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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 01/29/2024 - Special Meeting southburlington VERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL 29 January 2024 The South Burlington City Council held a special meeting on Monday, 29 January 2024, 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, L. Kupferman ALSO PRESENT: J. Baker, City Manager; Chief S. Locke, Deputy City Manager; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; L. Bailey, D. Albrecht, B. Gracey, B. Sirvis, E. Fitzgerald, M. Scanlan, R. Doyle, C. Freeman 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. Freeman thanked the city for the two arrows heading west on Route 2. She also noted that more demarcation is needed for 89 South turning right. Mr. Albrecht thanked Ms. Riehle and Ms. Emery for their many years of service. Regarding the proposed purchase of the Long/Bellevance property, he felt this was an inappropriate use of City funds. He said that zoning sets the ground rules as to what you can or can't do with your property. The City has very clear, detailed ground rules and zoning rules. The Zoning District Map shows the front PAGE 1 quarter of that property is in the Neighborhood Residential District. It is bounded on the north and south by dense developments. The DRB assumed the connection of those 2 developments. The purposed of zoning is to take politics out of the picture. He added that for the City to get involved in this is a waste of funds. It raises the question of why the City isn't doing this for other potential developments: "you did it for them, why not for me?" He felt it would be better to put in recreation near where development is going. Ms. Gracey, owner of 1336 Williston Road, said that has been her "family corner," and she felt it is being taken away from them. She and her brother are trying to sell the property. She reviewed the history of the fire and noted that Mr. Belair had said they would benefit from zoning if they took the remaining building down. They did this, and then were told they are not grandfathered in. The City then put in trip end limitations which limited development. They don't want to keep being misled by the City. Ms. Baker noted that the Planning Commission is trying to address the trip end issue and agreed that allowable trip ends are limiting development on Williston Road. A system called Transportation Demand Management is trying to address that. 4. Announcements, councilors reports from committee assignments and City Manager's Report: City Councilors reported on meetings and events they had attended. Ms. Baker: The time-line has closed for petitions to be on the Town Meeting Day ballot. There is one declared candidate for each of the 3 School Board positions. There are two candidates for one City Council position, 3 for a second position, and one candidate to fill the remaining term of former Councilor Tyler Barnes. All candidates will be invited to a leadership training opportunity. The City's Annual Report has been completed and will be available on-line and in hard copy. Staff is working with the School District to finalize the Budget Book. Upcoming events include budget presentations to SBBA (Wednesday morning), Town Meeting TV (Wednesday evening), and the Senior Center on 25 February. A candidate for Assistant City Attorney has accepted the City's offer and will be made known when the candidate has notified a present employer. CITY COUNCIL 29 January 2024 PAGE 2 5. Consent Agenda: a. Approve and Sign Disbursements Ms. Emery moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 6. Hold the Second Public Hearing on a charter change proposal to increase the number of South Burlington School District Board Members from five to seven: Ms. Riehle reviewed the history and said that after the public hearing the Council will discuss the proposal and vote on whether to place it on the ballot. Ms. Emery then moved to open the public hearing. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. Public comment was solicited. There was no public comment. Ms. Emery moved to close the public hearing. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 7. Consider taking action to approve a charter change ballot item to increase the number of South Burlington School District Board Members from five to seven and place it on the Town Meeting Day 2024 ballot: Ms. Emery moved to approve the charter change ballot item to increase the number of South Burlington School District Board Members from five to seven and to place it on the Town Meeting Day 2024 ballot. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 8. Approve the 2024 Town Meeting Day Warning: Ms. Emery moved to approve the 2024 Town Meeting Day Warning as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 9. Hold a Public Hearing on City Plan 2024: Ms. Riehle reviewed the history. Ms. Emery moved to open the Public Hearing. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. CITY COUNCIL 29 January 2024 PAGE 3 Mr. Conner noted that the draft the Council now has includes all the changes requested at the last public meeting. He noted that the current plan expires at the end of the week and explained the ramifications if the City does not have a current plan in place. Public comment was then solicited as follows: Mr. Albrecht: He cited an article in the New York Times regarding the climate impact of neighborhoods done by census tract. It shows the 2 sides of South Burlington. What is fascinating and troubling is that the area with higher than average gas emissions is the Southeast Quadrant. Mr. Albrecht said it is easy to figure out why: because there are no public transportation services, there is a higher use of individual cars. There are also no commercial services nearby, so people have to get into their cars to get a loaf of bread. The article indicated that other parts of the City are doing their job. Mr. Albrecht noted that single family zoning the Southeast Quadrant would never happen now, and he encouraged adding language to rethink that zoning. Ms. Gracey: Kirby Road has a high radon count. Some family members have died there because of that. There used to be a dry cleaner there, and the radon is in the soil. She hoped someone would look into that. Mr. Doyle: The City needs more than just a transportation plan; it needs a Complete Streets Plan. Hoyle-Tanner recommended cross-walk treatments, but these were not done because there are no design standards in the City. There are optional standards but these are not followed. The City needs to move toward having mandatory design standards. Ms. Freeman: Thanked Ms. Riehle and Ms. Emery for their years of service. She noted she read the new Plan up to page 31. She feels that having everything directed toward climate change is hard for her to accept. Vermont has the lowest carbon emissions of all 50 states and is fortunate to have such a clean energy mix. She was not sure the document sees "our people" and this saddens her. Following public input, Mr. Barritt moved to close the public hearing. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 10. City Council discussion of City Plan 2024 and possible adoption: CITY COUNCIL 29 January 2024 PAGE 4 Mr. Barritt said the Council has worked to modify the opening paragraph of the City Plan because it had too much emphasis on climate change. He felt there was now the right balance between various pressures on the City. He said he would support the document. Mr. Kupferman agreed with Mr. Barritt and felt the draft with the edits helps address the issues of over-emphasis on climate. He said he supported the document. Ms. Emery said any part of the city, except the resource protection areas, is open for infill development. Timing is everything and there has to be a critical mass to public transit. She also agreed with Mr. Doyle. She said she would support the Plan. Ms. Riehle thanked staff and the Planning Commission, other committees, and all the public who attended meetings and sent in suggestions. She said the Plan is aspirational, and it is important to have a plan that looks ahead and is even visionary. This leads to changes. She hoped some of the goals can be attained. She said she was proud to support the Plan. Ms. Emery then moved to approve City Plan 2024. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed 4-0. 11. Other Business: No other business was presented. As there was no further business to come before the Council Ms. Riehle moved to adjourn. Mr. Kupferman seconded. Motion passed 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:32 p.m. Clerk CITY COUNCIL 29 January 2024 PAGE 5