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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 08/19/2019CITY COUNCIL 19 AUGUST 2019 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 19 August 2019, at 6:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present: H. Riehle, Chair; M. Emery, T. Barritt, T. Chittenden, D. Kaufman Also Present: K. Dorn, City Manager; A. Bolduc, City Attorney; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; D. Saldino, K. Garr, R. Rushford, J. Louisos, S. Dooley, J. Ilick, M. Ostby, 1. Instructions on exiting building in case of emergency: Mr. Dorn provided instructions on emergency evacuation of the building. 2. Agenda Review: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items: Mr. Dorn advised members that they should meet in a deliberative session after the regular meeting regarding a decision on the IZ application heard at the last meeting. 3. Comments and Questions from the public not related to the agenda: Mr. Barritt noted that he had heard from Ray Gonda about a definition of “front yard” due to a concern with his HOA. 4. Announcements and City Manager’s Report: Council members reported on meetings and events they had attended in recent weeks. Mr. Dorn: 1500 people attended SoBu Night Out on Thursday. There are 3 more such events. There will be as many, or more, next year. Plans are underway for an outdoor Halloween event and possibly a winter event. Three new Firefighters began work today. Next week 2 Firefighters and 2 Police Officers will be accompanying a group to Massachusetts to look at a consolidated dispatch system. The opening of Market St. is slated for 15 November. Work is now being done on curbs, rec path, and sidewalks, mostly outside of the roadway. The lunch for DPW workers will take place at Wheeler House on Wednesday at noon. There will be a public forum with consultants regarding the proposed recreation facility next Monday evening. 5. Councilors’ Reports from Committee assignments: CITY COUNCIL 19 AUGUST 2019 PAGE 2 Ms. Emery: The Open Space IZ Committee will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. All properties should have been evaluated by that time. Ms. Riehle: The Airport Commission will meet on Wednesday. Mr. Kaufman: The hope is to get the foundation in for the new skating rink facilities. Work should be completed in the spring. 6. Consent Agenda: A. Approve and Sign Disbursement B. Consider and possibly approve Minutes for 1 August 2019 Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission, 5 August 2019 regular meeting, and 9 August 2019 special meeting C. Acceptance of the Pinnacle at Spear Stormwater System and Associated Easements In answer to a question from Mr. Barritt, Mr. Dorn explained the agreement with residents regarding stormwater facilities. If a stormwater system is brought up to standard, the City will maintain it. This guarantees maintenance at a high level. Mr. Chittenden moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mr. Kaufman seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Update on City/School Collaboration: Ms. Riehle noted a recent incident where e-mails went back and forth over conflicting meeting times. The City checked to see if there was a conflict, but a School District meeting was not on their website. The City has consultants (re: infrastructure) scheduled for that meeting. The School District meeting is for parents regarding what they would like in a new Middle and High School. This problem will be on the agenda for the Thursday meeting with the School Superintendent and School Board Chair. Ms. Dooley said she is hearing that people want the recreation center delayed because of potential costs. Mr. Dorn said he met with Supt. Young, and the School Board is moving toward what they want to take to the voters. Part of that is a collaboration on a rec center. That is one reason the meeting with consultants was scheduled so early, to see what the programmatic needs area. CITY COUNCIL 19 AUGUST 2019 PAGE 3 After that, there can be a more informed discussion with the School District. Ms. Riehle added the hope that in the future calendars can be up to date. Mr. Dorn said they are not far from where the School District needs some pretty finished designs. The city needs to understand the “non-school” programs to see what can be shared. This needs to be figured out before the School architects finish that part of their buildings. The actual detail level of design won’t happen until after the public vote. Ms. Ostby said that information needs to be communicated to people so they understand tax dollars won’t be doubled. Ms. Riehle said the hope if that The Other Paper will make that clear. Ms. Emery asked if it’s too early to see if the public is OK with a joint facility. Mr. Dorn said there could be some “show stoppers” both ways, so they don’t want to be too specific. Ms. Dooley said her concern is whether this is premature and whether the contract with consultants is for more than just seeing what can be combined with the School District. 8. Consider and possibly approve a Grant Agreement Resolution related to the Vermont Community Development Program and the Champlain Housing Trust Garden Street Housing Limited Partnership: Mr. Dorn explained that this is the standard paperwork for the housing project. The Council approved the grant months ago. Mr. Kaufman moved to approve the Grant Agreement Resolution as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Consider and possibly approve a Resolution Authorizing Use of City Infrastructure: Mr. Bolduc explained that this is part of the Market St. project and involves approximately 52,000 feet of conduits for which the city can collect rent (e.g., from Comcast, etc.). The cost of the conduit is about $500,000. The recommended rental is 19 cents per linear foot or the Public Utilities rental fee for poles, whichever is more. This would enable the city to recoup the cost of the conduit over time. Mr. Barritt raised a concern about a company trying to block out other competitors. Mr. Bolduc said it would be part of the contract to create a competitive environment. CITY COUNCIL 19 AUGUST 2019 PAGE 4 Mr. Dorn said the conduit will not be under the road but will be under either the sidewalk or rec path. Mr. Chittenden asked if the 19 cents could be adjusted. Mr. Bolduc said there is language to allow for that. Mr. Barritt asked if the city has been approached by potential users. Mr. Bolduc said “they are clamoring at the door.” Ms. Riehle noted the expected ruling of the FCC, which will negate the requirement for public access funding. She said the reason companies can use those conduits at a low cost was that public access funding. She was concerned that the city will provide a very attractive conduit, but the taxpayers will have to pay to fill in the gap left by the absence of public access funding. She wasn’t sure if Vermont can override the FCC. Mr. Barritt said this is the time to tell them they can’t have this without providing service, etc., to the citizens of the city. Mr. Dorn said staff will do some research around this and come back to the Council with a recommendation. Mr. Bolduc suggested a discount is certain services are provided. 10. Public Hearing and Possible Action on Amendments or repeal of City Ordinances: A. Motor Vehicle and Traffic Ordinance – This ordinance is warned to repeal the South Burlington Motor Vehicle and Traffic Regulation Ordinance, first adopted in 1958, and to adopt a new ordinance that regulates the operation and use of motor vehicles other than parking in a form that provides the Council flexibility to establish and amend by resolution the locations of one-way streets, yield signs, etc. B. Parking Ordinance – along with the repeal of the 1958 Motor vehicle and Traffic Regulation Ordinance, this proposed ordinance creates a stand-alone parking ordinance that will provide for general parking prohibitions in the City and an administrative appeal process Mr. Chittenden moved to open the public hearing. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. CITY COUNCIL 19 AUGUST 2019 PAGE 5 Mr. Bolduc reviewed the history and directed attention to Section 10a, b, c, and d which were amended to address questions raised at the hearing. There are no other changes. Public comment was then solicited. There was no public comment. Ms. Emery moved to close the public hearing. Mr. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Chittenden then moved to approve the amendments or repeal of city ordinances as presented. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 11. Receive and consider request from SunCap Property Group in Technology Park for the City to relinquish the irrevocable offer of dedication for a planned dead-end roadway, and to request an impact fee credit for the “in-kind” contribution of intersection improvements at Kimball Ave/Community Dr/Gregory Dr: Mr. Ilick explained the history of Community Way and explained where it is located. He noted SunCap is applying for a re-subdivision, so that this cul-de-sac is no longer necessary, and they want to remove the dedication to the city. Mr. Ilick said their other request involves the formula for calculating impact fees. He said that one of the conclusions of their traffic study is the need for a signal at the eastern end. There has been discussion of a round-about instead of a signal. Whatever decision is reached, there is another cost. The proposed development would put 15% of the traffic into that intersection. They are asking for the intersection construction fees for the project to be credited against traffic impact fees. Mr. Conner explained how the calculations for impact fees are made. Mr. Ilick said they are fine with all of their numbers being verified by the city, and they are fine with the final result. It is the concept they want to have approved. Mr. Barritt asked about the stability of the bridge. Mr. Dorn noted they city has identified money for that project; Williston needs to do the same. He added that he would look into the timing of the bridge construction. Ms. Riehle asked how to factor in any additional number of employees who may be hired. Mr. CITY COUNCIL 19 AUGUST 2019 PAGE 6 Conner said the methodologies have a number of different ways to count vehicle trips. In South Burlington, square footage is almost always used because that number has been evaluated using a number of different kinds of businesses. Mr. Ilick said Fed Ex (the user of the proposed project) is very fussy about the access to their facility, and they actually exceed what is required by the ITT standards. Mr. Barritt asked whether this kind of credit has been applied before. Mr. Conner said it was applied in the Trader Joe’s development for the left turn lane. Mr. Conner then explained that the question before the Council is that the Impact Fee Ordinance lists a number of projects for improvement. This project will raise its level of priority on that list. It is also listed as a potential project in the Comprehensive Plan. If the Council agrees to the concept, staff will work out the details and bring them back to the Council. Members expressed their inclination to move forward. Mr. Ilick said if the Fed Ex project falls apart, they would want the cul-de-sac back again. 12. Receive proposed amendments to the Land Development Regulations #LDR-19-01 to LDR-19-05 from Planning Commission; consider warning public hearing on same: Ms. Emery noted an email from Regina Mahoney of CCRPC regarding the question of minimum parking requirements. She said it is attractive to build a building with adequate parking. Minimums have always been arbitrary, and there are factors that make those minimums unnecessary (e.g., City Center). Mr. Chittenden said he is “on the fence” on this issue. Comments he heard from other citizens expressed concern with creating a demand for parking on public streets and fairness to recent developers who had to comply with minimum standards. One possibility would be to do this over time. Mr. Chittenden said he is mostly concerned that DRB members oppose this. He would want to have their issues addressed before he could support the amendment. Mr. Kaufman said he shares Mr. Chittenden’s concerns to an extent. CITY COUNCIL 19 AUGUST 2019 PAGE 7 Ms. Riehle said she thinks they pave a lot of extra ground for parking to serve one day a year, and there are a lot of large lots that are never filled. Mr. Kaufman said that there is a building which cannot rent a unit because they are short parking. Ms. Louisos said they are trying to get away from “use” as a measure for parking. Presently, a use cannot go into a building because there is not enough parking. Mr. Chittenden said that is why he recommends doing it slowly. Mr. Barritt asked if this has been done anywhere else. Mr. Conner it has been done entirely in Buffalo, NY, and downtown in Houston, TX. Ms. Louisos noted that significant people supported the amendment including the Energy Committee and conservation-minded members of the public. She also noted there was negative feedback regarding parking maximums. Mr. Conner cited the potential for off-site parking arrangements. He noted that a parking study on Dorset St. showed an average of 30% use of parking at various times of day. Mr. Chittenden said he is concerned with creating tomorrow’s headaches. Regarding the TDR amendment, Ms. Louisos noted that Mr. Seff had outlined his concerns that the amendment could create confusion. Ms. Riehle said the Council’s concern was to be in compliance with State law. Mr. Barritt moved to schedule a pubic hearing on the proposed amendments for 16 September 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Kaufman seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Consider and possibly approve recommendation for Banking Services: Mr. Dorn noted this involves both the City and School District. The city received 6 bids, and the recommendation is to approve TD Bank. Mr. Barritt moved to approve TD Bank for City and School District banking services. Ms. Emery seconded. CITY COUNCIL 19 AUGUST 2019 PAGE 8 Mr. Chittenden noted he had received a voice mail from a Community Bank Board member. He did not return the call. In the vote that followed, the motion passed unanimously. 14. Council discussion and possible action regarding as funding request for the South Burlington Master Naturalist Program: Ms. Riehle suggested waiting until the books are closed on the fiscal year to see how much the city can afford. Mr. Dorn said those figures should be available by the end of the month. Mr. Chittenden then moved to support $5000 for the South Burlington Master Naturalist Program if the final budget numbers allow. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 15. Consider convening as the South Burlington Liquor Control Commission to approve the following: Mimmo’s Pizzeria & Restaurant – First Class Restaurant/Bar License Mr. Chittenden moved that the Council convene as Liquor Control Board. Mr. Barritt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Barritt moved to approve the First Class Restaurant/Bar License for Mimmo’s Pizzeria & Restaurant as presented. Mr. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Barritt moved to reconvene as City Council. Mr. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 16. Other Business: No other business was presented. As there was no further business to come before the Council, Mr. Barritt moved to adjourn. Mr. Chittenden seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.