Planning commission sets June 23 public hearing on consolidated LDR amendments

The South Burlington Planning Commission voted to hold a public hearing on amendments to the city’s land development regulations, scheduling the hearing for Tuesday, June 23 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. Commissioner Duncan moved to set the hearing and the chair seconded; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with one member opposed.

Staff presented a consolidated redline that groups changes discussed since October and asked the commission to approve plain-language “spotlights” for the public to explain key amendments. Staff member Kelsey noted the packet contained a handful of typographical fixes. “These are all things you’ve seen before,” Kelsey said, adding the consolidated draft simply organizes earlier changes for clarity.

The commission flagged several specific drafting adjustments before finalizing the hearing date: adding “day of week” as a factor in the bedrock-removal timing rules to give the Development Review Board (DRB) clearer guidance, and removing the adjective “forested” from the core habitat-block definition to make it more measurable. The commission also agreed staff should prepare individual spotlights explaining, in plain language, changes such as the zoning-permit and certificate-of-occupancy updates.

The motion to set the hearing was moved by Commissioner Duncan and seconded by the chair. In a roll-call vote the motion passed with five votes in favor and one opposed (Commissioner Michael). The commission indicated it will present the consolidated draft and spotlights at the hearing and invited public comment.