Flordia bound
60 years
Airport anounces, new carrier, flignhts
Alpine Shop celebrates milestone this month
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South Burlington’s Community Newspaper Since 1977
the NOVEMBER 16, 2023
Existing rentals exempted from regs
otherpapersbvt.com
VOLUME 47, NO. 46
A bed for every child
COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
As the work on South Burlington’s rental registry and short-term rental regulation continues, city officials are planning on exempting active short-term rentals from a new ordinance that tries to rein in the activity. The draft ordinance, brought for discussion for the fourth time this year, comes with new tweaks, including a reworking of the annual fee charged to property owners, and an exemption of current short-term rentals in the city. “My read of the temperature the last time we were together is that that’s the direction council was looking to go, so we created an exemption until that property is sold and then it would no longer be eligible to be used as a short-term rental,” Steven Locke, chief of the city’s fire department, said. Since January, Locke and other officials have working to create a registry for the city’s 3,500 apartment units. Coupled with that are regulations targeting short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. Residents in the city have asked the council to address what they say is an unregulated business in primarily residential areas. Councilor Meaghan Emery, a primary sponsor of the regulations, says she remains concerned by residents who have said that they “bought their homes in a residential neighborhood and are finding themselves surrounded by commercial properties.” There are only about 65 active shortterm rentals in the city, according to data See SHORT-TERM RENTALS on page 13
COURTESY PHOTO
Faith United Methodist Church Holiday Bazaar to benefit Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a local Vermont organization dedicated to make sure every child has a bed to sleep upon, raised $6,000 for the group.
Larkin Terrace project to feature housing COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Continued development on Shelburne Road could bring more than 250 new residential units to the area that formerly housed the former Larkin Terrace building. The project is a continuation of a master plan development off Shelburne Road at the site and plans submitted to the South Burlington Development Review Board reveal nine new buildings in four phases, with 287 new residential units. The plans also call for a 110-room Residence Inn Marriott, as well as 3,500 square feet of new commercial space. The plans were first submitted in February, with continued review board hearings on the project.
“The master planning process is about trying to find a way to answer a couple of needs,” developer Joe Larkin said. “There’s a need for housing and there’s probably a need for hospitality at that end of town, and to do that in a way that is thoughtful, and that creates a sense of place.” Improvements to the southeast portion of the property would include a community garden area and potentially a dog park. “The concept for the master plan is really to continue the precedent that the first building established on the corner, where each building addresses the street creating a compact, active mixed-use neighborhood that is pedestrian oriented and encourages walking and biking,” said Jeff Hodgson, a partner with Wagner and Hodgson Landscape Architecture. “Outdoor spaces will
be integrated into the neighborhood for outdoor dining and recreation.” The project comes as recent news of the Palace 9 closure on the property — leaving the Majestic 10 in Williston and the Roxy in downtown Burlington the remaining theaters in the area. First opened some three decades ago, the cinema complex aired its final film last week on Nov. 9. There is interest in the building space for use of a recreation space and indoor skating rink. Larkin said the company, ELEV802, is in the process of filing a change of use application for the facility. But architects with the project also said during a development review board meeting that there is interest in potentially having a smaller theater venue in the commercial space.