DRB closes hearing on Burlington Airport recreation path after budget breakdown; staff flags stormwater timing and tree protections

South Burlington, Vt. — The South Burlington Development Review Board voted May 6 to close the public hearing for site plan SB2517, an application from the City of South Burlington for a portion of an approved airport master plan that would construct approximately 4,000 linear feet of a recreation path and associated landscaping on airport-owned parcels between Airport Road and Dumont Avenue (1200 Airport Drive).

Jackie (applicant team) confirmed the project cost estimates and a landscaping break‑out on the record: the rec path cost estimate shown in the packet was $578,220 and the tree costs were $67,600, which the applicant said equal the submitted landscape budget total of $645,820. “That 578,220 that was shown for the cost estimate of the rec path plus 67,600 … does equal the 645,820. So the landscape budget spreadsheet that was submitted is accurate,” Jackie told the board.

The board’s discussion focused on several technical and implementation matters: how to account for the recreation path in lot‑coverage/site‑amenity calculations; whether the path should be measured as a 50‑foot greenway for banking open‑space credit (staff estimated that a 50‑foot width would yield roughly four acres of credit); the need to show approximate tree locations rather than conceptual placeholders; a proposed timber guardrail and a connection through the Aviation Deli parking area; and coordination with the Department of Public Works on stormwater treatment that relies on underground chambers on a nearby parcel.

Applicant representatives said the Aviation Deli building will be the subject of a separate site plan application (the deli’s rear driveway that connects to Elizabeth Street is slated to close) and described operational measures to limit non‑terminal parking in the deli lot, including signs and enforcement. The applicant also said they will resubmit a plan showing the timber guardrail and an explicit connection to the path at a larger scale for board review.

Board members and staff confirmed the need for a detailed budget breakdown (pavement, shoulders, drainage, crossings, stormwater, signage and tree/landscaping line items) to determine which elements count toward the North Concourse Expansion Project landscaping requirement and the size of the “amenity bank” for future projects. Staff recommended affirming a modification to allow the recreation path to count as civic space and to provide site‑amenity credit for future phases of the North Concourse expansion; the board signaled no objection to that technical modification on the record.

The applicant and staff also described a coordination issue: portions of the project depend on stormwater chambers and an interagency timing decision. Applicant representatives said they expected that the city’s schedule for installing underground stormwater chambers might affect a segment of the path and asked for flexibility on timing to align with the city’s stormwater work.

During public comment, Michelle Corpus (speaking as a resident) asked for maps and a visual showing the location of the underground stormwater treatment and current alignment; staff offered to walk her through the alignment offline and to email plan materials. The board recorded that further plan detail (timber guardrail shown at greater scale, approximate tree locations, detailed landscape cost breakout) would be submitted so staff and the board could finalize conditions, and then the DRB moved to close the hearing. A motion to close was made and seconded; the board voted in favor and closed the public hearing. The transcript records the hearing closure but does not record final approval of the site plan in that session.

Speakers on the record for this agenda item included airport staff and engineering consultants, members of the DRB and planning staff. For the most current status and any conditions of approval for SB2517, refer to the official DRB minutes or contact South Burlington planning staff.