Where: in front of the Town Center, Church Street
When: Friday, November 4th, 11 a.m.
Contact: Genese Grill, genesegrill1@gmail.com
Coalition for a Livable City and Allies Gear up for last days of Get Out the Vote campaign, question missing Feasibility Study numbers, and celebrate grass roots democracy!
Over the last four weeks, the Coalition for a Livable City has flyered the city, City Market, Arts Riot Truck Stop Fridays, and the Farmers’ market, often with our traveling video projection set up, and is gearing up for the last four days of the campaign. We have raised almost $8000. On Go Fund Me, and Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s, has given us a donation and an endorsement. We have published two sets of ads in 7 Days, one in North Avenue News, and countless front porch forum posts, as well as a series of videos about the democratic process, the TIF subsidy, affordable housing claims, and urban renewal. We have visited all the NPAs in the city, and had a very successful educational happy hour at the Radio Bean.
We will flyer the whole city again this weekend, with a new flyer. And have made hand-made election posters that are popping up all over town. The people are getting educated, but the issues are complicated and each side claims that the other is inaccurate and distorting. Our animations of what the overlay district could allow, for example, have been criticized by the proponents. But we have carefully examined them, made some minor corrections, and we stand by their accuracy. The proponents, despite a request over 4 months ago from the Planning Commission, have not provided a model or imaging of the overlay district and continue to confuse the zoning change (which is for the district and not the Sinex project alone) with the one development that is inappropriately driving the zoning change. We maintain, on the other hand, that the proponents’ images are inaccurate, and find it misleading that their mailed promotional material does not even depict any images of the proposed Sinex development, let alone a depiction of the overlay district build out.
Environmental groups that endorse ZA16-14 fail to consider VOTE NO alternatives that will achieve the same benefits without busting our human scale community and adding three floors of above-ground parking garages. Other environmental experts, like members of Rising Tide Vermont and the Institute for Social Ecology, and Burlington Conservation Board members, have agreed with us that this development promotes a business-as-usual avoidance of the real environmental imperatives of the 21st century. While some affordable housing advocates have endorsed this zoning change, we, along with members of the Burlington Progressive party and Rights and Democracy Vermont, maintain that this project and others like it drive rents up and ultimately displace the people who already live and work in cities like Burlington. We maintain that the removal of the public benefits mechanism in exchange for increased height and mass is an assault on affordable housing leverage and that the 54 affordable units provided in the Sinex development are too few and too expensive to be affordable. Proponents have yet to show any benefit in the project to low income seniors and very low income families desperate for housing they can afford. Brian Tokar, of the Institute for Social Ecology in Montpelier, writes, " I support the Coalition for a Livable City’s efforts and urge Burlington residents to vote no on the proposed mall expansion. To subsidize a single developer’s scheme to alter the character of central Burlington is not an environmentally responsible plan, rather it will bring in more traffic and turn downtown Burlington into even more of a wealthy enclave than it is already becoming. Increasing downtown density is a laudable goal, but only if it’s implemented in an equitable, democratic and accountable manner, not one that mainly serves wealthy private interests".
Finally, we decry the redacted feasibility study, which should have provided information to the public about Sinex’s finances, the price of commercial and residential space in his property, and evidence of whether he needs the TIF subsidy to build his project or not. Despite attempts by the CLC to attain a non-redacted document, including a pending legal appeal, it has not been forthcoming. Under the circumstances, we cannot condone giving Sinex 22 million in tax increment subsidy to build streets he needs for his project, especially when other developers usually pay for such infrastructure themselves. Especially when the mayor is also asking tax payers to approve a large bond to pay for what the tax increment from this development could partially pay for were it not being slated for corporate welfare.
We urge Burlington voters to vote No on 3 and 4, for a more democratic, more livable, more environmentally sustainable, more affordable, and more fiscally responsible Burlington.
Jan 9, 2025, 7 to 8:30 PM
Chittenden 14 District Constituent CoffeeJan 13, 2025, 8 to 9 AM
Submit Your Regional Planning Ideas!Jan 15, 2025, 6 to 7 PM