Dear Neighbors,
This Monday, the City Council will convene its first of two meetings for the month of September. Prior to the Council meeting, we will convene a brief meeting of the Local Control Commission at 7pm in Contois Auditorium in City Hall. The Council meeting is scheduled to begin immediately thereafter.
Following the approval of one tobacco license application, the Council will hold public hearings on two proposed amendments to our Comprehensive Development Ordinance. The first would lift the 50% residential limitation in the Downtown Mixed Use District, also known as the 50/50, and the second concerns accessory dwelling units. As some of you will remember, in 2009 the 50/50 was the subject of intense concern for many residents in Ward 6 because of the additional amendment that would allow for taller buildings in this downtown district. This language is not included in the current amendment.
Your concerns about the 2009 amendment directly encouraged me to express my intention to vote against the amendment. Shortly after that Council meeting, I sponsored the Downtown Plan resolution, the resolution which started the process that morphed into what we all know to be PlanBTV. I will always be grateful to you for all the emails, phone calls and people who stopped me on the street to express to me their concern for this change. I am confident that this new amendment will allow for prudent downtown development in concert with PlanBTV that will benefit our city.
The Council will be voting on two resolutions tomorrow evening. The first will allow for the sale of the Browns Court parking lot site to Champlain College. This sale is a win-win for the City. Champlain will be paying property taxes on the property, there will be public parking available and Champlain will be building student housing downtown where students have indicated they want to be. The second resolution is an authorization to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Parks Foundation of Burlington. This new foundation will begin the ambitious and needed task of raising private money for Burlington parks endeavors.
We will have council committee reports, comments from councilors and the Mayor. Please keep in mind that you are welcome to come to a council meeting and speak to the Council on any subject you wish during our Public Forum which begins at 7:30pm.
Clickable agenda items can be found on the City's website:
http://burlingtonvt.gov/CityCouncil/Agendas-and-Minutes---DMS-Documents/City-Council/2013/20[...]da/
Please keep in mind that at all Council meetings are televised live on Channel 317 on Burlington Telecom.
As always, I welcome your questions and concerns. Please email or give me a call over the weekend or on Monday.
All my best,
Karen
Feb 14, 2025
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