Dear Ward 6 neighbors,

I hope you are looking forward to a winter wonderland and maybe even some serious shoveling today. Die hard Vermonters know that the time for putting away the shovels doesn't come until the end of next month!

This Monday is our last Council meeting of the year. We will gather for ORGANIZATION DAY on April 1 when our new mayor and elected and re-elected Councilors will be sworn in. More on that next week.

Following a presentation on the city's plans to form TWO SISTER CITY RELATIONSHIPS WITH THIES EAST SENEGAL AND THE KUYALNICK COMMUNITY OF UKRAINE, we have a busy deliberative agenda that includes:

A resolution on GREEN MOUNTAIN TRANSIT FUNDING which calls on our Legislative delegation to support the inclusion of the recommendations of a state report on funding sources so that public transit can continue to remain financially viable.

A resolution on HOUSING TRUST FUND (HTF) ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES that will allow monies to be allocated to further address homelessness and the administrative costs it takes to implement these programs, giving us greater flexibility with the Fund to address our evolving needs.

A few days ago, I was honored to speak at a press event to highlight and celebrate the work of Project NexT. We will be voting on the APPROVAL OF A $39 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT TO REDO THE NORTH CONCOURSE REPLACEMENT PROJECT AT LEAHY BTV KNOWN AS PROJECT NexT. This is a very exciting and transformative project that will move us one step closer to realizing the vision of having a world class air travel center in Burlington, one that will benefit us and the entire region for today and generations to come.

Our last two agenda items are the public hearing and vote on the NEIGHBORHOOD CODE. I am so grateful to the nearly 100 of you who communicated with me on the Neighborhood Code. I am still catching up with emails so please know I will get to yours.

I hope that my FPF post last weekend helped to educate and inform you on this proposed ordinance change. Beginning in October, the City has held many public meetings on the Neighborhood Code. Still, I fully appreciate that given our busy lives, you may have missed these opportunities for engagement. Please take a look at the Council agenda at https://burlingtonvt.portal.civicclerk.com for the specifics on the Code.

There are seven amendments that can be found within the agenda:

• AMENDMENTS 1 AND 2 attempt to modify the RM zones to decrease the lot coverage on the first amendment and limit the number of units in RM from the proposed 10 units down to 8.
• AMENDMENT 3 would limit some development in areas where there are known wildlife habitats.
• AMENDMENT 4 pertains to an area in Ward 1. It would maintain Residential Low to areas bounded by North Willard, Archibald, Pearl and Mansfield Avenue which had been proposed to increase from RL to RM.
• AMENDMENT 5 would apply the Residential Medium District to all residentially-zoned parcels that are currently proposed to be zoned for either Residential Medium or Residential Low.
• AMENDMENT 6, which I am proposing, would deny all zoning permits for any property with any code violations until the code violations were corrected and inspected.

THE FINAL AMENDMENT SPEAKS TO THE CODE'S "EFFECTIVE DATE." What the amendment says is that changes to this ordinance that allow for a secondary structure within RL and RM zones would not be effective until October 1, 2024. This will allow the Planning Commission to make further recommendations on a secondary structure and will mean the next Administration and City Council will have 6 months to discuss and engage with the community to make further changes to the ordinance as it relates to the secondary structure. This amendment addresses most of what I have heard from Ward 6 residents and others across the city who have expressed concerns with the Code. The du-, tri- and fourplex issues are effectively state law or currently part of our ordinance and have not been as concerning to those I have heard from.

We need more housing; we all know there is a housing crisis. We need to be thoughtful and ensure all voices are heard, that we create more housing, with attention to ownership opportunities, with greater engagement and also a deadline for enactment. Based on the tremendous feedback I have received and my own reasoned approach, I plan to support amendments 1-4 and 6 and the effective date amendment. I think these are a fair compromise, will give the community more time and the newly elected officials the opportunity to weigh in on this issue. I have run this by those who are newly elected and believe it is broadly supported.

In other news, I have my last BLUE NEWSLETTER on its way to you in time for my last week on the City Council. If you like a sneak peak, please email me and I will send you a PDF of the NEWSLETTER.

As always, I welcome your comments and input. Your voice matters and I am grateful for your guidance and feedback.

My best,
Karen

Apr 28, 2024, 10 AM to 5 PM

Apr 28, 2024, 4:30 to 7 PM

May 1, 2024, 6 to 8 PM