Decelles motion to reconsider vote on amendment 38 FAILS!

Aug 20

City Council votes NOT to reconsider Amendment 38

At City Council Meeting on August 20, Paul Decelles made a motion to reconsider the vote to adopt Amendment 38. Passed by a 10-4 vote on Aug 6, Amendment 38 excluded nonbuildable wetlands and slopes from density calculation.

We have a lot of wet lands and slopes in Wards 4 and 7, and without Amendment 38 protection, we could have dense development that is out of scale with our neighborhoods, perched on the edge of wetlands and slopes.

Although Decelles said his intent was to just send the slopes issue back to committee, the entire Amendment had to be reconsidered and there were no guarantees that the committee wouldn't weaken the amendment. After a thorough discussion among Councilors, the Planning Director, the chairman of the Planning Commission, and the City Attorney, a role call vote defeated Decelles' motion:

NAYs (keep A38 as voted on Aug 6) - Ellis, Gutchell, Shannon, Keogh, Adrian, Bushor and Montroll.

AYEs - (reconsider the Aug 6 vote, and send to committee) Decelles, Ashe, Knodell, Wright, Davis, and Perry.

Troubling in this matter is the fact that at a meeting in Ward 4/7 on Aug. 2, all Ward 4 and 7 Councilors -- Decelles, Wright, Gutchell and Ellis -- pledged their support for Amendment 38. On a sweltering hot night, 77 people turned out for this special meeting called by the Neighborhood Planning Assembly and the Heineberg Senior Center. Overwhelmingly people spoke of the need for Amendment 38 which excludes wet lands and slopes from the buildable area calculation when development is proposed.

DECELLES EXPLAINS motion to reconsider Amendment 38

ZONING REWRITE POSITION CLARIFICATION

By Paul Decelles, City Councilor - Ward 7, Gosse Court, pdecelles@comcast.net Mon, 20 August 2007

First, let me make sure everyone is perfectly clear I in no way want to see massive and over scaled development in our neighborhoods. I have no desire to have the Council reconsider in any fashion that part of the decision relating to wetland areas.

However it does concern me that other possible development around town may be prohibited in certain areas that are appropriate for such development. Riverside Ave for example.

In any event I am confidant that our tri-partisan ad hoc committee will be able to develop a better solution to this issue.

I hope that this makes the record clear.

Do not hesitate to call 658-4367 or email pdecelles@comcast.net with any questions

Paul Decelles

Ward 7 City Councilor

ALERT! Decelles wants to send Amendment 38 back to committee

ALERT! Paul Decelles, W7 will make a motion to reconsider the vote on Amendment 38, sending it back to committee for further study.

AGENDA, City Council Meeting, Monday Aug. 20:
http://www.ci.burlington.vt.us/citycouncil/agendas/

Announcement in Front Porch Forum, August 18, 2007

If you have an opinion on adding steep slopes into the buildable area calculation, now is the time to speak up! Slopes and wetlands were removed from buildable area by amendment 38, which would prevent over-development of much of the land in and near neighborhoods in Wards 4 and 7. There is intense pressure to increase density downtown and in the neighborhoods. Some people relate this to increasing the tax base, and others say we need fundamental changes in taxation (like assigning cost of services to entities that don't pay for it now -- non-profits, and commercial properties that get tax breaks), not growth that will require more services. Next on the agenda, it says Votes on the other Rewrite amendments are postponed, and then there's a report from the Special Budget Tax Force. These issues are critical to your home investment and the quality of life in your neighborhood.

Agenda and Notes, Special Meeting Aug. 2, 2007

Special Meeting on Zoning Rewrite Issues

Co-sponsored by NNE W4/7 NPA and Heineberg Community Center
Thursday, Aug. 2, 7:PM

7:00 Welcome to Heineberg Community Center - Gail Moreau, Director

7:05 Introduction of Councilors - Joanna Cole, Chair NPA Ward 4/7

7:10 Review Amendments 34 and 38 - Lea Terhune, NPA W4/7

34. Large Lot Overlay - to reflect existing neighborhood scale

38. Buildable Area Calculation -- "to protect sensitive natural features, to prevent over-development of properties that contain sensitive unbuildable areas, and to ensure that new development fits within the existing scale and intensity of the surrounding neighborhood." [Examples: wet lands, slopes, drainage to lakes/rivers.]

7:15 Overview of Proposed CDO and Amendments 34 and 38

Ammendment 34: Councilor Russ Ellis, Ward 4, sponsor of Amendment 34
Amendment 38: Emily Stebbins, Vice-Chair, Planning Commission's recommendation.

7:20 Ward 4/7 Residents to be Heard– Alan Sousie, Moderator

Barbara Leitenberg – questions about the the Buildable Area Calculation and why there are no understandable map or definitions in the Zoning Ordinance June 20 draft.

Bob Schwartz – uurged for votes in favor of Amendmends 34 & 38.

Tom Papp, President of the Strathmore Association – spoke of the difficulty in tracking the existing document with the changes and recommended a tracking document, zoning enforcement and the need for performance metrics of the Zoning Department.

Chris Dutcher – is in favor of Amendments 34 & 38; thinks information needs to be disseminated.

Chuck Seleen – supports amendments 34 & 38.

Eric Bradford – cited density issues controlled by Amendment 38.

Scott Beckwith - if there is an increase in homes, who pays for the infrastructure?


8:00 Response from Councilors

Kurt Wright – will be supporting Amendments 34& 38. He addressed some “characterizations”, balance of neighborhood with development; noted other Amendments are also important (e.g. setback issues). Process – Monday - voting on pared down list of issues. Some Amendments will be deferred; 34 & 38 will be voted on. Bonus Amendments to be “talked about” in another meeting.

Paul Decelles – will be supporting Amendments 34 & 38.

Craig Gutchell – will be supporting Amendments 34 & 38; tracking document should have come earlier in the process; development needs to be “smart” and “controlled”; the enforcement “process is broken” and needs to be “user friendly”.

Russ Ellis – supports Amendments 34 & 38. He spoke to Amendment #33 and its importance. The thought behind it – is Burlington going to grow or not going to grow? The population has remained flat for the past 40 years.

Front Porch Forum Post -- Special Meeting Aug 2

Special Meeting on Zoning Rewrite Issues

Thursday, Aug. 2 at 7 PM,

Heineberg Community Center

14 Heineberg Rd. 863-3982

Councilors Ellis, Wright, Decelles and Gutchell will be on hand to explain key amendments 34 and 38 that could have significant impact on development in Wards 4/7. Protection of open land, density of development, concerns about congestion and neighborhood character. Changes that could affect property values and quality of life in our neighborhoods. Council votes on amendments Aug 6. This is our chance to tell our Councilors what we value about life in our neighborhoods.

Co-Sponsored by:

NPA Wards 4/7 & Heineberg Community Center.

NPA Steering Committee contact person:

Lea Terhune 658-1908.

Ward 4 Under Siege

If you think the Zoning Rewrite promotes high growth downtown but protects the character, scale and intensity of growth in and around our neighborhoods, think again! Mayor Clavelle had said that existing residential neighborhood standards would be left alone, but that has changed.

But the high ideals promoted on the Rewrite website, and promised repeatedly by the City, have steadily eroded. The City website still claims that the Rewrite protects existing neighborhoods and natural resources, and follows recommendations in the Open Space Protection Plan. But in Ward 4, the Rewrite promotes over-development and threatens the very open spaces that are featured in that Plan.

Developers buy up unbuildable land (at bargain prices) and then cluster buildings in a small area. In the case of wetlands, for example, buildings and lot coverage that would normally cover a large area are concentrated along wetland buffers where they do maximum harm to sensitive areas with run-off and sedimentation. Aside from the environmental harm, this can lead to development which is out-of-scale with existing neighborhoods. By purchasing several acres of swampland or steep embankments, a developer can build on whatever buildable land exists on a parcel, at bonus densities and coverage which far exceed what would be available on a buildable lot in the same zone.

Example -- the Keystone Development near Starr Farm. Total land density calculation allows 20 bonus units X total land area (40 acres) -- multiplexes many stories high surrounded by wet land. The same would be true for the Infill/Murphy development at Appletree Point Farms which is 12-16 acres of predominantly wet land. According to a March memo from Planning and Zoning to the Mayor, the timeframe for these two projects is "future, near-term". There could be as many as 1120 bonus housing units in the New North End in these two projects alone if the Zoning Rewrite passes without strong wetland protection and Amendment 38 that restores the buildable area density calculation to the Rewrite.

As always, open process and wide public participation is the City’s best protection against mistakes and unintended consequences. The tree ordinance was left out. A citizen picked it up and called Council’s attention to the mistake. Without a tracking control document which makes it easy to compare the old and the new, the public -- as well as our Councilors -- are seriously disadvantaged. We need that tool to understand the document. Then NPA’s could host a series of forums in every ward so residents could learn about how the Zoning Rewrite will impact them. I’m on an NPA Steering Committee, and I pledge personally to make sure this happens in Wards 4 and 7.

Note: On Aug. 2, 82 people gathered at the Heineberg Center on a sweltering hot night to ask our Wards 4 and 7 City Counselors to support Amendments 34 Large Lot Overlay, and Amendment 38 Buildable Area Calculation. All four of our Councilors pledged their support – Russ Ellis, W4; Kurt Wright, W4; Paul Decelles, W7; Craig Gutchell, W7. See notes from the meeting on the Ward 4/7 BLOGspot: http://www.wards4and7npa.uncensored.blogspot.com/

Amendments 34 and 38

Summary. The impact of Amendments 34 [Large Lot Overlay], and 38 [Buildable Area Calculation], are known, and recommended by the Planning Commission.

For a few years a special committee of the City Council (CCOC) worked along side the planning commission (PC) on the zoning rewrite. The Planning Commission would send amendments over to this committee for their review and comment. The CCOC would offer comments back to the PC. Some were incorporated by the PC and some were not. When the PC passed the zoning rewrite on to the City Council, some of the CCOC amendments were incorporated into the rewrite. The Planning Commission --in a memo that is available on the Planning & Zoning Dept website --appreciated some of the changes and opposed others. Some of the amendments referred to in Susan Dorn's email would restore the original Planning Commission language - which in my mind is a good thing. This is just a caution that not all the proposed amendments are last minute and untested. Some of them are the result of years of study by the PC. -Beth Humstone

Planning Commission

FROM: Peter Potts, Chairman, Burlington Planning Commission

DATE: 22 June, 2007

RE: DRAFT Burlington Comprehensive Development Ordinance – PC Comments

6. Buildable Area Calculation removed. The inclusion of a “buildable area

calculation” is a specific recommendation of both the City adopted Open

Space Protection Plan (2000) and Municipal Development Plan (2001 and

2006). This can result in properties with large amounts of unbuildable land to

be substantially overbuilt. This threatens important natural resources and can

result in development that is out of scale with its context. The Commission

supports retaining the proposal from the Commission’s recommended draft.

7. RL Large Lot Overlay District created to allow for larger minimum lot

size of 9,900 sqft in South Cove. The Commission supports this change,

but encourages the Council to also consider other neighborhoods in the City

that may be similarly affected.

The Purpose of the Re-write was to have new zoning reflect the actual development patterns that exist currently in neighborhoods. And, it was supposed to do no harm to these neighborhoods. This was stated in nearly every Re-write mission statement and document. The current on-line Rewrite web page says the following:

...the new ordinance proposes no significant changes in the City's actual land use pattern, or the currently allowed scale or intensity of new development. New development that is respectful of Burlington's character adds vitality to Vermont's largest city. The continued stability and protection of existing neighborhoods and resource areas as they currently are is emphasized throughout for:

· Residential Neighborhoods, and

· Natural Resource and Open Space areas. http://www.ci.burlington.vt.us/planning/cdo/overview.html

and:

The Burlington Legacy Project Action Plan and the 2006 Burlington Municipal Development Plan, and the Open Space Protection Plan each recommend changes to the ordinance to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the permitting process; make the process easier to understand and navigate; clarify and consider expansion of protections for important historic, natural, and cultural resources; and, ensure that the design review process encourages a pattern and scale of development that is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. http://www.ci.burlington.vt.us/planning/cdo/index.html

Amendment 38

Sec. 5.2.4 Buildable Area Calculation to be added as follows:

The intent of this section is to:

- To protect sensitive natural features;

- To prevent overdevelopment of properties that contain sensitive and unbuildable

areas, and ·

- -To ensure that new development fits within the existing scale and intensity of the

surrounding neighborhood.

For any properties two (2) or more acres in size within any RCO, RM, or RL zoning

district, the maximum building density or lot coverage shall be calculated using the

buildable area only. Buildable area shall not include those portions of the property

inundated at least six months per year by water including streams, ponds, lakes, wetlands

and other bodies of water; and, lands with a slope in excess of 30%.

The DRB may, if it determines that the public health, safety and welfare will be

appropriately protected, allow up to 50% of the maximum building density or lot

coverage to be calculated on lands with a slope between 15-30% if the applicant can

demonstrate that the additional density or lot coverage will be compatible within the

existing scale and intensity of the surrounding neighborhood, and not have an undue

negative impact on sensitive natural features.