HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Natural Resources Committee - 02/07/2013South Burlington Natural Resources Committee
575 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 846-4106
www.sburl.com
Thursday, February 7, 2013
7:00 pm
South Burlington Municipal Offices, 575 Dorset Street
MEETING MINUTES for Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting
Present: Peter Jones (Cmte Chair), Russell Agne (Cmte Member), Patrick Clemins (Cmte
Member), Mark Dupuis (Cmte Member), Betty Milizia (Cmte Member), Laurel Williams (Cmte
Member), Cathy LaRose (SB Staff), Helen Riehle (City Council), Barbara Benton (Planning
Commission), Jennifer Kochman (Rec and Leisure Arts Cmte)
Meeting called to order at 7:09pm.
1/17/2013 Minutes: A motion to accept the 1/17/2013 minutes with no edits was made by
Agne and seconded by Riehle. Minutes were approved.
OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE BUSINESS
Updated Open Space Committee Web Presence: LaRose gave the committee a brief tour of the
new Open Space Committee webpages on the City of South Burlington website. Committee
members suggested that links to the 2002 Open Space Strategy and the March 2012 Draft of
the 2012-2016 Comprehensive Plan be added to the pages.
City Council Report: Riehle reported that City Council approved the Open Space Committee’s
Vision, Goals, Priorities, and Strategies Document with limited discussion. Agne noted that
Riehle’s article in this week’s The Other Paper provided a nice update of the committee’s
efforts.
Planning Commission Report: Benton reported that the Planning Commission was very happy
with our Vision, Goals, Priorities, and Strategies Document, especially its emphasis on the
importance of small open space parcels across the city. The committee then discussed how the
IZ committee process presented at the joint City Council / Planning Commission meeting should
inform our efforts moving forward.
Recreation and Leisure Arts Report: Kochman reported that Tom Hubbard, Director of
Recreation & Parks, is making process on an inventory of recreational spaces currently owned
or managed by South Burlington and on the Recreational Parcel Scorecard. Kochman intends to
review the approved Open Space Committee Vision, Goals, Priorities, and Strategies document
with the Recreation and Leisure Arts Committee and provide feedback. Finally, Kochman
reminded the committee about the Recreation and Leisure Arts survey currently being
conducted and expressed a desire for the Recreation Department’s statement titled “Priority
for Outdoor Recreation Space” to be incorporated into the Open Space Committee’s strategies.
South Burlington Natural Resources Committee
575 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 846-4106
www.sburl.com
South Burlington Land Trust Report: No representative was present.
Update on Interim Zoning Committees: LaRose reminded the committee of Community
Visioning Week next week (February 12-16). The open space session is a breakfast session on
Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30am. The committee had a lengthy discussion about the agenda
and format of that session.
Consultant Updates: LaRose has released the RFP for a consultant for the Open Space
Committee and sent it to existing Interim Zoning consultants.
Outreach Strategies: Tabled for a future meeting.
Other Topics: Jones would like to see the addition of a strategy dealing with the tradeoffs
between renewable energy installations and the sustainability of open space. Given the amount
of revisions suggested for the Vision, Goals, Priorities, and Strategies Document, the committee
will revisit that document at a future meeting.
NATURAL RESOURCE COMMITTEE BUSINESS
Election of Officers: Milizia moved for the appointment of Peter Jones to Chair, Laurel Williams
to Vice-Chair, and Patrick Clemins to Clerk, all for one-year terms. Dupuis seconded. The motion
passed.
Wheeler Nature Park Management Plan: Jones submitted some updates to LaRose who will
review the changes. Williams will make further updates to the Homestead Parcel section given
the loss of the National Gardening Association as an occupant of that parcel.
Next Meeting: The next regular meeting of the Natural Resources Committee / Open Space
Committee will be Thursday, February 21 at 7:00pm and will continue on the first and third
Thursdays of each month at 7:00pm until needed to expedite the work on the products for the
City Council. This meeting will be reserved elusively for Open Space Committee business.
Meeting adjourned at 9:25pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Patrick Clemins