Ward 5 NPA — Burlington, VT
Date: 2025-05-15
Time: 18:00

Ward 5 Neighborhood Planning Assembly (NPA):
 Agenda
 Thursday May 15, 2025
 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM​

 Join in person: 645 Pine Street (DPW Building)
  ​ Join virtually: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89574495720
​
Facilitator: Lena Greenberg Note Taker: Prim VanWolvelear


6:30 PM​ Community Dinner​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ | 30 Minutes


7:00 PM​ Welcome + Public Forum​ ​ ​ ​ ​ | 20 Minutes
 ●​ Introductions
 ●​ Open floor for community concerns


7:20 PM​ CDNR NPA Working Group Presentation​ ​ ​ | 20 Minutes
 ●​ Update from the City Council’s CDNR + NPA working group, which more
 clearly defines the relationship between the NPAs and the City
 ●​ Presented by Jonathan Chapple-Sokol and Councilor Carter Neubieser


7:40 PM​ NPA “All Wards” Report​ ​ ​ ​ ​ | 20 Minutes
 ●​ An update from the most recent “All Wards” NPA steering committee
 meeting, on the topic of NPA budgets and city primaries


8:00 PM​ 453 Pine Street Development​ ​ ​ ​ | 30 Minutes
 ●​ Initial planning for a proposed residential development at 453 Pine St, a
 project aiming to continue the urban fabric from the Maltex Building


8:30 PM​ Adjourn

Neighborhood Planning Assembly Draft Minutes
 NPA: ​ Ward
 (choose one) 5

 Date of Assembly :_5/15/25__ Start Time: (Commence): __6:30PM___
 Location: DPW building, 645 Pine St. Finish Time: (Adjourn): __9:06PM___
 Note taker: Primrose VanWolvelear Please forward these official minutes to:
 __npa@burlingtonvt.gov__
Steering Committee Members in Attendance:​
Jason Van Driesche, Cathy Foley, Faried Munarsyah, Jak Tiano, Lena Greenberg, Primrose VanWolvelear
Discussion Topics
●​ City Council resolution regarding
 Actions Taken / Decisions Made
 relationship between NPAs and City
 ●​ NPA voted yes to approve the resolution brought forward by the
 Govenment
 City Council
●​ Report-back from all wards NPA
 ●​ Future (outside of NPA) public meeting promised for further
 meeting
 community discussion regarding 453 Pine Street development
●​ Discussion around proposed 453
 Pine Street development

Agenda Items and Actions:

6:30 PM​ Community Dinner

 ●​ We eat yummy People’s Kitchen food - thanks Faried <3

7:02PM​ Welcome & Public Forum

 ●​ Lena starts the meeting welcoming everyone
 ●​ Signup sheet goes around: everyone who signed in is added to a spreadsheet to be
 emailed a few days before NPA meetings to let them know it’s coming up
 ●​ Praise for People’s Kitchen - give them money!!!
 ●​ ward5npa_btv@googlegroups.com is our email
 ●​ Public forum opens
 ○​ Bram Kleppner
 ■​ Passed around updates and resources on immigrant
 rights/protections/law, as well as premium increases for MVP and Blue
 Cross Blue Shield
 ○​ Ruby
 ■​ Asks that the barge canal (where the building this meeting is being held
 resides) be given a chance to speak - has a video to share – tabled
 ○​ Thomas
 ■​ Grew up in South End
 ■​ Shared the Mycolab community ecological survey regarding the barge
 canal
 ■​ Several important species live here
 ●​ Black Crowned Night Heron whose breeding population is
 imperilled
 ●​ Double Crested Cormorant
 ●​ White and Green Ash trees
 ■​ Mycolab’s work included removing non-native species
 ■​ They are looking to install pollinator habitats and bioremediating plants
 and mushrooms
 ■​ Crust Fungi, Turkey Tail, White Rock Fungi are examples that degrade
 toxins
 ■​ Willows, Poplars, Maples etc. are already there removing heavy metals
 ■​ Suggested Abenaki be included in the process
 ■​ Insisted this site is not appropriate for hosting housing
 ■​ Will post documents in chat about work that has been done
 ■​ Film about this on Saturday May 17th, at 7pm, 19 church st 2nd floor -
 not wheelchair accessible
○​ Greg Stefanski
 ■​ Lives on St Paul street
 ■​ Updates from calahan park crew
 ■​ Working with Max Matalinsky
 ■​ Have 6 park benches that convert to picnic tables being ordered
 ■​ Event coming up to set those up, paint them, enjoying the park
 ■​ Keep an eye on front porch forum
 ■​ Looking for helping hands building those
 ■​ Shoutout Andy for keeping track of details lol
○​ Jason Van Driesche
 ■​ Downtown construction
 ●​ Appreciates the important work being done, but concerned about
 pace of work and impact on businesses
 ●​ Why aren’t they working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week?
 ●​ Would cost more, but real fiscal impact to city and businesses may
 be more than additional cost of upping the pace
 ●​ Wants that calculus to be done
 ○​ How much would it cost to pick up the pace?
 ○​ How much are we losing per month by having such
 disruption downtown?
 ○​ Encourages folks to pursue those questions
 ●​ Another community member asks if Jason knows when it’s set to
 be complete
 ○​ Jak believes it's set to be completed November 2026
 ○​ Jason presumes later street work will be less disruptive
 than sewer work
 ○​ Andy Simon
 ■​ Lives on Locust St
 ■​ Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) authorized
 under legislature act 181
 ●​ People can comment on specific parcels of land and their
 recommended use
 ●​ Deadline for comments on website in Monday, May 19
 ●​ Google “CCRPC” to find the site, there is also a recent Front Porch
 Forum post about CCRPC map
 ●​ Made a comment about 453 Pine St
 ●​ Project at 453 Pine St, May 20th at 5:00 before development
 review board for a sketch plan review
 ○​ Jak Tiano
 ■​ Act 181 Process is revisiting Act 250
 ■​ Is his opinion that these maps don’t make enough room for additional
 housing development in Burlington metro area
 ■​ Recommends looking at CCRPC housing targets and consider where else
 we can plan for growth, if we don’t plan for growth all our housing
 problems are only going to get worse
 ●​ We watched Ruby’s friends of the barge canal video!
 ○​ The city paid for the barge canal land to build the southern connector, which they
 then realized how contaminated the land was
 ●​ Barge Canal - cctv.org - there’s a badass video of nesting geese fighting lol

7:20 PM​ CDNR NPA Working Group Presentation
 ●​ Presented by Jonathan Chapple-Sokol and Councilor Carter Neubieser
 ●​ Part of a larger group working on a resolution relating to the relationship between the
 city and NPAs
 ●​ Resolution gives a clear expectation of the relationship between the city council/city
 bureaucracy and NPAs
 ●​ History: Jonathan has been on Ward 1 steering committee since before Covid, has felt
 like city has been unresponsive to the needs of the NPAs, as well as examples where the
 NPAs have been unresponsive to the needs of the city
 ○​ Him and Lena put together a resolution to present to city council & all NPAs to
 get a group together to formalize the relationship between NPAs and City Council
 ○​ City Council listened, CDNR took it, and organized a working group to hammer
 out definitions, rules of engagement (NOT THE MILITARY he wanted to clarify lol)
 - basically ways we can work together.
 ○​ Lena - NPAs are community run and belong to us, but are also supported by the
 city via funding for food and space rental and Shawny’s support. The ~juice~ here
 is how much jurisdiction the NPAs have.
●​ Jonathan and Carter hope to talk to all wards by the end of June
●​ In the resolution
 ○​ The NPAs are essential to the civic health of our community.
 ○​ The NPAs shall be open and accessible to all city residents and shall abide by
 Open Meeting Law.
 ○​ The NPAs shall adhere to state and local laws regarding anti-discrimination, free
 speech, and accessibility.
 ○​ The NPAs shall adhere to the provisions of their bylaws and decisions shall be
 made in a transparent manner.
 ○​ The NPAs shall expend funds allocated to them by the City Council in a manner
 consistent with the City’s terms, conditions, and restrictions.
 ○​ The NPAs shall set the terms and conditions for their gatherings and shall
 determine their agendas and priorities.
●​ Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) shall
 ○​ Develop a standardized process in collaboration with the NPAs by which each
 NPA can communicate a list of annual priorities to the City Council and City
 Administration
 ○​ Consult with other relevant city staff to develop easily understood materials that
 outline the legal requirements of the NPAs.
 ○​ Consult with other relevant city staff to review and update these materials as
 needed but no less than every three calendar years.
 ○​ Collaborate with NPAs and other relevant city staff to ensure NPAs understand
 the legal requirements of the NPAs.
 ○​ Include a representative, chosen by the NPAs to serve on hiring committees for
 staff roles predominantly focused on supporting and liaising with the NPAs
●​ In this the city council is acknowledging
 ○​ The NPAs play an important role in the city's deliberative process.
 ○​ The advice and counsel received from residents at NPA meetings is valuable and
 important to the City's decision-making process.
 ○​ Individual City Councilors shall be encouraged to regularly attend NPA meetings
 in their respective Ward or District.
●​ The city council shall consult with each NPA on
 ○​ Issues that impact NPA governance and structure before proceeding with
 resolutions and ordinances.
 ○​ Issues that disproportionately impact a particular area of the city.
 ○​ Matters identified by the NPAs as priorities for the current fiscal year.
 ○​ All development projects that require Major Impact Review.
 ○​ Redistricting and changes to ward boundaries and polling places.
 ○​ Proposed charter changes and ballot questions that appear on the Annual Town
 Meeting Day ballot.
●​ Open up for questions/clarifications
 ○​ David suggests NPA be a sort of check and balance on city council
 ■​ The construction is mounting frustration
 ■​ 230 St. Paul St. residents are showing up to NPA
 ■​ Carter is a believer in direct democracy and sees this as an outlet for that
 ○​ How are they planning to make the communication link between NPA and city
 council?
 ■​ Their expectation is for each of our 2 city counselors can speak for
 interests of the ward
 ■​ The last administration moved so rapidly there was no time for proper
 communication
 ■​ No standardized means of communication right now, but that is the goal
 ●​ Will be a charge from City Council to CEDO to do that
 standardization
 ○​ Molly
 ■​ Is there ever a point where representatives from each of the NPAs come
 together to coalesce together
 ●​ Happened last week! XD
 ○​ Jak
 ■​ The need to slow down concerns him - we need to lean in and make
 things happen
 ■​ 2 avenues people see for the NPA
 ●​ 1. A check on city council
 ●​ 2. This is not a space for direct democracy. The NPA can become a
 place to veto the democratically elected council member, which
 he views as anti-democratic.
 ■​ How can we mobilize to be proactive to do more of what we need to do,
 rather than the NPA being used to slow down processes
 ●​ Carter responds: this was born from a time where people said we
 wanted to slow down, but it isn’t inherent. It provides clarity to
 city staff who have more on their plate than they can manage.
 Noted that the NPAs aren’t representative of the wards currently.
 This resolution is an MOU, so it is non-binding.
○​ Lena time checks us like a boss hehe
○​ Jason supports this resolution, and encourages us to think ahead more, tackle
 things early, and assume the best of each other and remember our similarities
 and shared values.
○​ Jonathan clarifies NPAs have no authority, all they can ever do is advise
○​ Diane - ward 6
 ■​ Ward 4 created their own contract for their NPA relationship with the city
 and were in conflict with the city..? Someone clarified it wasn’t ward 4..
○​ David wants to know why other ward NPAs aren’t representative when ours does
 seem to be - tabled for later meeting
○​ Jason moves that ward 5 approves the resolution
 ■​ Faried second
 ■​ No objections
 ■​ Vote: lots of hands raised
 ■​ No opposed
 ■​ One person strictly neutral
 ■​ Passed
8:02 PM​ NPA “All Wards” Report
 ●​ More in the weeds on process and governance
 ○​ How the NPAs are working, what they’re working on, why they are the way they
 are, etc.
 ●​ Talked about how NPA budget is set and distributed amongst different wards
 ○​ Working group was established to think about how to best use the money
 allocated by the city
 ●​ There was talk of if the NPAs want to talk about how we overhaul how we run our city
 election
 ○​ Decided NPAs would not take this project on right now
 ●​ Any member of a steering committee can propose an all-wards meeting
 ●​ Cathy
 ○​ In Ward 5 we spent all our money and got a donation from Ward 8
 ○​ CEDO said all the wards collectively have only spent 44% of the budget this year
 with less than 2 weeks left
 ■​ $24,000 for all 8 wards, $3,000 each
 ○​ How should we spend this money well
 ■​ Advertising to get more people out, community dinners, etc.
 ○​ The meeting was vibrant and not everyone was in agreement, and also Cathy
 praised Lena’s facilitation
8:15 PM​ 453 Pine Street Development
 ●​ Doug Netty, owner of Netty real estate, former Redstone owner
 ○​ Recent projects 79 Pine “the Nest”, office at 77 Pine
 ●​ Alain - Architect Developer
 ○​ Lot of ski resorts, residential buildings over the years
 ○​ The platform of the building is supported by piles that go all the way down to the
 bedrock, would minimize destruction of soil
 ■​ 4 stories of residential
 ■​ Out of 116 units, 18 are inclusionary
 ■​ 2 buildings
 ■​ Many buildings in the neighborhood already industrial brick, the
 proposed buildings reflect this aesthetic
 ■​ There is a 4-story zoning limitation 100 ft from pine st, up to 6 stories
 beyond that. The proposed building is 4 stories plus a podium beneath, so
 basically 5 stories - would require a waiving of the restriction
 ■​ Plaza in between the 2 buildings
 ●​ Scott Mapes
 ○​ Since 2010 state money allocated to evaluation geotechnical quality of the soils
 to inform what can be done from a development perspective
 ○​ 453 Pine is outside barge canal superfund site, it is a “brownfield”, but it has the
 same limitations
 ■​ I.e., you cannot alter or affected the hydrogeological conditions that
 would cause the remedy to fail which would cause the contaminant to
 leak out of the barge canal
 ■​ What building can be built without “loading” (loading meaning pressing
 down on the soil causing leakage of contaminants)
 ■​ There is a limitation that says there should be no residential use on the
 site
 ●​ Added back during superfund hearings based on information
 ●​ The state and EPA are willing to remove this limitation
 ■​ South end has been rezoned to allow residential uses
 ■​ Their testing shows residential use should be acceptable here
 ■​ Just under 5 acres, concentrating development to the Easterly 2/3rds of
 the property
 ●​ East of the “peat line” (see powerpoint)
 ■​ Previous project looked to occupy 80% of 453 Pine St, while this proposed
 project is smaller
 ■​ 116 rental units, 130 parking
 ■​ Looking to replicate the same stormwater runoff patterns as exist on the
 site today
●​ Questions
 ○​ Put gardens, pools, other cool stuff on the roof?
 ■​ A: Problems with height limitations, accessibility - will likely have solar
 panels on roofs
 ○​ Why don’t more lakeside units have balconies?
 ■​ A: All lakeside units do have balconies besides the studios
 ○​ Lucy: Has a lot of concerns about this project. Thinks this site is not a good site
 because of the fragility of the land. No matter what you do around protecting the
 soil, it puts people at risk. Wants to know the affordability considerations.
 ■​ 15% of units will be affordable, based on city’s definition
 ○​ How much soil will need to be removed and where will it go to?
 ■​ A: 2 feet under everything being built - foundation, parking, etc. - soil will
 be taken to Coventry landfill.
 ●​ How to prevent contaminating wherever it's brought?
 ○​ Susan Rivers: 40 years ago they were gonna build the southern connector, but it
 stopped because the barge canal was contaminated. How come we can have
 housing for humans that is contaminated, how do we know ~right here~ is where
 it stops?
 ■​ A: The site could not support that weight. There has been found through
 geotechnical studies where the non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL)
 contaminants are. Studies over the last 15 years have shown
 development can safely occur on this site.
○​ Andy: Could we have another meeting not under NPA auspices, another
 community meeting to answer questions about this process?
 ■​ A: Yes they can do that.
 ●​ Andy’s comment: This is not a good place for housing. There are
 plenty of sites in this area who aren’t on wetland and forest sites
 that are at risk. In favor of finding another site for housing in this
 area
○​ Carolynn Bates: Strongly feels there are more places to build more freely,
 creatively, sustainably, and not have to worry about high insurances that this site
 has. Commends the desire to build, but strongly encourages them to build
 somewhere else in Ward 5. 15 “affordable” units is not nearly enough. More
 affordable housing, not more high-end housing. We should leave this land as
 parks/woodland. We should build an observation tower!!
○​ Thomas: Finds it irresponsible to develop this land. What would you do for
 potential residents in terms of letting them know their potential risks of living
 there?
 ■​ A: Will be part of a corrective action plan the state approves. A notice to
 residents.
○​ Jak: Pine St. is a key transit corridor, including the best walking/biking paths. Pine
 St.#5 bus is one of the strongest in the network. The small parking lot to the
 south end of the property will create a curb cut that will disrupt the
 walking/biking path. Suggests using the curb cut at the Maltex building.
 Dismayed at the number of parking spaces, wonders if there’s a way to be more
 aggressive to minimize the amount of parking.
 ■​ Response: Basing this building on market demand. If the appetite for DRB
 (?) has opportunity under section 549 to reduce that
○​ Lena: Doesn’t understand why this is considered a safe place to house people.
 Living on top of a toxic waste site seems so poorly considered. We should be
 building housing that is smart. We should be building for longevity, this is not
 forward thinking development. We don’t have time to build housing that doesn’t
 make sense.
 ■​ Response: There’s no finagling, this project is going through a lot of
 scrutiny by the EPA and state. If there were concern if this was
 appropriate use, it wouldn’t be happening. The soils in this site are no
 different than what was in city hall park. The main concern is consuming
 the soils. After the site is remediated, it will be safe.
○​ Cathy: This is a well thought out project, fits well with development of Pine St.
 She is supportive of this project.
○​ Question: Are units for sale and rental?
 ■​ A: Only renting, not buying
 ○​ Were the soils from city hall park had to be deposited in a lined landfill?
 ■​ A: yes
 ○​ Clarifying point: this was all a part of a superfund site, it was taken out in the 90s
 ■​ Developers: the reason it was removed is because it is different than the
 rest of the barge canal superfund site.
 ●​ When it was removed, it was removed on request of the
 landowner, not because there had been extensive studies, but
 because it was not salable land if it was in the superfund site.
 ○​ Developers: it is distinguished in that it has been studied
 significantly, and it is different geotechnically and
 ecologically than the rest of the land around it.
 ○​ Bram: they had to haul away soil to build the new city market as well, and he
 feels safe buying food there.
 ■​ A: A requirement of the project is that it won't change the hydrogeologic
 conditions of the site. The same amount of runoff will be managed so its
 discharge will mimic how it currently is.
 ○​ What is the intention of the mitigation monies from state and feds, and what will
 happen with long term monitoring?
 ■​ A: Part of the correct action plan requires funding for long-term
 monitoring. The obligation continues to rest on the owner into
 perpetuity. The costs for the previous proposed project’s corrective action
 plan exceeded what this project would be because it was more expansive.
 ○​ Abby: Children don’t understand where a property line is, and they are going to
 explore that forest and will eat the soil. How can you ensure children won’t be
 harmed by living on this site?
 ●​ Another neighborhood meeting will be held on this project.
9:06 PM​ Adjourn