Planning Commission

SOUTH BURLINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION 11 MARCH 2025 The South Burlington Planning Commission held a regular meeting on Tuesday, 11 March 2025, at 7:00 p.m., in Room 301, City Hall, 180 Market Street, and via Zoom. MEMBERS PRESENT: J. Louisos, Chair; M. Mittag, P. Engels, Acting Chair; D. Leban, C. Laurence, H. Riehle ALSO PRESENT: P. Conner, Director of Planning and Zoning; K. Peterson, City Planner; T. Barritt, L. Kingsbury, R. Doyle 1. Instructions on exiting the building in case of an emergency: Mr. Engels provided instructions on emergency exit from the building. 2. Agenda: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items: Members agreed to move item #8 to follow Announcements. 3. Open to the public for items not related to the Agenda: Mr. Doyle suggested read up on what “walkability” means. He felt the city shouldn’t invest in Williston Road and Dorset Street as there is no way they can be considered a “downtown.” He noted that neither Trader Joe’s not Barnes & Noble face Dorset St. 4. Planning Commissioner announcements and staff report: Mr. Conner noted the new City website. The new map viewer has been updated and is easier to use. All City projects are now in one area, and there is a page for LDR amendments. Mr. Conner also noted that the City budget was passed by the voters. PAGE 1  5. Land Development Regulations Edit to “Educational Facility”: Mr. Mittag asked if the proposed language has the same legal effect as the prior language. Ms. Peterson said the only change is the one sentence which says this applies only to post-secondary schools. She clarified that the whole section in which this appears applies only to the I-A District. Mr. Mittag moved to include the proposed language as drafted in the next round of amendments to the Land Development Regulations. Ms. Leban seconded. Motion passed with all present voting in favor. 6. Form Based Code: Heights: Mr. Mittag said that in the TND, the regulations require a mix of housing types. He asked whether in Form Based Code (FBC) they should think about a mix of apartment types (e.g., studio, 1 bedroom, etc.). He felt this would add to the diversity of the area. Mr. Laurence questioned how to make such a regulation that isn’t too restrictive. It might make it harder to develop. Ms. Leban said the question is how the market looks at it. She noted there are cooperatives that favor singles and young couples who like that concept as it may have more common spaces. Mr. Laurence asked if there is a way to write FBC to get something like what is allowed in non-FBC areas. Ms. Peterson said that is T-3 housing. Mr. Laurence said that could provide the diversity instead of having it all in one building. Ms. Leban said the real estate market doesn’t like to be told what to build; they know what the market is. She noted one building that was supposed to be 5 stories but is only 4 because the developer didn’t want to build 5. Mr. Engels asked why they are talking about 14 stories. Ms. Peterson said staff looked at a number of buildings. 17 or 18 stories looked “big.” 14 still blends with what is around it. She noted there would also be a height limit. The first floor would be commercial. Mr. Conner said Market Street and Dorset Street from Healthy Living to Williston Road would be T-5, and San Remo, UMall, the old Alpine Shop, and behind Staples Plaza would be T-4. Ms. Leban wanted to see this in 3-dimensions. She raised the question of what a building would be shadowing and noted that if you build a tall building across PLANNING COMMISSION [DATE] | PAGE 2 from City Hall, the solar panels won’t work. People also complain if their house is blocked and is in shadows. Ms. Leban also noted that parking will be a real restriction. Ms. Peterson said the builders can make those decisions. Mr. Conner said there is a study now on what a private/public parking structure could look like. Ms. Riehle asked where the City responds to open space/dog park space for a 14- story building. Mr. Conner said the site amenities amount goes up as the square footage increases. Ms. Riehle commented that several 14-story buildings would mean a lot of people. Ms. Peterson said that is being considered in the Parks & Recreation Master Plan. Mr. Laurence said the parking maximums for residential are set very high (2 per unit). He suggested 1.5 for a one-bedroom and 2 for additional bedrooms. Ms. Louisos said she would like to see a visualization before she would agree that 14 is the right number of stories. Ms. Leban said a tall building that is thin has less impact than a massive building. Ms. Peterson responded that this is the reason for the building standards. Ms. Leban said she wouldn’t want to see those buildings divided into “black and white boxes.” She also noted there is no language regarding architectural ornamentation. Mr. Conner showed a 3-D rendering of what exists today. He then showed what a 14-story building would look like in that setting. He then added other buildings of varying heights. Ms. Riehle said it would look less massive with deeper setbacks. Ms. Leban said more sustainable buildings tend to have small footprints. Mr. Conner then showed the end of Market Street with a multi-story building with a 12-foot stepback after 3 stories. Mr. Doyle said that before you have a building like that you have to have a sidewalk with street trees and parking spaces. Mr. Conner asked if the Commission was ready to have the public look at this. Mr. Conner suggested reducing the height and then adding to it where there is affordable housing. Ms. Peterson asked what the maximum height is that members would be comfortable with. Ms. Leban said they should first get feedback from the Fire Department as to what they are comfortable with. Ms. Peterson said the same applies to larger developers. PLANNING COMMISSION [DATE] | PAGE 3 Mr. Mittag was OK with 14 stories but not 16. Ms. Riehle wanted to see a 3-D presentation to see what it would look like. She suggested saying 12 stories with a maximum for affordable housing of 14. Ms. Louisos was more comfortable with 10 and 12. Mr. Laurence was comfortable with 14 that could go to 15 or 16. He suggested starting with a high number so if there is pushback they can reduce it. Mr. Mittag suggested going narrower as the building goes up. 7. Form-Based Code: Street Hierarchies: Ms. Louisos stressed the need to consider “place making” and streets going through. Mr. Conner showed a map with street types. The function of a tertiary street could have pedestrian amenities added to it. It could also enable more fill over time. Mr. Conner also indicated potential shared use paths where there could be buildings. The aim is to separate the street type from its function and role. Mr. Laurence liked that concept. Ms. Leban said a tertiary street could serve different functions at different times of day. They may not always be through streets or could be pedestrian only. She wouldn’t curb those streets in order to keep speeds down. Mr. Laurence agreed. Ms. Leban suggested that a landscape architectural firm could have some input when you’re changing from one kind of road to another. Mr. Conner cited the need to remember the scale of this. They are 600-foot lengths of road with uncontrolled vehicle access. Breaks are needed to accommodate vehicles. Mr. Conner then addressed San Remo Drive and said there is a planned road through there which, staff is hearing, is a major impediment to development there. He suggested there could be a way to connect Mayfair Park to City Center if the City works with the Diocese. Mr. Laurence asked about potential roundabouts and suggested they could make Williston Road and Dorset Street more feasible. 8. Draft Article 8: Ms. Peterson said staff is still working on the draft. There are recommendations from the DRB staff as well. There will be another version of this at the next meeting. PLANNING COMMISSION [DATE] | PAGE 4 Ms. Louisos said with semi-private balconies she wanted to be sure the entire amenity requirement isn’t made up with balconies. Ms. Peterson said 50% of the amenity can be balconies; the remainder has to be something else. Ms. Louisos said the same should be true for indoor common areas; there should be something outside. Mr. Conner said they could propose an outdoor amenity percentage. Ms. Leban said what they are listing regarding building breaks may be too limiting. She stressed that good buildings do something exciting. She did not want to limit creativity. She suggested something like street furniture which feels more like a pedestrian space. Ms. Peterson said that has been drafted but is not yet finished. 9. Meeting Minutes of 26 February 2025: It was not that there was a reference to Mr. Leban which should be Ms. Leban. Mr. Mittag then moved to approve the Minutes of 26 February as amended. Ms. Leban seconded. Motion passed with all present voting in favor. 10. Other Business: No other business was presented. As there was no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned by common consent at 9:08 p.m. ___________________________________ Clerk PLANNING COMMISSION [DATE] | PAGE 5