Outgoing Burlington, Vermont Mayor Miro Weinberger was joined by advocates and business officials at a Habitat for Humanity house in the city’s Old North End Thursday to call on the City Council to pass the Neighborhood Code and not send it back to committee.
The city council will hold a second public hearing and consider whether to pass revisions to the city’s Neighborhood Code, which is the zoning for city residential housing, on Monday.
Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger gathered housing advocates and business representatives to explain the need for the zoning revisions.
“We are on the cusp of taking an action as a city that will change the trajectory of housing in this community,” Weinberger asserted. “For the last two years my administration, partners on the planning commission and the city council and in the community have been working on what we call the Neighborhood Code. This is a new zoning ordinance that will make legal once again duplexes, triplexes and fourplex structures that used to be commonplace in Burlington. The Neighborhood Code will make it easier, not harder, to build in Burlington’s neighborhoods.”
Burlington Planning Director Meagan Tuttle explained that the changes are intended to make it easier to increase housing opportunities across the city.
“We’re a landlocked city,” noted Tuttle. “Unlike our neighbors in Chittenden County we can’t grow out. We have to grow in our dense urban centers and by creating more housing choice in our existing vibrant neighborhoods. This gives us another tool to do that and also to help us make progress towards our equity and climate goals as well.”
Planning Commission Chair Andy Montroll, a former city councilor, says the Neighborhood Code is one of the most significant items the city has considered.
“The Neighborhood Code is a culmination of a lot of efforts,” said Montroll. “We’re really looking at our neighborhoods and saying what kind of city do we want to be? The thing that struck me this time that was different was the number of young voices that came out and shared with us what they were looking for and what they needed. I think we’re really trying to accomplish a lot to help Burlington be the community of choice for our younger generation and for the current generation and for all the people who are here. And I think that’s just really important if we want to stay a vibrant city.”
Vermont Professionals of Color Executive Director Tino Rutanhira offered sobering data to emphasize the need to pass a measure that would increase housing opportunities.
“In Burlington 62% of homes are renter occupied, the vast majority of these by people of color,” Rutanhira noted. “And with the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment being at $1,600 a month, if an individual is earning less than $60,000 a year a full third of their gross income is devoted to housing alone. We find ourselves at a crossroads where bold, creative and comprehensive action is imperative. If housing is a human right, then it is undeniably right to build housing and to support the Neighborhood Code.”
The council could send the proposed changes back to the Ordinance Committee for further work. Weinberger, who will leave office on April 1st, called on the council to pass the new code at the upcoming meeting.
“Despite the years of work on this effort I know there are some right now who are calling for this Neighborhood Code to be sent back to committee for more work,” acknowledged Weinberger. ”I want to urge my colleagues on the City Council to act on Monday instead. Our housing challenges are serious and they demand action now not at some future date. On Monday we have a rare opportunity to make a change that will create new homes throughout the city.”
The City Council meeting begins at 5:30 Monday evening. Progressive state Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak won March’s Town Meeting Day election to replace Weinberger.
