© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

Burlington City Council eliminates parking minimums

Screenshot of January 9, 2023 Burlington City Council meeting
Town Meeting TV
Screenshot of January 9, 2023 Burlington City Council meeting

The Burlington, Vermont City Council had a number of items on its agenda Monday evening and approved a measure to eliminate minimum parking requirements in the city.

An ordinance change before councilors would replace minimum parking requirements with maximum parking limits and expand requirements for the city’s Transportation Demand Management program for multi-modal public transportation.

Ordinance Committee chair, Ward 5 Democrat Ben Traverse, noted that a couple years ago the city eliminated minimum parking requirements in the downtown core and the new proposal extends it citywide.

“This forward thinking move will allow projects more flexibility to build the parking their residents or their employees actually need. As stated in the language of the proposed ordinance requirements for a minimum number of off-street parking spaces have been recognized as an impediment to building housing and other desired uses, inhibit the expansion of alternative transportation and Transportation Demand Management and act as an instrument to overbuild parking and incentivize single occupancy automobile use. We will still have parking in the city. It’s just that we’ll have the parking we need. And we’ll be meeting that need in a way that better addresses our climate and sustainability goals and our ongoing housing crisis.”

The proposed ordinance received the most public comments.

Ward 2 resident Josie Rennell encouraged the council to pass the ordinance.

“We all know that Burlington is experiencing a housing crisis and any space in the city is coveted and valuable. By removing parking minimums some of this space can be opened to people friendly services such as housing, businesses or studios instead of dedicated to car storage with each new development.”

Ward 4 resident Colin Larson pointed out the costs of imposing parking minimums.

“The Victoria Transport Policy Institute has calculated that current standard parking requirements in North America amount to a 10 to 15 percent tax on development, a cost that is immediately passed on to renters and buyers. For low and moderate income housing in areas with higher land cost, like Burlington, that financial burden is even higher since a greater proportion of the lot is now being used for non-productive, non-income generating parking.”

South District Democrat Joan Shannon was opposed to eliminating the city’s parking minimums.

“Tenants all over the city are struggling to find parking. Decoupling the parking from the cost of housing may reduce the cost of housing but it doesn’t reduce the cost of living. Eighty-five percent of our households in the city do own a car. When we’re not driving the car it is parked and it needs to have a place to park and I haven’t seen any plan as to where people will put them.”

Councilors approved the ordinance change on a 10 to 1 vote.

Among the other resolutions councilors considered was whether to place on March’s Town Meeting Day ballot voter authorization of the implementation of a carbon pollution impact fee during the permitting process for new construction or existing large commercial and industrial buildings installing fossil fuel energy systems rather than using renewable options.

Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger said if the voters endorse it, it is a critical step toward the city’s net zero goals.

“To meet our climate goals we need carbon pricing. We need carbon pricing in partnership with very significant subsidies and incentives and encouragements to move towards electrification and towards renewables. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do here in Burlington. But we always hear about carbon pricing is that it can’t be done, can’t be done in America, can’t be done it’s too politically challenging and thus many people have really turned away from the possibility of properly pricing carbon. We’re making a serious and significant attempt to do that here. The fact that we can make it work here in Burlington will be noticed and will have an impact far beyond just our borders.”

Councilors unanimously voted to place the question on the city’s Town Meeting Day ballot.

Related Content