SB mulls conservation easement at Hubbard
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
The South Burlington City Council last week directed its staff to explore a permanent conservation easement in certain areas of the 60-acre Hubbard Recreation and Natural Area.
“That parcel is a gem in the city. I believe it has some very old forest area, some of the oldest in the county,” council chair Tim Barritt said, adding that he would like to see everything in the east section of the property, to some degree, conserved.
The city purchased the property, formerly known as the Underwood Property, in 2013 using $1.7 million of open space funds. The Underwood Task Force was formed a year later to develop a vision for the parcel, which involved public engagement that culminated in two reports: a 2015 Vision Framework and a 2018 Master Plan.
Both council-adopted plans outlined guiding principles, areas of focus and conceptual plans for the open space. Several suggestions include maintaining a mix of natural resources and agricultural use, allowing recreational opportunities, emphasizing conservation and sustainability, developing more agricultural opportunities based on
See HUBBARD PARK on page 12
South Burlington resident Susan Grimes traverses the 156-mile stretch of the Marathon Des Sables in Morocco, dubbed the hardest
‘Don’t let age limit you,’ says marathon racer
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
For some, retirement is a time for relaxation. For others, like Susan Grimes retirement is just an opportunity for more adventure.
In her case, that includes completing the Marathon Des Sables, a 156-mile race over six days in the Western Sahara in Morocco.
“It just seemed pretty intriguing,” she said. “To be able to be in the Sahara for some days at a stretch and survive, let alone be in a race.”
Dubbed the hardest footrace on earth, Grimes was one of 60 people from the U.S. and over 857 participants who completed the race. As if completing a race of that size
See GRIMES on page 11
COURTESY PHOTO
foot race on earth.
Officials: Vermonters should prepare for more Quebec fires
KATE KAMPNER COMMUNITY NEWS SERVICE
The warning came Monday: The most extreme wildfires on Earth are on the rise — more frequent, more intense.
A study in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution found that across the planet wildfires have doubled in the last two decades.
As neighbors to some of the most intense wildfires reported, Vermonters might wonder: Are they headed here?
“It may happen in the future,” Dan Dillner, forest fire supervisor for the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, said.
“We’re not on the level of having gigantic fires in Vermont yet,” Dillner said. But as fires continue to send smog south to the Green Mountain State, officials believe Vermonters should pay attention and prepare to protect their lungs.
Three million acres of Quebec forest burned last summer, blanketing Vermont in pollutants, Dillner said. In a recent report, the Canadian government predicted another year of high wildfire risk.
In his 12 years at the Vermont Department of Health, senior environmental health manager David Grass said he has never seen wildfires affecting Vermont’s air like last year. “2023 felt like it was qualitatively different in terms of the types of air quality that Vermont was experiencing,” he said.
The impact last summer allowed him a better appreciation for the challenges Americans experience on the West Coast.
“These health impacts and environmental exposures, it’s a part of their lives for a
much longer period of time,” he said.
When wildfire smoke passes Vermont, it’s usually at high altitudes, unnoticed on the ground, said Bennet Leon, air quality planning chief for the Department of Environmental Conservation. “The wildfire smoke happening in Quebec last summer was nearby and didn’t have time to rise up in the atmosphere,” he said.
Sheriffs arrest man on warrant
after he stole food from grocery
MIKE DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT
A New Jersey fugitive learned it’s never a good idea to try to chow down on food from the hot bar at a supermarket when police officers are nearby, according to the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department.
One of the hungry grocery shoppers turned out to be Jamir Fitzgerald, 22, of
Jersey City, N.J., who was wanted on multiple felony arrest warrants related to drug trafficking in Hudson County, N.J., sheriffs said.
Fitzgerald told arresting detectives that he was relocating to Vermont to try to start a new life after getting out of prison, accord-
See FITZGERALD on page 12
Vermont was in very high fire danger last year — a rarity when the forests are greened up, Dillner said. “A lot of the state is hardwoods, maple, birch, oaks, and when the leaves are green, the trees are not going to burn,” he said. Quebec’s forests have more soft woods like spruce, fir and pines, which can easily dry up and burn.
“Fire is natural in that ecosystem,” he said. “What’s not natural is that the climate is changing and that (last year) had just no precipitation.”
“What’s normal has changed,” he said. “It seems like it’s time to start thinking about that and preparing.”
As wildfire numbers rise in the U.S. and Canada, homeowners may do well to start learning how to make their homes fire resilient. Dillner recommends people mow a green area next to their home that can act as a buffer. Having any dead standing vegetation up against homes can be a fire risk, he said.
“Our biggest risk is humans being careless,” he said, noting every forest fire in Vermont last year was caused by people. “There’s no excuse for not knowing what the conditions are.”
tion and increase wildfire smoke.
According to the NASA Earth Observatory, carbon emissions from Canadian wildfires increased in 2023. That came alongside a spike in particles called PM2.5, according to the Yale School of Public Health. They come from smoke and can increase sky haze.
The particles’ size means they can penetrate deep into lungs. If inhaled, they can cause cardiovascular or neurological disease, respiratory illness and even death. Grass sees impacts from smoke-filled air as a pyramid.
First: people with symptoms like itchy eyes, a headache or a scratchy throat. “Just something that they noticed in their body that was different from what they experienced on days with better air quality,” he said.
One step up, Grass said, are people whose exposure leads them to go to a doctor.
The final level is when impacts are severe enough to put you in the emergency room, usually by aggravating existing conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
us July 10th, from 7pm-9pm for our summer concert series. Music featuring The Grift!
Officials are looking at how they can get more staff trained to quell larger fires, he said. “I don’t really see Vermont having enormous fires, thousands of acres. But even a few hundred-acre fires in Chittenden County would be quite an event,” said Dillner.
Wildfires and the resulting smoke are not a new phenomenon. Vermont has been monitoring the location and effects of fires since at least 2002, with records dating back to the early 1900s, said Lesley-Ann Dupigny, Vermont’s state climatologist and University of Vermont professor.
“The topography and physical geography of Vermont can allow for more stagnation of poor air quality,” she said via email.
She points to the federal government’s Fifth National Climate Assessment, which says climate change can worsen air pollu-
A study by the New York State Department of Health examined the number of emergency room visits in upstate New York during the periods the wildfire smoke impacted the state. It showed an 80 percent increase in visits on the day with the most smoke.
“I would expect that Vermont would experience similar impacts,” Grass said. On the other side of Lake Champlain, the Vermont Department of Health found an increase in emergency room visits when Vermont saw widespread haze from the northern fires, especially for those with COPD. “You could see a spike that seemed to occur at the same time,” said Grass. People who have preexisting breathing conditions, don’t have housing or who
PHOTO BY U.S. FOREST SERVICE
Smoke rises from the Tamarack Fire in 2021.
COURTESY PHOTO
In lieu of the typical school play with its pitfalls of forgotten lines, wardrobe malfunctions and dropped props, students at The Schoolhouse in South Burlington hosted a rambunctious night of personal storytelling at its annual story slam. Held at The Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, kids stepped up to the mic — alone, in pairs or in groups — and wove tales full of humor, mishap, adventure and wisdom. Students also ran the show. Middle school students Gracie Albers and Mirabel Goldstein, both from South Burlington, emceed the evening, improvising on the spot with quips and puns. After a particularly rousing adventure involving a skunk, Albers exclaimed to the crowd, “Well that was a stinkin’ good story!” Above, Artemis Wu of Colchester sparkles in anticipation of the story slam.
OFF Hanging Baskets (Start at $9.99)
• Perennials
• Planters and Pottery
• Fruit Trees
• Blueberries
• Compost, Topsoil and Mulch
*Closed Thursday, July 4
Police arrest man on domestic assault charge
South Burlington police arrested Zoey Wolfe, 26, of Chicago, for aggravated domestic assault and unlawful restraint on June 24 around 1:39 p.m. after they reportedly prevented a partner from leaving the motel where they were staying.
Police said a struggle broke out and Wolfe struck the other person, and then threatened them with a folding knife. The partner was able to flee the scene.
Police say the incident was captured on video.
Wolfe was jailed for lack of $5,000 bail and was due to appear in court June 25.
For information on domestic assault, call the statewide confidential hotline at 802-658-1996 or visit stepsvt.org/home.
South Burlington Police Blotter: June 24 - 30
Total incidents: 215
Agency / public assists: 23
Directed patrol: 6
Traffic stop: 15
Accident: property damage: 6
Alarm: 16
Foot patrol: 13
Suspicious event: 14
Retail theft: 9
Motor vehicle complaint: 6
Welfare check: 17
Simple assault: 2
Accident: injury: 3
Trespass: 9
Disturbance: 2
Accident: insurance purposes: 8
Field contact: 4
Leaving the scene: 4
911 hangup: 5
Larceny other: 4
Threats: 6
Domestic: 3
Animal problem: 2
Larceny from a structure: 4
Needle pickup: 2
Simple assault: 2
Fraud: 2
Needle pickup: 2
Juvenile problem: 2
Disturbance: 2
Arrests:
Christopher Lyons, 46, of South Burlington, was arrested for aggravated assault and disorderly conduct in an incident on June 14 at 8:08 a.m. on Shelburne Road.
June 24 at 1:39 p.m., Zoey M. Wolfe, 26, of Chicago,
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was arrested for aggravated first-degree domestic assault and second-degree unlawful restraint on Shelburne Road.
June 24 at 6:35 p.m., Fredy O. Barahona Murillo, 19, of South Burlington, was arrested for simple assault on Larkin Way.
June 24 at 6:35 p.m., Alan E. Moore, 56, of South Burlington, was arrested for simple assault on Larkin Way.
June 26 at 6:21 p.m., Anthony M. Verchereau, 65, no address provided, was arrested for violating an abuse prevention order on East Terrace.
June 27 at 1:36 a.m., Raymond David Benson, 36, of Burlington, was arrested on an in-state warrant on Williston Road.
June 29 at 1:01 a.m., Jamie A. Bunnell, 41, of South Burlington, was arrested for violating conditions of release on White Street.
Note: Charges filed by police are subject to review by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office and can be amended or dropped.
Summer in
South Burlington Parks patrol and Cpl. Brianne Williamson spent a sweltering evening building connections at one of several South Burlington Recreation and Parks Rec-On-The-Go barbecues. Here are the next few dates and locations: July 9, Goose Pond/City Center; July 23, Chamberlin School; Aug. 13, Dorset Commons; and Aug. 20, Country Club Estates. The barbecues run from 5:30-7:30 p.m., weather permitting.
OPINION
Let’s keep talking to find fixes for Szymanski Park pickleball
Guest Perspective
Chris Tudor
Let’s keep talking to fix Szymanski Park pickleball issues
Pickleball has been played at Szymanski Park for 15 years. The games were played on the dilapidated tennis courts during those years by a group of eight to 10 local residents without issue. When this small local group of pickleball players approached the South Burlington rec department about repairing the courts, it was obvious that when renovating that venue, one of the tennis courts needed to be converted into pickleball courts.
The well-meaning rec department recognized the need for more courts since the sport was growing rapidly. They approved four courts, not just two. Many players in the surrounding area were excited about new courts and gravitated toward them quickly. This seems to have turned out to be a blunder as there was not enough parking to handle the influx of players to the area.
As Jovana Guarino said in the article in the June 27 edition, the courts are in use most of the day when the weather permits. As soon as the courts were rebuilt at Szymanski, they filled to capacity almost immediately. (“Tell-tale heart: Pickleball racket in South Burlington prompts resident petition,” June 27, 2024)
The use there is so heavy at times that there has often been conflict over court usage among the pickleball community. I have seen days where there are 30-plus people there, rotating into games or waiting for courts. The parking lot at Szymanski only has capacity for six to eight cars. This situation only reinforces the obvious popularity of pickleball in our area and the need for courts.
The demand for court time is not going away. The need for courts has been so great that a new facility in South Burlington recently started an indoor pickleball facility and another business is renovating its tennis courts, converting them into 18 pickleball courts. (“Williston father, son bring pickleball to South Burlington,” June 6, 2024)
When businesses see a demand so high that they can risk financial investment, you know that this is a sport that is sticking around. As a pickleball instructor, I can confirm that the number of new people coming into the sport has increased exponentially in the past few years and will only keep growing. This does not solve the issue in the summer, though, as most players like to play at free outdoor venues.
Removing or banning pickleball at Szymanski should not be considered. The city spent $20,000 there and it should not go to waste. However, the pickleball community needs to be considerate and accommodating to the neighborhood they visit. There are several things that could be done or at least discussed to help the situation. Some possi-
ble solutions to consider might include:
• Creating a reservation system through the rec department. Pickleball participants must sign up for court time. Only players with reservations can be on the courts. This may help with the parking issues as only those with reservations would be there at any one time.
• Sound mitigation could be installed on the fencing around the courts.
• Play should be limited to the hours of 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The lights in use should be set to terminate at 8 p.m.
• With the creation of new local indoor facilities, the South Burlington Recreation Department might consider partnering up with those businesses to offer department-sponsored activities or discounted and subsidized memberships, thus moving the demand to venues other than Szymanski.
• The use of the courts could be limited to only rec department activities. These would include designated skill level based open play sessions and clinics. Currently, the courts are open to anyone, first come, first served. This would limit the number of participants at the courts at any one time, which would help reduce the parking needed.
• Pickleball courts could be built on the old tennis court area in Memorial Park. This would have been the ideal area for pickleball when it was originally proposed years ago. There is ample parking and there would be no noise issues as there are no residents close enough to hear the familiar “tic toc” of the games. The pickleball group was told that this area was needed for more lacrosse and soccer fields. We do not know if this is still the case.
• Last, the city could build the proposed indoor recreational facility next to Cairns Arena. The plans for that included pickleball courts that would help satisfy the need.
There are huge benefits to pickleball. This is a sport that is accessible to all. It is inexpensive to participate in. Pickleball is easy to learn and there is play available for all ages and skill levels. There are health benefits as well, especially for seniors, although this is becoming a sport for younger players.
Many participants would otherwise be inactive but now they are getting much needed exercise. Isn’t the whole reason for having activities available through the rec department to keep people healthy and active? Pickleball is also a very social sport. Players meet so many great people through this sport and network with people from local as well as regional areas. Pickleball also provides a financial benefit to local businesses including gas stations and restaurants. Tournaments bring in players from all over the state and with increased play, new businesses have been created and current companies have seen increased sales
Fishers face devastating impact from rodenticide toxins
Guest Perspective
Jennifer Lovett
As a conservation biologist, I am alarmed about recent data concerning the impact of anticoagulant rodenticides on Vermont’s wildlife. These are commonly used to kill rodents in urban, rural, agricultural, industrial and suburban locations.
These toxins work by preventing blood from clotting and causing fatal internal hemorrhaging. Anticoagulant rodenticides poison wildlife in two ways: When a targeted animal eats the bait and dies several days later, or when a predator or scavenger eats prey that has eaten poisoned bait. Secondary poisoning has been documen ted in birds of prey like eagles, hawks and owls, and mammals like foxes, fishers, bobcats and coyotes.
Fishers belong to the weasel family, are native to North America and closely related to the American marten, an endangered species in Vermont. As top predators, fishers eat small to medium sized mammals, fruits, nuts, berries, reptiles and
amphibians. They are territorial, elusive, solitary, prefer dense forested habitat and nest in the cavities of large trees.
Fishers are extremely sensitive to human-caused environmental disturbances and a healthy fisher population is the sign of a mature and well-balanced forest ecosystem. But fisher populations appear to be declining in New England due to habitat loss and fragmentation, recreational trapping and the use of rodenticides.
Rodenticide poisoning of non-target wildlife is a significant conservation concern. Recently, multiple studies conducted across the country and in Canada have demonstrated that fishers, among other predators, are highly impacted by anticoagulant rodenticides and that these toxins pose a threat to their populations. As a keystone and indicator species, declin ing fisher populations is a real cause for alarm. The impact of these toxins on other species is equally concerning.
A 2023 study focused on the prevalence of anticoagulant rodenticides exposure in fishers in New England. Biologists from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department were among the researchers
who found that 98 percent of the Vermont fishers in the study tested positive for these compounds. Results demonstrated that fishers “are highly exposed to a wide spectrum of ARs across Vermont.”
The authors said, “The near universal exposure of the fishers sampled suggest that AR exposure is widespread and represents an underestimated health risk to wild fishers.”
The data included in Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s 2023 furbearer newsletter indicates that the fisher population is in decline.
In another study, conducted by researchers at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, fishers from five northeastern states were tested and Vermont had the highest incidence of rodenticide exposures with 100 percent of the fishers testing positive. The researchers found that “rodenticide exposure is an important driver of population decline.”
Regulations associated with anticoagulant rodenticides are aimed at protecting children and domestic pets from accessing poisons. Consequently, they are most
often placed outside buildings in readyto-use or refillable bait stations/containers making poisoned prey accessible to wildlife.
Despite Environmental Protection Agency regulations on the use of commercial rodenticides, they are still available online to anyone. Unlawful use is a serious problem and several states have recently introduced legislation to restrict or ban certain anticoagulant rodenticides.
According to Audubon Vermont, there are more than 175 rat poison products available on the open market, which do not pose the same level of risk to rodent-predators. In addition, many basic non-lethal preven tative measures can reduce rodent infestations. A ban on the use of anticoagulant rodenticides would be environmentally beneficial and a moratorium on fisher trapping would add needed protections for this vulnerable and important species.
Jennifer Lovett lives in Starksboro.
Letters to the Editor
League of Women Voters honors its male members
To the Editor:
At the League of Women Voters, we are often asked, “can men be members of the League?” The answer, of course, is yes.
But this was not always the case. When the league was founded 104 years ago, it was an organization for women, providing support for suffrage and encouraging their participation in the political process.
It would be 50 years before the League of Women Voters would open its membership to men. On May 7, 1974, the League of Women Voters welcomed men as full-
fledged members.
That’s why today in Vermont, men work alongside women to protect and expand voting rights, and advocate for critical issues like health care, reproductive freedom and the environment. So, here’s to celebrating 50 years of men in the league, whose contributions are as valuable and essential as their female counterparts. A toast to the men who marched for women’s suffrage, fought for the Equal Rights Amendment and became our members.
Sue Racanelli President League of
Women Voters
Local ingredients in chef-inspired creations, Basin Harbor is Lake Champlain’s ultimate lakeside dining destination.
FROM FINE DINING TO COMFORT FOOD.
PHOTO BY CHUCK TERRANOVA
Tony winner nabs local arts prize
PAMELA POLSTON CONTRIBUTOR
On his website, this year’s Herb Lockwood Prize winner notes a string of past occupations, including but not limited to assembly line worker, librarian, janitor, carpenter and house painter. However, most Vermonters have likely known him in more celebrated roles: musician — on saxophone and guitar — composer, dance program collaborator at Middlebury College, arranger and producer and teacher. And many probably know he’s the recipient of a Tony Award.
Our winner has had a long and fruitful journey in the Vermont music scene and beyond. I first became aware of him in the 1980s when he was performing in an acoustic band called Feast or Famine. Several bands, genres and years later, as he led the “acid jazz” group viperHouse, I began to recognize not only his incredible versatility and musical curiosity but his significant mentorship of other, younger musicians. Some of the players who came into their own in viperHouse would become in-demand jazz musicians in Vermont doing their
own original work.
In nearly a dozen ensembles, in styles ranging from folk to jazz to what he dubs “instrumental psychrock film scores for nonexistent movies,” our man has continued to compose original works, to surpass himself in creativity, and to influence and collaborate with many others.
That fake film-score band is his current project, named Freeway Clyde. Their latest record, reviewed by Seven Days music editor Chris Farnsworth earlier this year, features music from the “lost” film “Sept Etoiles” (“Seven Stars”), allegedly recorded in Portugal. Unfortunately, the director was arrested on smuggling charges — again allegedly — and the film fell apart.
“Even if the fake film never saw the light of day, the very real soundtrack fortunately did,” Farnsworth writes. “It’s some of the band’s best work: a clever, rarely still record that moves between sunny jazz and ambient electronica with ease.”
Terrific music for apocryphal films aside, our man’s bestknown collaboration was with singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell on the wildly successful folk-rock
opera “Hadestown.” Still running on Broadway, the show, which is an expansive retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, had its more stripped-down debut in Vermont. I had the good fortune to see the nascent production in a small Burlington venue, then a bigger and longer version off-Broadway, and finally the fully developed show on Broadway, which was utterly thrilling.
“Hadestown” was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and took home eight, including Best Musical, in 2019. Among them also was the award for Best Orchestration, which our man shared with New York musician Todd Sickafoose.
“I am the only person who has played every live performance of ‘Hadestown,’” he told Eva Sollberger for an episode of her video series “Stuck in Vermont.”
“There’s a lot of heart,” he added. “Maybe that’s the Vermont part of the show.”
There is probably little doubt among this audience who I mean by “our man.” A resident of both Lincoln, and a remarkable place called Hadestown, Michael Chor-
Michael Chorney
COMMUNITY
Hitmen
On Thursday, July 11,
The evening always features grub and good tunes but also offers something a bit different every Thursday, from fire performances to pickleball clinics.
July 11 is South Burlington Bikes Out.
Devon McGarry Band is on tap July 18.
Community Notes
Free summer meals at South Burlington schools
From June 24 to Aug. 9, Monday to Friday, free summer meals will be provided to all children under 18 at Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, Chamberlin Elementary School and Rick Marcotte Central School. The meals must be consumed onsite.
Breakfast is served from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and lunch goes from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. There will be no meals on July 4 and 5.
There’s no application or paperwork necessary. Meals are free for all children 18 and under.
FIRES
continued from page 2
need to work outdoors are at higher risk for smoke-related lung problems, he said.
Grass isn’t concerned Vermonters are at risk of that level of exposure, but he hopes they “can take preventative steps in order to minimize their exposure.”
Leon, the air quality official, urges people to watch for symptoms like coughing or shortness of breath — signs to “take it easy” and find a place with better air quality.
He also advises people to watch air quality alerts using Vermont Alert or EnviroFlash, and if quality is especially bad, people can even wear filtered masks.
“There’s a lot of fire north to us, and when the wind changes direction, it brings
See the menus at sbschools.net/ summermeals.
Church ponders community garden for those in need St. John Vianney Church in South Burlington is looking into what kind of interest there might be to maintain a garden that helps those in need of food — both independent individuals and through produce donations to the South Burlington Food Shelf. Does this idea appeal to you? Contact us at sjvgoodnews@gmail.com for more information or join the effort. More at stjohnvianneyvt.org/collective-gardening.
it to us,” Dillner said, comparing it to the movement of a campfire. “Sometimes the smoke blows on you, and sometimes it doesn’t.”
Data doesn’t show Vermont’s getting more fires each year, Dillner said.
“I do think things are changing,” he said. “I think we’re getting even more periods of extended dry weather with a lot more potential for large fires.”
Kate Kampner is a reporter with the Community News Service, a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.
Hitmen hit the SB Nite Out stage at 5 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in South Burlington.
COURTESY PHOTO
Dr. Chris Hebert completed the
Memorial Scholarship. At the
Hebert family.
OUTDOORS
Road salt affects aquatic life year round
The Outside Story
Michael J. Caduto
Road crews across the United States use more than 24 million tons of road salt (sodium chloride) to melt ice and snow each year — triple the volume used in 1975. Road salt is cost-effective and prevents traffic accidents. But there is an ecological downside to this practice: rain and meltwater dissolve and wash road salt into streams, rivers, lakes and ponds, where it severely impacts aquatic life and degrades freshwater environments.
Chloride also enters waterways from other sources, including fertilizer runoff, septic systems, wastewater and leachate from landfills. But more than 90 percent of the chloride polluting our waterways comes from road salt. Fifty years after Interstate 93 was constructed through Woodstock, N.H., chloride levels have increased fourfold in nearby Mirror Lake.
“Road salt has been the number one contributor to increasing chloride in our waterways,” said Andrea LaMoreaux, president and policy advocate for NH LAKES, a non-profit organization focused on preserving and restoring the health of New Hampshire’s nearly 1,000 bodies of water. “According to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, in 2008 there were 19 chloride-impaired waterbodies in New Hampshire. In 2020, there were 50.”
ic food webs. Water flea populations, for instance, can drop 50 percent even where chloride levels meet water quality guidelines. Zooplankton consume algae, and are in turn eaten by aquatic insects, small fish, and other animals moving up the food chain. Absent healthy levels of zooplankton, populations of cyanobacteria (which can be toxic) are more likely to increase, as are invasive species tolerant of high salinity.
In addition, LaMoreaux notes that chloride-polluted water is denser than freshwater, which means it can become concentrated at lake bottoms. In extreme cases, this can impede the vernal and autumnal vertical turnover of lake waters essential for distributing oxygen and nutrients to aquatic species.
The state of Vermont emphasizes using sufficient road salt to maintain “safe roads at safe speeds,” rather than a bare-roads policy.
Citizen scientists provide crucial information to government agencies and environmental organizations that protect our waterways. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Volunteer Lake Assessment Program coordinates a statewide network of monitors, incorporates their findings into water quality research and management, and informs biologists about conditions in water bodies. The Watershed Management Division of Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources has a similar program and distributes the “Vermont Volunteer Surface Water Monitoring Guide.”
Road salt washes into waterways, especially during heavy storm runoff. Although road salt is used during winter, the highest chloride levels typically occur during summer’s hot dry weather, when streams slow to a trickle and water levels drop in lakes and ponds. Monitoring data from Stoney Brook in Grantham, N.H., which receives runoff from nearby Interstate 89, revealed chloride levels during severe summer heat and drought in 2019, 2020 and 2022 that were 10 times the levels recorded during wet winter months.
Elevated chloride kills zooplankton, the minute animals that form critical links in aquat-
James Lantz, a retired geologist, has been monitoring and recording conductivity levels, which serve as an indicator of chloride concentrations, in the Eastman Lake (also called Eastman Pond) watershed in central New Hampshire for the past 8 years, while also studying historical trends of nearby lakes. In the past 34 years, the conductivity of Eastman Lake has doubled, rising steadily since 1987 to four-to-five times the state median level.
“The field data suggests that the main culprit is de-icing (salt) via runoff primarily from I-89,” Lantz said. “Perhaps half of this salt ends up in shallow groundwater, where it has been building up over many years. This conclusion is support-
ed by field measurements during low flow in summer, when the larger proportions of stream flows are sourced from groundwater.”
Salt reduction zones can reduce chloride levels in nearby bodies of water. Vermont’s management program emphasizes using sufficient road salt to maintain “safe roads at safe speeds,” rather than a bare-roads policy that would introduce considerably more salt into the environment. Drivers are asked to employ patience and preparedness by not expecting bare roads immediately after storms, staying off snow-covered roads unless travel is essential, and running
winter tires for traction.
The NH LAKES LakeSmart program encourages property owners to employ contractors who follow the Green SnowPro Certification Program guidelines, which mitigate road salt while emphasizing public safety. In 2022 the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services awarded $80,000 to Merrimack Village for implementing a decade-long, watershed-wide “best management practices” program for minimizing road salt and reducing chloride pollution.
From driving habits and road management to citizen science,
everyone can help reduce chloride pollution. “Ask yourself how you would balance road safety and lake health,” Lantz said. “We can do better.”
Michael J. Caduto is a writer, ecologist, and storyteller who lives in Reading, Vermont. He is author of “Pond and Brook: A Guide to Nature in Freshwater Environments.” Illustration by Adelaide Murphy Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, nhcf.org.
ILLUSTRATION BY ADELAIDE MURPHY TYROL
GRIMES
continued from page 1
wasn’t enough of a reward, Grimes also placed first for a woman in the over 65 age bracket.
“My goal was to just complete it,” Grimes, a longtime Shelburne resident now living in South Burlington. “There weren’t that many ladies in my age group. But still, I was just thrilled to finish it and to be able to be like ‘Hey, you know what, I can do this.’”
The trek was a race against both time and natural elements. From 100-degree afternoon temperatures to heat exhaustion and the rapid loss of hydration through sweat, each day proved to have its own set of hardships.
Grimes alternated between walking, power walking and running, which was usually solely to finish that day’s stretch of miles before it got unbearably hot.
“You really had to pace yourself,” she said. “It was important to stay hydrated because you’re carrying everything. So, running at home I’m not used to carrying a backpack that has everything I need for the week, the heaviest part being the food.”
Organizing the pack and finding the right balance of food and weight also proved to be a unique challenge.
“There was a mandatory checklist of things you were required to carry, as well as the number of calories that were minimum requirements per day,” she said, adding that at many points she was forcing herself to eat and drink since hunger and thirst seemed to fade after each mile.
The day would usually begin at 4:30 a.m. as runners prepped their bags. The race would officially begin around 6:30 a.m., with “Highway to Hell” blasting out over the megaphones as racers lined up.
The runners in the front were usually Moroccan, she said, adding that their expertise in running in the sand gave them a considerable advantage.
But, in certain aspects, the sand dunes mimicked snow-dusted hills and mountains, which being from Vermont, Grimes could navigate well.
“I think being from Vermont I loved it because we were hiking up a little hill and it was kind of rocky and you go down this huge sand dune so it was kind of like going down snow,” she said, noting that this moment of joy came on the longest day of the race as the team was doing back-to-back marathon-length stretches.
“I just kind of sat back and glided down and the scenery was just stunning,” she said.
She recounted one of the hardest days in the race happened on day two walking on a dried-up seabed.
“It was just flat, cracked earth
that seemed to stretch on forever,” she said. “You’re really having to dig deep and stay positive that you can do this. That was hard just because it was still early in the week and it was just so hot and you’re questioning to yourself, ‘What am I doing?’”
While the long days were physically taxing, they were also mentally draining. Grimes said she found herself digging deeper into herself. Although she spent months before this doing durability training, the strain on her emotional psyche was far greater.
But one thing the race did teach her is that staying in a negative headspace adds nothing to your desired outcome. In her case, it was finishing the race, but that lesson can easily translate to almost anything else in life.
developed lifelong friendships and found a new community.
“It’s about saying yes to the challenge while I can still do it. I hope to encourage other people to not let age be your limiting factor.”
— Susan Grimes
“One thing I have learned is that, of course, we all have our low moments, and maybe something didn’t go the way you expected, but don’t stay in that negative zone, just readjust, and try to stay positive. Sometimes I wound up counting just to pass the time,” she said.
Aside from moments of solitude, Grimes said that being surrounded by others who held similar passions had not only inspired her to push on, but she also
“You meet some really amazing people doing this, she said, adding that she bunked in the tents each night with four women from the United States. “We’re such close friends now. But everyone was so positive and encouraging, no matter where people were from. I never heard anyone complain. Everyone was going through the same thing.” This race is only just the beginning for Grimes. As one of 102 U.S. Centurion members — awarded to people to people who walk 100 miles within 24 hours — she is off to the United Kingdom in August to attempt to become the first American woman to win a Centurion race on that side of the pond.
Although she now considers South Burlington home, she said that the Shelburne community, specifically at the Shelburne Athletic Club, is where her roots are, and everywhere she travels she is bringing a little piece of home with her.
“It’s about saying yes to the challenge while I can still do it,” she said. “I hope to encourage other people to not let age be your limiting factor.”
COURTESY PHOTOS
Susan Grimes said one of the most difficult challenges was learning to walk and run on sand. But being a lifelong Vermonter, she likened it to traversing up and down snowy mountains.
HUBBARD PARK
continued from page 1
community needs, connecting the park to the city’s shared use path system, and limiting overbuilding while creating a community gathering space.
Early iterations also proposed an event pavilion to host year-round farmer’s markets, children’s camps, classes and concerts. However, the presence of wetlands in that area stifled those development plans.
In 2020, the city engaged a consultant to design a shared-use path through the property connecting the South Pointe neighborhood with Nowland Farm Road. The city council approved that path last July despite some public pushback, but concerns remained around how much of the park should be conserved, versus how much should be used for recreation.
At that time, a petition — signed by more than 120 residents living on Pinnacle Drive, Nowland Farm Road, Four Sisters Road and Upswept Lane — called on the council to “abandon the current plans” for the path and to “do no further alteration or development of this magnificent land.”
“Please accept this petition as
opposition to the city’s plans to add any more human stuff … on the Hubbard Natural Area,” the petition read. “We want this land to remain untouched and left in its natural state. For the past ten years, hundreds of people have benefited from this land in its current condition. To add impervious surfaces on this land is totally unacceptable whether it be for cars or bicycles or for human convenience.”
At that same July meeting, the city council directed its staff to study and analyze what a conservation easement for certain parts of the property could look like. Since that time, the city has tapped an undisclosed third-party land trust that is interested in developing plans for passive recreation and a potential permanent conservation easement.
While several members of the public urged the council to move promptly toward a conservation easement, other residents urged members to push off any major decision for conservation until the recreation and parks committee completes its master plan later next year.
Technology Manager
“Nothing is harmed by waiting,” Erin Buzby, a member of the recreation and parks committee, said, “A lot of people have referenced, this evening, the feedback from the community and having it be an easement. I live in the community, and I don’t ever remember being solicited for any kind of feedback.”
Her concern is that feedback that has been received has been diluted disproportionately to southeast quadrant residents, an area featuring some of the wealthiest property in the city.
A southeast quadrant resident, Amy Allen, also urged the council to wait on any concrete decisions, saying that a permanent conservation easement could hamper future adaptations for climate change mitigation. Additionally, a conservation easement in the middle of a residential area, “puts in place a system of generational inequity whereby current citizens are not allowing future generations to use the land as our future residents will need.”
“Future generations of South Burlington residents should have
COME GROW WITH STOWE!
The Town of Stowe is seeking a Technology Manager to help us stay operational and move into the future with technology. This position is responsible for overseeing the provisioning, monitoring, planning, implementation, and maintenance of the software, hardware and other systems needed to support the computing, communications and technology needs of the Town of Stowe.
The individual selected will be a self-motivated department of one with excellent communication, project planning and implementation skills, and ability to manage vendor relations. We are especially interested in someone who can advance the Town of Stowe with their proficiency in various technology tools and cloud-based platforms. This is an in-person position.
The Technology Manager will work closely with existing IT managed service provider and other outside vendors to support the Town with help desk services, systems planning and implementation, cyber security support and radio communication vendor support.
The Town of Stowe is a full-service municipality with a multitude of departments including Administration, Finance, Human Resources, Town Clerk, Planning & Zoning, Lister, Public Works, Water, Wastewater, Highway, Library, Parks & Recreation including an Arena, and public safety with Police, Fire/EMS and Mountain Rescue. The Town of Stowe has a workforce of 66 full-time employees and more than 100 part-time emergency services and seasonal personnel.
Associate degree in the field of computer science or information technology preferred supplemented by three to five years of managerial experience, including budgeting, planning, and vendor relations, or any equivalent combination of education, training, or experience. Pay range $73,095 - $86,742 dependent upon experience.
The Town of Stowe currently offers an excellent benefit package including BCBS health plans with low employee premium share, dental insurance, generous paid leave, VMERS pension plan, life insurance and more.
Job description and employment application can be obtained at: www.townofstowevt.org. Submit letter of interest, resume and employment application to: Town of Stowe, c/o HR Director, P.O. Box 730, Stowe, VT 05672 or by email recruit@stowevt.gov
The Town of Stowe is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
similar choices to today’s leadership about how taxpayer-owned land will best work for them and their families,” Allen added. “Our children deserve those opportunities.”
Mike Simoneau, the current vice chair of the city’s recreation and parks committee who sat on the Underwood Task Force in 2014, emphasized that parks are, and should remain, for the people.
“Central Park in New York City does not have a conservation easement, and there’s probably no property in this country that was under more pressure to be conserved in a way that the wealthy and the neighbors who were developing near the park wanted it,” he said. “It took a lot of people and a lot of courage to resist the temptation to conserve Central Park and to allow for it to remain a park for the people, and that’s what Hubbard should
TUDOR continued from page 5
of pickleball related items. With cooperation and compromise, there should be a way to address the issues at Szymanski Park so that the players can enjoy pickleball and make use of a fine venue while having a minimal impact on its neighbors. The pickleball community I know is very willing to help address these issues if they are properly discussed with the rec department and residents.
I’m sure there are many possi-
FITZGERALD
continued from page 2
ing to a court affidavit.
Chittenden County Sheriff Dan Gamelin said members of his department’s Street Crimes Unit, after being part of an eviction case, were at a Shelburne Road grocery store in South Burlington on Friday afternoon when they spotted two “suspicious acting customers.”
The deputies, who were wearing shirts, vests and gear that had the word sheriff in plain view, told the man and woman that they could not eat food directly from the hot bar and that the items had to be weighed and paid for, Gamelin said.
The two moved on after filling two food packages, the sheriff’s department reported.
The deputies still monitored the couple and saw them continue to eat food out of the packages as they shopped and eventually stuffed one of the empty containers behind a food shelf display, Gamelin said.
The deputies confronted the couple again as they left the store without paying, Gamelin
remain: a park for the people.”
After more than an hour of discussion, the council unanimously decided that its staff should continue to work with the third-party land trust on a conservation easement to the east of the proposed path and to conserve the lands west of the path, but allow passive recreation uses with public access and agriculture consistent with the character of the area.
“I think that the compromise here is preserving those natural areas, which really shouldn’t be disturbed, and then also making sure that the public has access to that area that’s west of the bike path, so they can enjoy passive recreation there,” Barritt said.
City manager Jessie Baker said any future agreements and legal documents would need to be formally approved by the city council.
ble solutions that have not been discussed. We need to get more ideas from both sides to be able to alleviate this situation. Please keep an open mind and communicate with one another so we can try to meet everyone’s needs. We want to keep pickleball here yet be a good neighbor at the same time.
Chris Tudor is USA Pickleball’s ambassador for the District of Northern Vermont, Atlantic Region.
said. This time the man provided several identifications and dates of birth before eventually providing his true name and actual date of birth, the sheriff said.
A police computer check showed four outstanding felony warrants for heroin and cocaine charges, including trafficking within 500 feet of public property, deputies said. The law is designed to cover public housing, parks and schools, but in this case the charges stem from inside a local courthouse, records show.
The Hudson County Sheriff’s office said they would extradite Fitzgerald to New Jersey, Gamelin said.
Records indicate Fitzgerald had recently been released from Rikers Island, a city-operated jail in the Bronx and he was identified as a member of a gang.
Deputies lodged Fitzgerald at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans for lack of $25,000 on the fugitive charge. He was due in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Monday.
SB High School celebrates 50 years of student exchanges
The South Burlington School District is celebrating 50 years of educational and cultural exchange between South Burlington High School and the Schiller-Gymnasium in Hameln, Germany this year.
This is the longest continuous exchange between a high school in Vermont and a German high school, and the second-longest exchange of its kind in the nation.
To commemorate this milestone, the school is organizing events to celebrate TIE Germany’s profound impact on generations of South Burlington students and families.
On Monday, Sept. 30, there will be a full school assembly at South Burlington High School, and on Thursday, Oct. 3, there will be an evening celebration to honor the school’s partnership as it looks forward to continued cross-cultural understanding and collaboration between the schools. All community members whose lives have been touched by TIE Germany are invited to attend, so save the date and stay tuned for details.
Donations are welcome for the event on Oct. 3. Make checks payable to: SBHS TIE and send to Theresa Mazza, South Burlington High School, 550 Dorset St., South Burlington VT 05403.
CHORNEY continued from page 7
ney is the 2024 recipient of the Herb Lockwood Prize.
About the prize
Chorney, a Vermont musician, composer and arranger, received the $10,000 Herb Lockwood Prize at Burlington City Arts Center on June 22. This marks the eleventh time the Herb Lockwood Prize has been awarded since 2014.
The prize was founded by Todd R. Lockwood of South Burlington and some like-minded people from the Vermont arts community. It has no application process, and artists do not know they are being considered for it.
Its purpose is fourfold: To validate the work of the recipient, to energize that artist’s future, to encourage other artists to work ambitiously and to honor the memory of Herb Lockwood’s (Todd’s brother) by continuing his inspirational influence.
This fall, South Burlington High School
50 years of its Thematic International
Jacobson, author Howard Frank Mosher, puppeteer and artist Peter Schumann, musician and public radio host Robert Resnik, dancer and choreographer Hannah Dennison, jazz musician and teacher Ray Vega, poet Kerrin McCadden, and film director and impresario Jay Craven.
Chorney, a Vermont musician, composer and arranger, received the $10,000 Herb Lockwood Prize at Burlington City Arts Center on June 22.
“Herb Lockwood was an inspirational figure in the Burlington arts and music scene in the 1980s. His impact on the region’s arts and artists has proved to be enduring and profound. The breadth of art forms he practiced, and his influence on other artists in all manner of disciplines, created a legacy that remains inspirational decades later,” according to Burlington City Arts’ announcement of the prize.
Herb Lockwood died in a Burlington workplace accident in 1987 at age 27.
Prior recipients include actor and theater director Steve Small, fine artist and typographer Claire Van Vliet, filmmaker Nora
Pamela Polston, a co-founder of Seven Days newspaper, attended the Lockwood Prize ceremony.
COURTESY PHOTO
celebrates
Exchange, TIE, program with Germany.
We can help with gap year, career and parallel education planning.
from page 2
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Gap year and alternative career planning
is a deadly viral disease of the brain that infects mammals. It is most often seen in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats, but unvaccinated pets and livestock can also get rabies.The virus is spread through the bite of an infected animal or contact with its
ways treatment
a have those animals mal an it. animals
Last year, Vermonters threw away 71,113 tons of food scraps which ended up in our only landfill. Equal to 242 pounds of food scraps per person per year.
CSWD’s Organic Recycling Facility (ORF) and our six Drop-Off Centers accept food scraps from residents and businesses to keep them out of Vermont’s only landfill.
For information scan or visit cswd.net/a-to-z/food-scraps
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE SOUTH BURLINGTON LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS
Public Hearing Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at 7:00 pm
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at 7:00 PM to consider amendments to the Land Development Regulations. The amendments affect all parts of the City unless otherwise specified below. The hearing will be held in person and remotely via Zoom. Participation options:
• In Person: City Hall Auditorium, 180 Market Street
• Interactive Online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9960639517
• Telephone: (929) 205 6099; Meeting ID: 996 063 9517
The purpose of the hearing is to consider the following:
• LDR-24-01 EV Charging. Require parking spaces required to be electric vehicle-capable under the 2024 Vermont Commercial Building Standards and 2024 Residential Building Energy Standards to be electric vehicle-Ready as defined therein and apply to all such buildings regardless of size; limit Level 3 charging substitutions (Sections 2.02, 3.18)
• LDR-24-02 Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and Transportation Level of Service (LOS). Update transportation LOS standards and review thresholds in two geographic tiers; establish TDM standards for medium and large development projects; eliminate Traffic Overlay District (Sections 3.01, 10.01, 13.01, 13.18, 15.A.14, Appendix B, Overlay Districts Map 2)
• LDR-24-03 Low-Scale Residential Infill and Thriving Communities. Replaces Residential 1, Residential 1 with Planned Unit Development, Residential 1 Lakeshore, Residential 2, Residential 4, Lakeshore Neighborhood, Southeast Quadrant-Neighborhood Residential, Southeast Quadrant-Neighborhood Residential Transition, Southeast Quadrant-Neighborhood Residential North, Southeast Quadrant-Village Residential, and Southeast Quadrant-Village Commercial zoning districts with new Low-Scale Neighborhood District. Establish allowed low-scale building types; set minimum lot sizes and dimensional standards by building type; eliminates density as an independent standard. Modify lot frontage, existing small lot, and accessory structure standards. Exclude 3-4 unit residential buildings from site plan review. Allow multiple principal buildings on a lot if lot standards per building are met. Allows neighborhood-scale commercial uses along collector and arterial roads (Sections 3.01, 3.03, 3.05, 3.06, 3.09, 3.10, 3.15, 4.01, 4.02, 4.03, 4.07, 14.03, 14.11, Article 9, Appendix C, Zoning Districts Map)
• LDR-24-04 Medium-Scale Residential Infill and Thriving Communities. Replace Residential 7, Residential 7 with Neighborhood Commercial, and Residential 12 with new Medium-Scale Neighborhood District. Establish allowed low- and medium-scale building types; establishes minimum lot sizes and dimensional standards by building type; eliminate density as an independent standard. Modifies lot frontage, existing small lot, and accessory structure standards. Allow multiple principal buildings on a lot if lot standards per building are met. Remove height waiver allowances; replace with Inclusionary Zoning / TDR allowances to maximum. Allow neighborhood-scale commercial uses along collector and arterial roads (Sections 3.01, 3.05, 3.09, 3.10, 3.15, 4.04, 4.05, 4.06, Appendix C, Zoning Districts Map)
• LDR-24-05 Higher-Scale Mixed Use area. Replaces Commercial 1-Residential 12, Commercial 1-Residential 15, Allen Road, and Swift Street districts with new Higher-Scale Mixed Use District. Update Commercial 1 – Auto, Commercial 1- AIR, Commerical 1-Limited Retail districts to have residential building types and dimensional standards match Higher-Scale Mixed Use District. Establish allowed medium- and higher-scale building types; establishes minimum lot sizes and dimensional standards for medium-scale building types; remove minimum lot sizes for large residential building types; eliminates density as an independent standard. Remove height waiver allowances; replace with Inclusionary Zoning / TDR allowances to maximum and compatibility standards for bordering Low-Scale Neighborhood District. Allow multiple principal buildings on a lot if lot standards per building are met. (Section 3.01, 3.07, Article 5, Article 6, Section 19.03, Zoning District Map)
• LDR- 24-06 Reorganizes Subdivision, Master Plan, and PUD Standards. Streamline and clarify processes, phasing, and applicable standards of review. Grant authority to Administrative Officer for approval of minor subdivisions. Consolidate context analysis, alternative compliance, and modification and waiver review into Subdivision standards. (Articles 15.A, 15.B, 15.C)
• LDR-24-07 Consolidate similar commercial uses, consolidate Airport and Airport-Industrial Zoning Districts, and general update to Table of Uses. (Section 2.02, 3.01, 6.01, 6.02, Appendix C, Zoning Districts Map) • LDR-24-08 Conservation Land Use Updates and Transferable Development Rights. Includes the following related subjects: (a) Remove Conservation Planned Unit Development (PUD) tool and adjust boundaries of Southeast Quadrant Zoning Districts to include additional land in Natural Resources Protection Zoning (NRP) District in instances of contiguous NRP land; (b) Define location of development area on lots with more than 70% Habitat Block / Habitat Connector coverage and Hazards; (c) Update the Transferable Development Rights program to have “receiving” areas be allowed within all higher-scale mixed use and commercial/industrial zoning districts and removed from the Southeast Quadrant District, and define density increases for building height, lot coverage, and building coverage; (d) Change the zoning district for City-owned properties purchased or offered to the City for park spaces to the Park District, adjust the boundaries of the Natural Resources Protection (NRP) district to reflect actual conservation / development restrictions and areas outside the water and sewer service areas. (Sections 3.01, 12.04, 12.05, Article 19, Zoning Districts Map, Habitat Block & Habitat Connector Overlay District Map)
• LDR-24-09 Inclusionary Zoning Updates. Rework inclusionary zoning standards for compatibility and alignment with statutory incentive thresholds. Set requirements for inclusion of permanently-affordable homes for projects of ten (10) or more dwelling units, incorporate density and height bonuses granted for state-defined Affordable Housing Developments, and provide incentives for mandatory inclusionary units. Coordinate maximums of building height, building coverage, and lot coverage with those in the TDR program (LDR-24-08). Updates reporting requirements. (Sections 2.02, 18.01, 19.03, Appendix C)
• LDR-24-10 Minor and Technical Amendments. Includes the following:
o Updates to definitions (Section 2.20)
o Removes redundant Satellite Dish standard (Section 3.06)
o Updates to Accessory Dwelling Unit Standards to align with Statutes (Sections 3.11, 14.11)
o Updates to non-conformities to match other amendments (Section 3.15)
o Clarification to Institutional & Agricultural District Purpose and Standards (Section 7.01)
o Rename Southeast Quadrant-Natural Resource Protection District to “Natural Resource Protection District” and update allowed housing to comply with Statutes (Sections 9.01, 9.12)
o Update parking standards to comply with Statutes and provide waiver authority to DRB for multi-family housing (Section 13.02)
o Update Fence heigh standards resulting from zoning district consolidation (Section 13.11)
o Updates / consolidates alternative compliance and waiver authority for site plan review to align with subdivision authority (Section 14.04)
o Update notice & procedures (Section 17.08)
o Update terminology to refer to City Plan and for gender neutrality (throughout)
o Relocates standards to different parts of LDRs for clarity (throughout)
Note: principal sections / articles affected or modified by each amendment are listed above; however, amendments are located throughout the regulations. A complete table of contents of the proposed articles is as follows:
1 Purpose and Title; 2 Definitions; 3 General Provisions; 4 Residential Districts; 5 Commercial Districts; 6 Industrial and Airport Districts; 7 Other Districts; 8 City Center Form Based Codes District; 9 Natural Resource Protection District; 10 Selected Overlay Districts; 11.A Street Types; 11.B Civic Space Types 11.C Building Types; 12 Environmental Protection Standards; 13 Supplemental Regulations; 14 Site Plan & Conditional Use Review; 15.A Subdivisions; 15.B Master Plans; 15.C Planned Unit Developments; 16 Construction and Erosion Control Standards; 17 Administration and Enforcement; 18 Housing Standards; 19 Transferable Development Rights; Appendices; Maps
Copies of the proposed amendments are available for inspection at the Department of Planning & Zoning, City Hall, 3rd Floor, 180 Market Street, and on the city website at www.sbvt.gov.
Jessica Louisos, Planning Commission Chair July 3, 2024