Dear Neighbors,

Our next City Council meeting is this coming Tuesday, February 21, beginning at 5:30. (Please note the change to Tuesday due to President's Day.)

You are welcome to attend in person at Contois Auditorium OR Remotely via ZOOM at the following link: https://zoom.us/j/91620078019
You can also join us via Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLljLFn4BZd2PwCge7lNoKug676jIf_iUA
You can sign up for public forum via this link: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/citycouncil/publicforum or in person by completing a sign-up form inside Contois.

We have four key items on our deliberative agenda:

• WE WILL HAVE THE FIRST READING AND REFERRAL TO THE COUNCIL'S ORDINANCE COMMITTEE OF THE TRINITY CAMPUS OVERLAY.

The proposed amendment updates the standards for development within the Trinity Campus Overlay zone. It would amend standards for setbacks, height, and lot coverage within the Trinity Campus Overlay district. These changes address requests made by UVM to facilitate infill development on the Trinity Campus in support of additional on-campus housing. Among the many changes, it would establish a new front yard setback and allow new buildings between the new setback and the existing Colchester Avenue buffer up to 45 feet and increase the height limit to 80 feet beyond the existing buffer. It would change the allowable lot coverage on the Trinity Campus from 40% to 60%. It would allow for some non-residential uses such as cafés, small grocery stores, and similar business types in existing buildings on the Trinity Campus.

The concern with this change is that UVM is not willing to sign an MOU that would limit the growth of their enrollment, nor would it require them to build the housing. In other words, while the President has indicated their intent to limit enrollment and build the housing, they are not willing to commit to that in an MOU.

I would be most interested in your thoughts on this issue. Should UVM get a zoning amendment if it is unwilling to sign an MOU or some other agreement to limit or place some kind of restrictions on enrollment growth or housing?

• WE WILL HAVE SECOND READING AND VOTE ON AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO INCLUSIONARY ZONING.

Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) is the primary mechanism for securing newly built affordable housing in Burlington. Burlington regulates not just the number of affordable homes that must be created, but the characteristics of those units, including floor area and bedroom mix, or the distribution of units according to the number of bedrooms they contain. However, Burlington's standards are inflexible and can lead to the creation of affordable unit types for which there is little demand, or even the viability of the entire development project being in question where some requirements are not compatible with affordable housing practices or the market for affordable housing. This proposed amendment seeks to provide greater flexibility in the ordinance without changing the overall intent.

• A REPORT ON SHORT-TERM RENTALS

The Short-Term Rental Ordinance passed on June 27, 2022 and became effective on August 3, 2022. Hosts/owners were expected to register short term rentals within 30 days of the effective date of the ordinance amendment. The Department of Permitting and Inspections signed an agreement with a short-term rental monitoring vendor to assist the city in implementing the registration by verifying all Burlington host properties who are actively advertising rentals. This report details the progress we have made with registrations and host compliance.

• OUR LAST ITEM IS A COMMUNICATION REGARDING LEGAL QUESTIONS ON PROPOSITION ZERO.

Proposition Zero is ballot question 8 on the Town Meeting Day ballot. As this ballot item came from a petition drive and not through a deliberative process, the Council raised some procedural and legal questions of the City Attorney. This memo and the Council discussion will attempt to address them.

I encourage you to review these agenda items at: http://www.boarddocs.com/vt/burlingtonvt/Board.nsf/Public

As always, I welcome your questions, concerns, and comments, so please be in touch. Your voice matters and I am grateful for your input.

The BLUE NEWSLETTER is in the mail and on its way to you as of yesterday. I can't attach a PDF to Front Porch Forum but please email me and I am happy to send one to you via email.

Early this coming week, as your ballots arrive, I will be posting information on the ballot items as well as my position on them on FPF.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

My best,
Karen

Event Info

Dec 29, 2024

Dec 31, 2024, 7 to 8 PM

Dec 31, 2024, 7 to 10 PM