HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Open Space IZ Committee - 02/05/2019South Burlington Open Space Interim Zoning Commi ee February 5, 2019
The Open Space IZ Commi ee held a regular mee ng on Tuesday, February 6, 2019, at 7:00 pm, in the upstairsConference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street .
Members present: Alyson Chalnick, Meaghan Emery, Bernie Gagnon, Amanda Holland, Sophie Mazowita, DuncanMurdoch, Allan Strong, Tami Zylka. Members absent: Vince Bolduc, Sam Swanson, and Be y Milizia. Also present: KevinDorn, City Manager.
1. Direc ons on emergency evacua on procedures from conference room:
Paul Conner 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. Review of maps from 2014 Open Space final report:
Allan led Commi ee through maps of the Open Space final report and others prepared by Paul Conner. Bernie askedabout the map of the City’s open spaces (both conserved and not). Allan showed a map of green parcels with a formof conserva on, which Paul will eventually color code in order to show the different forms of conserva on. KevinDorn showed some areas outside of the map in Shelburne, Williston, and St. George that would be a part of aconserva on accord in order to protect the natural resources. CCRPC will support and UVM will assist with this work.At the next mee ng Paul Conner will show the Commi ee a map of the largest remaining parcels (which Sophieshowed the commi ee). Bernie talked about how the riparian corridors and streams will highlight which of theseparcels are the most cri cal for conserva on.
The 2016 Land Cover map will be reissued in early 2019. The “big picture” Water Resources” map shows that PotashBrook already has a level of protec on, whereas Muddy Brook does not. The biodiversity map is a map that needsmore a en on, Allan suggested. Poten al Scenic Views should be kept in mind. Working Fields, among thesecondary conserva on areas, show that South Burlington has some forest blocks; however, we are not a forestedcity. Duncan traced the con guous forest habitat blocks on Google MyMaps and will forward the results to theCommi ee so that the members can set their criteria regarding this resource (including roads). Cross-referencing theCCRPC map on the Commi ee page, he did not see that the two matched. On the Google MyMaps, the largest areasare 15-20 acres in size. Parks and Recrea on Areas will help the commi ee determine where our recommenda onsfor recrea on and dog walking areas might go. The Gap Analysis Map shows pedestrian connec vity to open space.
Duncan read Paul Conner’s email, detailing the different types of Conserva on: third-party ownership byconserva on group, city/public en ty ownership (like Red Rocks or WVPD), regulated areas like flood plains, landzoned principally for Conserva on (NRC), land-regula on by further development permits (Act 250, for instance).There are condi ons based on these types of conserva on that lead the DRB through development review.
Composite Open Space Map gives an overlay of all the different areas. Primary Conserva on Areas, which alsoappears and is easier to read in the Comprehensive Plan (Map 7). Map 8 in the Comp Plan shows the secondaryconserva on areas. These are two resource maps that will serve the Commi ee. Bernie reported that the PlanningCommission will tweak the defini ons of Primary and Secondary Conserva on Areas and look at the regula on tools.Planning Commission s ll working on reasonable defini ons of river and stream buffers. State regula ons regardingriver corridor preserva on specify that the buffer is measured from the top of the bank: 50 feet is primaryconserva on and 100 feet secondary conserva on. Bernie suggests that the Commi ee consider iden fying a cut-offnumber in acreage for determining parcels to be recommended for conserva on.
5. Discussion: Components of IZ Open Space final report:
What would we like our report to look like? Bernie suggested a map with color-coding, priori zing the different areas.Meaghan suggested some narra ve explaining the reasons for conserva on, accentua ng the items of cri calimportance. Bernie added that the Commi ee could prepare a list of possible regulatory tools that could be used toconserve the land. Maps could also specify areas that would meet criteria for athle c fields if conserva on priori esdo not align with these parcels. Allan suggested that ecological criteria go into determining top priori zed land that isnot otherwise protected. Sophie raised the limits of preserving priori zed parcel through public purchase, whichwould then be open to heavy traffic. Sophie also suggested including a map(s) of areas within or crossing throughparcels. Duncan suggested looking at parcel boundaries a er iden fying priority ecological areas, which would givethe Commi ee the bigger picture first. Members agreed to this approach.
6. Discussion: Criteria to priori ze open space conserva on and protec on:
Bernie pointed to the different scorecards available to us, for ac ve recrea on areas and natural resources, which wecould use to iden fy priority ecological areas that match up with parcel boundaries. It could be a star ng point for usto set criteria. Meaghan suggested looking to state regula ons for defining our criteria. Sophie will inquire aboutwhat resources are available in order to determine the forest blocks in South Burlington (through Bio Finder andVCGI).
In addi on to the primary and secondary conserva on criteria in the Open Space IZ Plan, we will be beginning withthe criteria from NRC scorecard:
Se ng: Parcel size, connec vity and proximity, surface waters and wetlands and waterways
Habitat types and features: grasslands and forest structure
Habitat func on: habitat use, diversity of features, poten al or realized habitat func on, and conserving wildlife
Usage: human history, agricultural use, monuments and ar facts, and educa on poten al.
Aesthe cs: viewsheds, Lake Champlain coastline, aesthe c natural features.
Access and func on: ge ng to the site and around it and its visibility from neighboring areas.
City Planning: support of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, vulnerability to development.
Pricing and Cost factors: cost, leveraging opportuni es, and conserva on easements.
Contribu on of the site to city management remedia on and well-being: renewable energy regenera on, poten alto contribute to storm water control.
The Recrea on scorecard:
Size, geographic loca on, proximity to u li es, the exis ng condi on of the site, proximity to other facili es, exis ngsite development, environmental features (layout, drainage and erosion, wetlands, soils, rock and other hazards),exis ng road frontage, trail or path connec ons, public transporta on, proximity to emergency services, value to thecity (available for acquisi on, poten al for mul ple uses, suitable to year-round use, income poten al), aesthe cvalue (similar to NRC scorecard), and other considera ons (similar to NRC scorecard).
Open Space IZ primary conserva on areas: riparian connec vity, more than 20% slope, rare natural communi es, rarespecies, hundred-year flood, source protec on zone 1, and wetlands
Open Space IZ secondary conserva on areas: 15-20% slope, uncommon species and natural communi es, habitatblocks, 500-year flood, primary agricultural soil, deciduous forest, evergreen forest and mixed forest, grasslands andshrublands, farmland, and source protec on zone 2
Wildlife road crossing, vernal pool (a wet area that does not retain water throughout the year, which has an impacton breeding) were added to the list.
7. Discussion: Commi ee organiza on:
Our homework will be deciding what to include (top 10) and then assigning points. Members can also add their ownpriority headings for the Commi ee to consider under “Other.” Duncan and Sophie will send informa on regardingforest blocks ahead of the next mee ng. Tami recommended that our individual rankings (10 being the highest and 1the lowest) be included in a spreadsheet so that people could refer to it and use it as tool for further research.Members will send their chosen priority headings on a provided spreadsheet to Allan by February 19. The combineddra will be publicized to the public so that public input can be gathered at another mee ng.
8. Review and approval of Mee ng Minutes of January 17, 2019:
Bernie moved to approve the minutes, Tami seconded. They were approved 7-0-1 (Sophie abstained).
9. Adjourn:
The mee ng adjourned shortly a er 9pm. The next mee ng is on Wednesday, February 20 at 7pm, in City Hall.