City Council

southburlington VERMONT SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL 10 APRIL 2025 The South Burlington City Council held a special meeting on Thursday, 10 April 2025, at 10: 00 a. m., in Room 301, 180 Market Street, and by Zoom. MEMBERS PRESENT: T. Barritt, Chair; E. Fitzgerald, L. Smith, A. Chalnick, M. Scanlan ALSO PRESENT: J. Baker, City Manager; Chief S. Locke, Deputy City Manager; P. Conner, Director of Planning & Zoning; A. Dabrowski, Data Manager; P. Taylor, R. Doyle, B. Lowe 1. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 2. Instructions on exiting building in case of emergency and review of technology option: Ms. Baker provided instructions on emergency exit from the building and reviewed technology options. 3. Additions, deletions or changes in the order of Agenda items: No changes were made to the Agenda. 4. Comments and questions from the public not related to the agenda: There were no public comments or questions. 5. Discussion of a future growth management plan or process including a discussion of a potential partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Design Studio: PAGE 1 Ms. Baker said staff has been discussing what this could look like as a process. She referred to a memo prepared and included with the agenda in which staff outlined a proposed process to complete a growth management plan. Mr. Chalnick said that although the city determines how it will grow, there are no limits on growth. He questioned what the city will look like in 10 or 25 years with no limits on growth. He cited unique attributes in the city, and he would like those to continue. Mr. Barritt said as you grow, you grow out of a certain resource ( e. g., water, sewer, fire trucks, land, etc.). A path is needed to get to a place in the future where growth equals the city' s ability to handle it. He added " more people creates the need for more people." Mr. Scanlan said the goal is to find balance while acknowledging that people in our community have different needs or interests. Nothing is static, so it' s about managing change. Both growth and no growth have costs. He applauded the City staff' s work to make this a deliberate process. This will help us to understand how to achieve balance. Mr. Smith said Salem, New Hampshire has an almost " Disneyland concept" of a kind of fabricated development that attracts people, but it has no sense of community, and you could drop it into any state. The contrast is parts of Oregon which have unique qualities. He said they need to look at the costs of development because more tax base does not equal lower taxes. Ms. Fitzgerald said she has sat in on Planning Commission and Housing Committee meetings and has heard that the target from the State is for South Burlington to produce 7500 new housing units in 25 years. She said schools are a tipping point in this, particularly the need for a new high school. She also felt the Council can play a critical role by being transparent to the community. She noted that people are attracted to South Burlington for a number of reasons — schools, open space, quality of life, employment, etc., and the city needs to continue to provide those values. Mr. Chalnick then reviewed some things that can be measured: traffic, noise, pollution, etc. Knowing that data can help decide where the city wants to be. Mr. Barritt asked if there is a " full buildout scenario." Mr. Conner said there is not; the City can always grow. CITY COUNCIL 10 APRIL 2025 PAGE 2 Ms. Baker said what staff was trying to propose is a study of where the City has been, what the goals are, and what the tipping points are. There are 2 different approaches: an " outcome approach" and a" process approach." She asked Councilors how they would like to approach a plan. Mr. Smith said he felt they go hand in hand and balance together. Growth doesn' t mean you are continually spreading out. There also needs to be a certain density of population to get public transit to work. He has heard that this is 7 per acre, and there is nowhere at that density in the city now. Ms. Baker replied that the City has done a lot to shape what Mr. Smith is suggesting. In theory, the City Plan is " what you want to be when you grow up." Mr. Chalnick suggested studying: a. If we do this... this will happen b. If we do that... this will happen After that, you pick from menus. Mr. Conner said the Planning Commission had a similar conversation from their perspective: " what investments are needed for " x" more people" ( e. g., parks, a second Library, etc.), and the forms of development which will add to/ detract from the City' s ability to afford those investments. Mr. Barritt said there is a magnet for people to come to South Burlington, but they can' t afford to come now. Mr. Scanlan said the City needs housing that brings new options. How we handle planning and zoning will also impact the type of businesses we attract, and whether they reflect our values. Things should not be put forward as an either- or choice. The way forward should be data- driven, rather than based on assumptions. The city is fortunate to have a staff with a wide range of knowledge, which will help the Council make informed choices. Ms. Baker then returned to the staff memo from the Agenda packet which stresseda focus on building a more resilient community. She drew attention to the four bullet points of what " resiliency" means: CITY COUNCIL 10 APRIL 2025 PAGE 3  a. Fiscal resiliency in which new development brings in resources that can cover additional needed service b. Financial resiliency which allow residents and businesses to thrive c. Social resiliency which provides experiences so that the community " knows itself" d. Environmental resiliency ( e. g., stormwater, open space, preservation of resources, etc.) Mr. Conner noted that measurements of " quality of life" will be different for different people, so there is no " right" or " wrong." Mr. Smith said he understands the costs. What is important is managing the costs by anticipating and planning for them. Mr. Scanlan questioned how to sustain those costs and cited the need to address costs in a predictable way. Mr. Barritt said one major issue is what the school tax will do in the next 20 years. Mr. Smith said it is unfortunate that the University of Pennsylvania option is no longer there. He felt it could have provided an idea of what people want. Ms. Fitzgerald wanted to hear from staff the thinking that went into the option in the staff memo. Chief Locke said the challenge is knowing the Council' s direction when staff is hearing different directions from the Council. Mr. Smith said Council members have different perceptions of what a path forward is.He didn' t feel they were fundamentally incompatible and could be put together to get a broad perspective. Mr. Chalnick said a third option could be " slower growth." Ms. Baker stressed that it is the Council' s obligation to determine how staff is going to work, so the Council needs to come to a high level of agreement. Mr. Smith said he would like to see a synthesis of what staff started and was heard from Council today that would pull it all together. Mr. Chalnick said he would like to see measurements for " quality of life." CITY COUNCIL 10 APRIL 2025 PAGE 4 Mr. Conner asked Council members to think of what " form" of growth looks like. He said growth is not only numerical; what happens with growth is only partly controllable. The form of growth is controllable. Mr. Smith said there are tensions with anything the Council creates. He cited infill" as an example and said there are communities where people like their neighborhoods the way they are now. The question is how to do things over time that is respectful of that. Mr. Scanlan reiterated that there are always trade- offs; no growth means a steady increase in the price of services. The goal is to find balance. Mr. Chalnick suggested 0. 5% housing growth as " slow growth." Ms. Baker suggested that this would require the Council to constrain growth. Mr. Smith said there is evidence that the future may not be based on what happened in the past. Ms. Baker agreed with that on a global scale. South Burlington will always be positioned between Burlington and the Airport. If the city " that, South Burlington will become a further economically constrains" stratified community. Mr. Scanlan said that it is part of the " quality of life" we had come to expect in South Burlington, but the key is to keep it affordable. Our last two budget cycles showed how difficult that will be. We thus need to build in financial resilience to keep the City affordable. How can we prevent our community from becoming gentrified? Ms. Baker then said that in Vermont, denser communities have higher taxes because of more services such as a recreation center, overnight policing, a bridge over the Interstate, etc. Mr. Barritt said the housing that the City builds determines the impact on schools. There is a variety of housing in the City ( e. g., expensive, less expensive, single- family, apartments, etc.). Mr. Scanlan agreed, but said the goal is to maintain that diversity of housing stock; however, if the affordability issues are not managed, they will not be the case. Mr. Conner raised the question of how this conversation relates on a county- wide basis. He cited the need to focus resources beyond South Burlington but spread so thin it diminishes quality of life. CITY COUNCIL 10 APRIL 2025 PAGE 5 Ms. Baker said staff can do some work to try to synthesize what was heard today. Some quality of life things may need outside help. She suggested possibly bringing something to the Steering Committee as well. Mr. Chalnick suggested another City Council session before sharing with the School Board. 6. Discussion of emerging issues and planning for the upcoming FY26 Policy Priorities and Strategies process: Ms. Fitzgerald asked whether they should consider impacts to the City from what is going on at the federal level ( e. g., food shelf, fuel assistance) as this could affect revenues. Ms. Baker said the good news is that the City got the second bridge grant obligated yesterday ($ 9, 000, 000). That does not mean they will get the money, however. There are also 2 federally funded public safety positions, and it is uncertain as to whether the State would continue to fund those positions. There is a question as to what information exists as a resource. Mr. Lowe said he didn' t think that information exists on a State level; however, it does make sense for the City to know what the risks are. Mr. Chalnick asked if staff could provide an update regarding " current events." Mr. Chalnick then suggested changing the timing of signals at bike/ ped crossing so crossers don' t have to wait so long. Mr. Barritt disagreed and said that would cause backups of hundreds of cars. People should push the button an wait their turn. Ms. Fitzgerald said she would like to see interaction between committees continue. Ms. Baker said the City Council can help facilitate that, and committee chairs support it. She also reminded members that the next round of committee appointments is coming up. Members suggested holding another " retreat" session on the afternoon of May 7th 7. Other Business: No other business was brought forth. CITY COUNCIL 10 APRIL 2025 PAGE 6 As there was no further business to come before the Council Mr. Chalnick moved to adjourn. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 12: 05 p. m. Clerk CITY COUNCIL 10 APRIL 2025 PAGE 7