Burlington planners recommend UDO changes to create 'transitional housing' and clarify temporary shelter rules

Vice Chair Charles Beasley presided as the Burlington Planning and Zoning Commission discussed UDOTA 2-25, a package of proposed text amendments to the city's Unified Development Ordinance intended to update housing definitions, use standards, infrastructure requirements and development standards.

Chad Meadows of CodeRight presented the package as the sixteenth round of amendments, saying the housing changes are the largest item. Meadows introduced a new principal use, "transitional housing," intended for people who are unhoused or indigent and not to be operated as a form of incarceration. "This use type is not intended as incarceration," he said, and described core operating standards including 100 square feet of sleeping area per person, continuous on-site staffing, compliance with ADA and state building codes, a half-mile separation from certain sensitive uses, and that outdoor activities must occur within an enclosure at least 6 feet tall. Meadows said the only way to establish a…