HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Open Space IZ Committee - 03/20/2019South Burlington Open Space Interim Zoning Commi ee March 20, 2019
The Open Space IZ Commi ee held a regular mee ng on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at 7:00 pm, in the upstairsConference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street .
Members present: Vince Bolduc, Alyson Chalnick, Meaghan Emery, Bernie Gagnon, Amanda Holland, Sophie Mazowita,Duncan Murdoch, Allan Strong, Sam Swanson, Tami Zylka. Also present: Paul Conner, Planning and Zoning Director.Absent member: Be y Milizia
1. Direc ons on emergency evacua on procedures from conference room:
Allan called the mee ng to order and provided instruc ons on emergency evacua on of the building.
2. Addi ons, dele ons or changes in order of agenda items:
No changes were made.
3. Comments from the public not related to the agenda:
No issues were raised.
4. Tes ng the framework using the CCRPC map and first assessment of conserva on priori es:
Allan showed the group how the CCRPC map works and then reviewed the Conserva on Priority Frameworkproposed by the subcommi ee (Allan, Alyson, and Be y). He asked the members how best to work with parcels withlimited resources that are s ll integral to the commi ee’s iden fied priori es. Sam suggested that we create aseparate category for “components” to be conserved within parcels, based on conserva on exper se rather than“arbitrary” metrics, such as percentage of parcel coverage. Duncan suggested that percentages could be used inrela on to iden fied parcels. Vince warned the group against misplaced precision. Meaghan suggested that parcelsbe considered with regard to the whole picture, and Bernie suggested iden fying benchmarks that could be used as abasis. He also suggested that we first consider full parcels, whereas Duncan argued that we consider the map from anatural resources/ecological perspec ve. This would allow us to iden fy parcels or parts of parcels that meet most ofour criteria. Then we could adjust the boundaries of the Natural Resources District or recommend purchase or someother conserva on tool. A er this preliminary discussion, Bernie and Paul reported that the Planning Commission iscurrently iden fying primary resources (most likely protected at the State level) and secondary resources, which ares ll being discussed. The end goal is to arrive at regulatory guidelines that govern PUDs. Members then discussed theadvantages of the IZ Open Space Commi ee’s iden fying larger parcels that should be priori zed for conserva onsince the Planning Commission is studying regula ons for parcels of which a part may be appropriate fordevelopment.
Looking at the Primary resources in the Open Space Plan, Allan explained that the IZ Open Space’s list includes theseand addi onally wildlife connec vity, forest, aesthe cs, and agriculture in its Tier 2. Members then compared theNatural Resources map to Allan’s hand-drawn map of remaining open spaces in South Burlington, and discussionensued regarding connec vity: not only wildlife connec vity but also human trails that provide another form ofconnec vity serving our popula on, as Vince and Tami suggested. Alyson men oned that the public process will allowfor members of the public to provide addi onal informa on, such as animal sigh ngs.
Looking at the CCRPC map, the group noted some areas in the SEQ that appeared to meet the criteria of theConserva on Priority Framework. Allan suggested that members study finite areas on the city map, using theFramework as a guide, in order to come back next me with feedback on the different parcels of four acres or moreas well as on the three- er system. Tami suggested that we add to our assignment a review of the usefulness of thedifferent maps in light of the results of our individual assessments of parcels. Allan then walked the group through anevalua on of a specific parcel in order to model the members’ assignment. Since the CCRPC map does not includeeach of our criteria, Paul directed us to use the Biofinder on the Vermont ANR Natural Resources Atlas forcomparison: h ps://anr.vermont.gov/maps/nr-atlas.
For Tier 3, Allan suggested a simplified ques on: does this parcel have recrea on/dog park/solar field poten al?
5. Discussion: Next steps for engaging SB residents in open space conserva on priori es
Carried over into next mee ng un l we have tested our criteria.
6. Review and approval of Mee ng Minutes of March 5, 2019:
Meaghan moved to approve the minutes, Vince seconded. They were approved 7-0-3 (Sophie, Tami, and Alysonabstained).
7. Adjourn:
The mee ng adjourned shortly a er 9pm. The next mee ng is on Tuesday, April 2 at 7pm, in City Hall.