. Approve Resolution#2023-15 establishing speed limits on public streets and specifically establishing a School Zone at the Rick Marcotte Central School: Ms. Quallen noted the "school zone" signs are going up at Chamberlain School this week. Both Marcotte and Orchard Schools have been studied, including traffic volume, turning movements, geometric conditions, and safety concerns. The engineer recommends a "School Zone" on Market Street. This would reduce traffic speed to 20 mph at specified times which would be indicated by a blinking light. Only one of eight warrants for a stop sign was met, but in looking at potential traffic volume increase, they have decided on a 4-way stop at Market Street/School Drive in order to be proactive before things get worse. This will allow breaks for pedestrians to cross. The School Zone signs will cost$30,000.00. There was no indication of the need for a school zone at Orchard School as speeds are very low. There is an approval for$30,000 to study potential improvements at the Middle and High Schools which could be done at the same time to make it more cost effective. Mr. Barritt move that the Council approve Resolution #2023-15 establishing speed limits on public streets and specifically establishing a School Zone at the Rick Marcotte Central School as presented. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 9. Approve Resolution #2023-16 establishing stop intersections on public roads and highways and specifically establishing a four-way stop on Market Street and the driveway to the Rick Marcotte Central School and adding a stop sign at Mary Street and Market Street: Mr. Barritt moved to approve Resolution #2023-16 establishing stop intersections on public roads and highways and specifically establishing a four-way stop on Market Street and the CITY COUNCIL 21 AUGUST 2023 PAGE 8 driveway to the Rick Marcotte Central School and adding a stop sign at the stub of Mary Street and Market Street. Ms. Emery seconded. The motion passed 4-0. 10. Other Business: No other business was presented. As there was no further business to come before the Council Mr. Barritt moved to adjourn. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:51 p.m. Clerk