Tonight's Burlington City Council meeting begins at 6:00 PM in Contois Auditorium at City Hall, 149 Church Street, 2nd Floor. Public Forum is scheduled for 6:30 PM. You can sign up to speak in person at the meeting or virtually via Zoom. Online sign-ups close one hour prior to the start of the forum. Join the Zoom webinar here (Webinar ID: 972 2998 2242) or participate by telephone at +1 646 931 3860. The meeting will also stream on Town Meeting TV and CCTV.

6.1. UVM Medical Center Memorandum of Understanding
The Council will review and is expected to vote on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Burlington and the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC). This new agreement outlines commitments regarding land use, hospital expansions, and community health initiatives.

The MOU was initiated last year during the former administration because the current understanding was set to expire. Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak and her administration, with input from our caucus, has negotiated improvements on traffic and traffic demand management, labor standards, building standards related to climate change, and the role of city staff in reviewing future development at UVMMC.

I understand that there still are concerns related to the impacts on the East Avenue and Colchester Avenue neighborhoods. These will need to be addressed but I believe this is best done through additional changes to the zoning ordinance and related policies as well as the permitting process for any proposed development. This MOU makes it clear that these changes are not precluded.

6.2. Resolution: South End Coordinated Redevelopment Agreement
This resolution would approve a new pre-development agreement advancing the development of the South End Coordinated Redevelopment project. The issues include zoning considerations, infrastructure improvements, and affordability requirements for housing and commercial spaces.

The project itself proposes to create a new, walkable, bike-friendly, accessible, mixed use neighborhood in a 13 acre area adjacent to Lakeside Ave and Pine St. with over 1,000 housing units. The scale of this project requires significant planning, collaboration, and outreach around infrastructure (water, wastewater, stormwater, streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, etc.), traffic demand management, housing, and financing.

This resolution would approve the agreement negotiated by the administration of Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak and the owners of the land in order to allow us all to take the next steps needed to move the project forward.

6.3. Fencing Installation at 1 North Avenue
The Council will consider authorizing an $80,000 grant agreement with the Queen City Police Foundation to support the installation of fencing at 1 North Avenue intended to address security concerns of BPD staff. I support this agreement.

6.4 Blue Ribbon Commission on Drug-Related Criminal Behavior
Once again, we are presented with a safety resolution by the Democrats without any prior notice or attempt to collaborate. They did not present it to the Public Safety Committee, the council's committee of jurisdiction, and the action is not to refer it there for added deliberations either.

It is ironic that the resolution presents itself as a way to bring the community together when they also placed it on the agenda without working with the Mayor on the details, even though it would commit the Mayor's Community Safety Advisor to act as the staff to the proposed commission and provide it with a significant budget. It gives lip service to the many safety initiatives the Mayor has in play but does not integrate this proposal into this work.

It has had no input from the new, interim chief, Shawn Burke, who will be starting next week. It acknowledges the central role of the Vermont criminal justice system but the State's Attorney was not involved in the details either. Nor were other State actors to my understanding.

And despite these flaws, the resolution calls for the commission to begin work no later than March 22nd and have a report by July 22nd without regard to the ongoing work appointees already have.

There seems to be merit to the concept of a commission but the process is flawed and premature. It feels like an election maneuver. I am open to exploring this idea further and hope that action on the resolution can be delayed to give the Mayor, Interim Chief, and others the chance to work on the details, including the timing and Interim Chief transition process.

Event Info

Feb 18, 2025, 6 to 9 PM

Feb 22, 2025, 12 PM

Feb 23, 2025, 3 to 4 PM