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South Burlington’s Community Newspaper Since 1977
the MARCH 10, 2022
otherpapersbvt.com
VOLUME 46, NO. 10
Act 250 stalls Higher Ground
Snowy owl
AVALON STYLES-ASHLEY STAFF WRITER
Kim Anderson captured a snowy owl on her camera recently. The occasional winter Vermont visitors live above the Arctic Circle, but sometimes head south in the winter in search of food.
When someone buys a home, usually they put their life savings into it, said James Dumont. He’s a lawyer for 13 neighbors in South Burlington and its sister city who have been fighting the relocation of Higher Ground to the Burton campus in Burlington, in the hopes their neighborhood won’t become another in South Burlington tormented by excessive noise. Those on the music side celebrated a victory in January after a state environmental commission of the natural resources board granted Burton an Act 250 permit for redevelopment of the space, which the company hopes to transform into an entertainment hub. Dumont’s motion to reconsider was denied by the commission in early March, but he plans to file an appeal, which will put Higher Ground’s permit on hold and send the case to the environmental division of Vermont Superior Court. As Vermonters familiar with
Act 250 know, there’s a good chance that won’t wrap up anytime soon. The Burlington development review board first heard the proposal to relocate Higher Ground from its South Burlington home on Williston Road to the Burton campus on Queen City Park Road, which straddles city boundaries, in July 2020. Much of Burton’s plan to create an entertainment hub in Burlington’s artsy south end, anchored by Higher Ground, remains the same: with zoning changed from industrial to mixed commercial, they plan to build an 11,560-squarefoot performing arts center flanked by an outdoor plaza, food court, indoor skate park and more. The new venue would allow larger capacity, with crowds reaching 1,500 — that’s about 400 more than can fit into Higher Ground’s current South Burlington home. At the time, senior vice president of Burton, Justin Worthley, See HIGHER GROUND on page 21
Childs gets second wind after tough year
South Burlington school board elects first Black chair AVALON STYLES-ASHLEY STAFF WRITER
Travia Childs, the first Black woman to serve on the South Burlington School Board, has also just become the first woman of color to lead as its chair. Convening with the three newly elected board members post-Town Meeting Day, fresh-
man member Michelle Boyer started off their inaugural meeting by nominating Childs for the role. “There is no more equitable, antiracist action that we can take than electing Dr. Childs as chair, basing our choice not only on antiracist action, but on her superior qualifications, her perspective and experience as a member of a traditionally marginalized
group and her proven dedication to public service,” Boyer said, before the action was seconded by new member Kate Bailey. “I feel it is time that we do more than talk about equity.” For Childs, who felt like she spent her first year on the board fighting and not doing the antiracist work she meant to do, she said this vote of confidence from her
co-members feels like her second wind. “I’m glad that someone else not of color is taking a stand. It makes a difference when someone else is fighting for you,” Childs said. Shortly after she was elected to her two-year term last March, Childs’ son, a senior at South Burlington High School, report-
ed a teacher for making a racist remark in class, setting off a series of internal and third-party investigations that took a toll on their family’s mental and physical health, Childs has said. She accused the district of prioritizing the teacher, who received a one-day pay deduction and stayed See CHILDS on page 21