HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Natural Resources Committee - 01/29/2014South Burlington Natural Resources Committee
575 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 846-4106
www.sburl.com
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
6:15pm
South Burlington Municipal Offices, 575 Dorset Street
MEETING MINUTES for Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting
Present: Laurel Williams (Interim NRC/OSC Chair), Patrick Clemins (NRC/OSC Clerk), Russell
Agne (NRC/OSC Member), Jeff Dickson (NRC/OSC Member), Larry Michaels (NRC/OSC
Member), Betty Milizia (NRC/OSC Member), Cathyann LaRose (NRC/OSC Staff Liaison - SB City
Planner), Barbara Benton (OSC Member - Planning Commission), Sarah Dopp (OSC Member - SB
Land Trust), Jennifer Kochman (OSC Member - Rec and Leisure Arts Cmte), Sharon Murray (OSC
Consultant - Front Porch Community Planning & Design)
OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE
Meeting called to order at 6:19pm.
1/9/2014 Minutes: Agne moved to approve the 1/9/2014 minutes. Milizia seconded the
motion, and the motion passed.
Scenic View Working Group: Michaels reported that the group started out by looking at list of
scenic views from Dopp and visiting some of those sites. Murray asked that the group identify
the characteristics or components of each view that makes it scenic. Michaels agreed with this
tactic. The group noted that the higher the normal speed on a road, the larger the view window
that is required for the scenic view. They also noted that some views cannot be characterized
easily by listing individual scenic components; sometimes it is the entire panorama as a whole
that is scenic. There was also discussion about the trade-off between sufficient parking and the
preservation of scenic views and other natural resources.
Remaining Open Space Committee Deliverables: A contract extension and revised scope of
work for Murray has been submitted and is likely to be approved. Murray distributed the
current working outline for the Open Space Strategies Report, walked the Committee through
the various components, and received feedback on the outline from the Committee. Murray is
targeting March 19th for the final draft of the Open Space Strategies Report.
Primary and Secondary Resources Worksheet: The Committee went through the Conservation
Area Classification Worksheet that Murray had provided and gave feedback pertaining to each
conservation area type listed.
Other Big Picture Items for Consideration for Sharon: There was some discussion about the
size, layout, and use of the City Center central green. Benton mentioned that the Planning
Commission has received lots of input on this, and LaRose noted that the Planning Commission
will likely use tools outside of the Form Based Code (i.e. official map, etc.) to direct the size,
layout, and use of a central green.
The Committee was prompted by an email from a Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
member to briefly discuss the Conversation Fund and what kinds of land it can be used to
purchase or maintain.
Collaborative Website: Williams asked if the Committee would be interested in using a
collaborative website to store and manage Committee documents. The Committee was
generally favorable to the idea but had some concerns about documents in progress. Williams
will construct a prototype site and seek feedback from the Committee at a future meeting.
Next Meetings: The next few regular meetings of the Natural Resources Committee / Open
Space Committee will be:
Wednesday, Feb 12th at 6:15pm – Report from Scenic View Working Group and meet
with T.J. Boyle re: natural resource maps
Wednesday, Feb 19th or Mar 19th at 6:15pm – Review of Revised Form-Based Code
Draft from Planning Commission
Wednesday, Apr 2nd at 6:15pm – Second meeting with Sharon to review OSC
deliverables
Wednesday, Apr 16th at 6:00pm – Public Comment Meeting, possibly at the Wheeler
House
Wednesday, Apr 23nd at 6:15pm – Finalize OSC deliverables
May Meeting – NRC Planning Meeting (Priorities and Committee Structure)
Meeting adjourned at 8:09pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Patrick Clemins