HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Sustainable Agriculture Subcommittee - 05/05/2015
Sustainable Agriculture Subcommittee of the Planning Commission
Meeting Minutes
May 5, 2015
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The Sustainable Agriculture Subcommittee of the Planning Commission held a regular meeting
on the 5th of may at 7:00pm at Healthy Living Upstairs Conference Room, 222 Dorset Street
Members Present: Sarah Dopp, Rebecca Adams, Kindle Loomis, Bronwyn Dunne, Will Raap,
Sophie Quest,
1. Agenda: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items. Added to the Agenda was a
discussion of the City Council's concerns about the Sustainable Agriculture Subcommittee.
2. Open to the public for items not related to the agenda. None
3. SusAg committee member announcements: See Agenda #6.
4. Update on the UVM student work on the Underwood Property. Kindle reported that the
students have done a great job and this will be reported on in June.
5. Update on website development individual (Bronwyn): Bronwyn brought in Natalie, a student
who assists her with her blog and facebook page. Natalie is very willing to help us in September, when
she comes back as a Senior to UVM.
6. Discussion of City Council's concerns and our response to it: When the Planning Commission
met May 4 with the City Councilor, 3 councilors expressed concerns over the work Sus/Ag is doing
and its function at this time. They feared that the city could be sued if Sus/Ag was part of a match
made between a landowner and a farmer using the land. They did not appear to be aware of the
Growing Connections program and thought that might work okay without so much danger. They
wished that they had had an opportunity to approve of the letter send out to landowners talking to them
of the possibility of leasing their land to a farmer. They were concerned that as a sub-committee
Sus/Ag should not be endless in existence.
Jessica and Tracey spoke up to talk of the usefulness of Sus/Ag during this process of completing the
Comprehensive Plan.
After a discussion of our gains this year in landowner conversations about keeping some land in
agriculture and in education of gardeners, we concluded that it would be good for Sus/Ag to continue
as a sub-committee until the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Regulations were
finished and approved.. At that time, we'll think of our next plans for existence, either separately or
together with the city or another organization.
It is possible that there is a division in the city as to whether or not the interim zoning work should be
permanently embedded in the workings of the city. This will probably vary as the constitution of the
City Council and the Planning Commission vary. So far, public polls have shown that residents of
South Burlington all support the city center, open space, affordable housing and agriculture. As a
committee, we feel supported in our work by the residents and by the fact that food policy reform and
local food production are becoming stronger movements everywhere at this time of global weather
disruption. Saving high quality soils will be as important as preserving wetlands. It is the experience
of Becky Larkin Adams that home builders are changing as they become aware of present day needs of
the community.
At this time we will work to spotlight successes in land preservation, expressing our thanks, and letting
people know what has been happening.
7. Report on “Growing Connections” April 16 event. One match has been made between a
gardener without land and a homeowner with land to share. 2 other homeowners have told us they
have land to share.
8. Discussion of No Mow/Shrinking Yards, 5-21-15 event. Sophie and Bronwyn will bring food to
this library event. Everyone will put up posters.
9. Other Business. None
10. Adjourn
Respectfully submitted:
Sophie Quest
Minutes approved by the Subcommittee on July 7, 2015