Dear Neighbors,

Starting at 6pm on Monday, December 18, the City Council will meet for its last meeting of 2023. The meeting may be attended in-person at City Hall or online via Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/96534826012.

At the beginning of the meeting, we will hear from Mayor Weinberger and representatives from the University of Vermont on a draft agreement they have reached on the future of on-campus housing. The agreement, if approved by the City Council, will commit UVM to adding at least 1.5 on-campus beds per every one undergraduate student it enrolls above the fall 2023 level. To facilitate the creation of on-campus beds, the City will work with UVM to advance several zoning amendments for UVM's Trinity Campus, a parcel on East Avenue, and the Waterman block on South Prospect Street. The draft agreement and other details are publicly posted on our Council agenda: https://burlingtonvt.portal.civicclerk.com/event/6721/overview. The Mayor has indicated that he plans to seek the Council's approval for this draft agreement in early 2024.

Following the presentation on the draft agreement with UVM, we will receive an update on the great work being done by Burlington's Community Justice Center.

Public forum will take place at 7:15pm. You can sign-up for public forum in-person at City Hall or online here: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/citycouncil/publicforum.

There are a number of items on our consent agenda that are worth calling out, including: approval of a new shared use path at Schifilliti Park in the New North End, which will better connect the park to surrounding neighborhoods; approval of a new 1.5 mile bikeway in the Old North End, as recommended by the Burlington Walk/Bike Plan; and referral of our existing trespass law to the Council's Ordinance Committee for further review of how it can be improved to address public safety and harm reduction.

Having just met last week and with this being our last meeting of 2023, our deliberative agenda is relatively light, including the appointment of a new Assistant City Attorney, an appointment to the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, and necessary technical amendments to our Comprehensive Development Ordinance.

The Council will meet again on January 16, 2024. In the interim, there are two important meetings scheduled for tomorrow, December 19, which unfortunately conflict but will be recorded:

--> PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNITY FORUM - 6:00pm at City Hall or livestreamed by TownMeetingTV on YouTube - focused on Substance Use Disorder and Property Crime, hosting Mayor Weinberger, Chief Jon Murad, State's Attorney Sarah George, VT Health Commissioner Mark Levine, Jess Kirby from Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform, and Rachel Jolly from the Community Justice Center.

--> JOINT NEIGHBORHOOD CODE COMMITTEE - 6:30pm via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/93943167252) - this joint committee of the Planning Commission and the Council's Ordinance Committee will continue its review of the City's Neighborhood Code, which proposes citywide zoning amendments that will expand opportunities for housing development.

As always, I welcome your feedback or questions on any of the above, or any other City issues. I otherwise wish you and yours a happy holiday season and new year.

Best regards,
Ben Traverse
Ward 5 City Councilor
btraverse@burlingtonvt.gov
(802) 357-2055

Event Info

Dec 30, 2024, 10 AM to 3 PM

Dec 30, 2024, 10 AM to 12 PM

Dec 30, 2024, 7 to 8:15 PM