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Council removes Champlain College bed caps in zoning ordinance amendment, council hears college representative
Summary
The City Council unanimously adopted a zoning amendment to eliminate bed caps on Champlain College’s core campus areas; city planners said floor area ratio limits still regulate development intensity.
The Burlington City Council on Monday adopted an ordinance amending zoning to remove bed caps on Champlain College’s campus core areas, following a brief public hearing and staff review. The vote was unanimous.
Nick Anderson, vice president of planning and operations at Champlain College, attended the public hearing to answer questions, and Planning Director Charles Dillard told the council the change removes bed caps in the institutional core and the academic/residential core campuses but does not alter floor area ratio (FAR) limits that control development intensity. Dillard said that if Champlain seeks expanded housing beyond existing space, it would likely hit FAR limits and would otherwise need to convert existing office or classroom space back to housing.
Council members said they had consulted impacted neighbors and local planning-area groups. Councilor Shannon said the Ward 6 neighborhood planning association showed “some concern from close neighbors” but also general support; Councilor McKnight praised Champlain for steps that could “free up some other Champlain housing for the community to actually occupy.”
Dillard described Aiken Hall as an example: the building was originally a dorm, later converted to office space, and is being considered for conversion back to housing to meet student demand. The council voted to adopt the ordinance as amended by the ordinance committee after a motion to waive the reading and adopt.
No numeric ordinance identifier was presented during the hearing record in the transcript; the item was listed on the deliberative agenda as zoning amendment 25‑05.
