[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,86],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6243290,"mediaKeyId","3240965-9e387b79054aa6ed1e05bc36dbaccc5c","parentId",3240965,"title","Resident at planning commission meeting urges denser downtown, warns current plan undercounts density and flags walkability concerns","audioSeconds",181,"startMs",109000,"endMs",290000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3240965-9e387b79054aa6ed1e05bc36dbaccc5c&start=109&end=290","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3240965-9e387b79054aa6ed1e05bc36dbaccc5c/thumbnail_109000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6243290/South-Burlington-City/Chittenden-County/Vermont/Resident-at-planning-commission-meeting-urges-denser-downtown-warns-current-plan-undercounts-density-and-flags-walkability-concerns","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6243290-cb281040ff556d4b49cbd3500218ab89/orig.mp4?Expires=1771205227&Signature=TuJDrJtIsEi2n0kgZE7AfsOlF8dxK2M4k0g3Kg2Ub7Nw4MWy1O3ztO43mHdMUr~u9uaQt4kb7aiAW4fYwZcRY9x5kBPn8L3lFj4LiVazSTIALFPf0wvFZ168KJMizisX4yKug1K6JA6ukKIo87okQbapu3YK~ZH6oygN53riDfQDepmHnblLwAaHzynK7M0iJBFrfud4SrfeQLm0OY4~9Mg1mhZwYfkwP3xcNL8nEblFTIWpQOtU~NaxOHGNR5MF7ebY3SkPQM4rENFHaJDfbhwDfcCNkRbWnCSFa8mC2WMbb26pYG8Xotlv81bcBieeAP~VTh28C01LMmZmur8xSg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","South Burlington City, VT","date","2025-05-08T17:28:20Z","article","A resident who addressed the South Burlington Planning Commission during public comment urged commissioners to support denser development in the downtown planning area and criticized the way density has been calculated in recent planning documents.

The speaker said the current density figures \"are too low\" for a downtown and that the calculation appeared to exclude stormwater treatment areas: \"If you're not including the stormwater treatment areas, then you're not taking the actual density into account. The density ... is low,\" the resident said.

The commenter acknowledged design work that supports walkability but cautioned that much of Shelburne Road and parts of Dorset Street are vehicle-dominant corridors where truck and delivery access is important. \"This is not a place for people. That's a place for cars,\" the resident said, citing an example of large delivery trucks serving a grocery store. At the same time the speaker urged the commission to ensure interior blocks and secondary streets are designed for people to walk and to allow enough vehicular flow where needed.

The resident also thanked commissioners for previous questions and answers at earlier meetings and urged commissioners to continue rigorous review of consultant work and assumptions. The comment concluded with a call to make future development financially sustainable so it can cover ongoing costs.

The planning commission did not act on any regulatory change during public comment; commissioners later discussed the CCRPC draft map in the substantive portion of the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","South Burlington Planning Commission - 1/28/2025","oneSentenceSummary","During public comment a resident urged the commission to plan for higher downtown densities, criticized how density calculations excluded stormwater treatment areas, and stressed the need to balance vehicular flow with walkability for future infill.","taxTitle","South Burlington City, Chittenden County, Vermont","taxId",2752,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6243295,"Draft regional future land-use map for South Burlington highlights Shelburne Road node and flags Tech Park for further review",0,3420000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3240965-9e387b79054aa6ed1e05bc36dbaccc5c&start=3420&end=3420","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3240965-9e387b79054aa6ed1e05bc36dbaccc5c/thumbnail_3420000.jpg","/articles/6243295/South-Burlington-City/Chittenden-County/Vermont/Draft-regional-future-land-use-map-for-South-Burlington-highlights-Shelburne-Road-node-and-flags-Tech-Park-for-further-review","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6243295-1ceff0a9e2d3b64732db77bacbe54c0c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771205227&Signature=dNgEVJisvXRTMC2PULCLvm6AWfjnq9i~CbCBHbkVVF9LIMFybzI9ixGBwwN8momYL~2S6e-1c1ADS8ay18T-WjtP0BE~rIg4zutf07rkgDd3FI3CD6NeKhl8y~rMHEnq~TpVosDUquw44n3Ax-Js~XhvP9hsCMi7tlIVk1hoarsfOFjexoaECrn1uSwK5a1d1~lpZPQ7WRiTW~4QfEZMIdmUfhWyz3kzwbJPZDgf-908-pqnklmmbQ7dpGMLAtsaGndhG7Nnhq3HfVe9JHyv5DH019pYlGcNAd-A7FRCd-aNifV6rZnj-fYK~eeKOboqty-ErRSUpiMWzf~OpT9v4g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Regional planners showed the South Burlington Planning Commission a draft future land-use map that uses the statutory 11-category scheme under Act 181 and asked for initial feedback on several potential centers and planned-growth areas.

Kate McCarthy of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission displayed the draft map and said, \"This is 1 idea\" for how the region's categories might translate to South Burlington. Taylor Newton said the RPC had translated municipal policies into regional categories but expected to refine boundaries after local input.

The map identifies the city's downtown corridor and adjacent planned growth areas in darker purples and pinks. CCRPC staff highlighted three areas for discussion:

- A proposed node along Shelburne Road centered on Fayette Drive and the Lowe's/Hannaford corridor, where staff noted existing approvals and master plans, transit service and sewer/water infrastructure. Staff and several commissioners said the area lacks a public indoor gathering space and suggested a civic or branch-library-type facility could anchor a new center.

- A Kennedy/Kimball area (including O'Brien developments) that staff currently mapped as a planned-growth area but which commissioners said may warrant identification as a center because of existing mixed-use approvals and proximity to dense residential neighborhoods.

- The Tech Park/Meadowlands area (including Meadowlands, Gregory Drive and portions behind the airport), which staff flagged as ambiguous: it includes office, manufacturing and logistics uses (for example, a FedEx facility). Commissioners noted 24-hour or heavy truck operations that complicate straightforward conversion to residential uses and urged a focused local planning process before any state-tier recommendation.

Commissioners and public participants raised data and boundary questions: conserved lands, wetland and floodplain delineations, up-to-date sewer-service areas, and how the RPC's regional \"pixels\" will mesh with more detailed municipal habitat-block and conservation mapping. CCRPC staff said municipal plans and local regulations would govern site-level protections for wetlands or steep slopes even if an area appears on the regional map as a planned growth area.

Staff said they will update the draft map with corrections raised at the meeting, refine the outreach plan to reach renters and underrepresented groups and make the mapped draft publicly available for review in March. The RPC also plans targeted outreach at summer events and partner organizations and to bring revised maps back to the commission and council.","CCRPC presented a draft future land-use map for South Burlington showing the downtown center/newtown center area, a proposed node along Shelburne Road at Fayette Drive, suggested nodes near Kennedy/Kimball, and questions about the Tech Park/Meadowlands zone; commissioners and staff discussed next steps and outreach.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6243300,"State—law Act 181 reshapes regional planning; RPC outlines Act 250 exemptions and municipal housing targets to South Burlington planning commission",888,497000,1385000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3240965-9e387b79054aa6ed1e05bc36dbaccc5c&start=497&end=1385","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3240965-9e387b79054aa6ed1e05bc36dbaccc5c/thumbnail_497000.jpg","/articles/6243300/South-Burlington-City/Chittenden-County/Vermont/Statelaw-Act-181-reshapes-regional-planning-RPC-outlines-Act-250-exemptions-and-municipal-housing-targets-to-South-Burlington-planning-commission","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6243300-304186a25061dc500eaae49f0f3c7274/orig.mp4?Expires=1771205227&Signature=AP~18VrETGwpdDsom8XcRBU6DFfpukPdkvlbBLiwya9VU7FZl1aSr4Px9jP2we08yrzjDnoFCpOndU8ISCvTo2-x6s1gJqxXEbEwY4qDoiZz5XZNouUQBWgu3ztR64wu-JRJCuxWsjubUugFl7066NBDJdNpP4HdbNyszku87YM2rxWo3xIBDFra6JXCmFwtJrEwCVjiGjfnwyAy0C2g9aR9lGS1v8I8nIOqGTHOlssVulan4hv0kKq1kEVG3GdZ~lyGdnpAKg7p67T0YT5-hcYhSzaZwL-tjuyCUpFIQQTE54TQqwszQbzj08z3QnNe6Ia~7eR-K6oXJjyn5t-Iqw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission told the South Burlington Planning Commission on Tuesday that the new state law known as Act 181 standardizes regional future land-use categories and links those categories to state designation programs and to changes in Act 250 review.

CCRPC Senior Planner Kate McCarthy said the law \"builds on a long standing planning role\" to preserve compact settlement patterns and to promote housing options. She said regional future land-use maps will use a single set of 11 categories defined in statute and that those categories will translate into state designations such as downtowns and neighborhood development areas.

The change moves part of the designation step from a state board process to the regional planning level: once a regional future land-use map is approved by the state Land Use Review Board, centers identified on the RPC map become state-designated centers, McCarthy said. The Department of Housing and Community Development will still administer grants and tax-credit programs.

The meeting covered how Act 181 interacts with Act 250. Taylor Newton, planning program director at CCRPC, described interim, location-based exemptions the legislature created to accelerate housing while RPCs complete mapping. He cited the current interim thresholds: residential projects of up to 75 units within a new town center and up to 50 units in a transit corridor may be exempt from Act 250 under interim rules. Newton said the interim measures last through the period the legislature set to allow RPC mapping to proceed.

Newton also summarized the proposed tiered approach under Act 250 reform: \"Tier 1a is full Act 250 exemption\" if a municipality meets eligibility criteria and applies, he said; tier 1b offers partial local enforcement options. He said tier 3 would represent areas of increased Act 250 oversight for regionally or statewide significant natural resources, and the Land Use Review Board will define those areas through a separate rulemaking process.

On housing targets, CCRPC staff said the state recently provided a range of regional targets and that the commission will disaggregate a regional number to municipal targets. Newton recapped the range released for Chittenden County (roughly 17,000 to 47,000 new dwelling units by 2050, with a middle estimate the RPC used of about 31,000) and described a simplified methodology the RPC used in preliminary work: dividing municipalities into three buckets (urban, rural and mixed) and applying different weights tied to infrastructure and centers. He said staff will re-run the methodology with the official regional target, post draft municipal targets in March for public review and adjust the approach if necessary.

Commission members asked how municipal plans and zoning interact with exemptions. Newton and McCarthy said municipalities may choose whether to seek exemptions for eligible areas, that tier 1a requires certain local criteria (for example, zoning and design standards) and that local regulations still apply to on-the-ground issues such as wetlands or steep slopes. McCarthy emphasized that the RPC map operates at a regional granularity while municipalities retain authority to be more specific in their local plans and regulations.

Staff outlined the next steps and timing: CCRPC expects to release draft maps and targets for public comment in March, continue outreach through spring and to return to local commissions and councils in the months before a final regional plan is submitted. Newton said the council-level decision about whether to pursue tier 1b eligibility would likely come this summer.

The planning commission did not take formal action on the maps or targets at the meeting; the body approved routine minutes later in the agenda.","Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission staff told the South Burlington Planning Commission that Act 181 standardizes regional future land-use categories, changes the designation process and creates interim and potential permanent Act 250 exemptions; staff also described the process and timing for municipal housing targets.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Resident at planning commission meeting urges denser downtown, warns current plan undercounts density and flags walkability concerns

Draft regional future land-use map for South Burlington highlights Shelburne Road node and flags Tech Park for further review

State—law Act 181 reshapes regional planning; RPC outlines Act 250 exemptions and municipal housing targets to South Burlington planning commission