The Burlington City Council passed an updated Open Space Plan for the Vermont city Monday evening.
The City Council held the second of two required public hearings on proposed revisions to its Open Space Plan, which was first adopted in 2000. According to the city, the plan “is a road map ... to grow and steward Burlington’s open spaces now and in the future.” It includes an inventory of more than three dozen parks and open spaces across the city and guidelines for regulatory protection.
During the public hearing, Wildlife Biologist and Burlington Conservation Board member Zoe Richards said it is crucial to invest in the city’s ecosystems and other nature-based climate solutions.
“There’s not a clear path for revenue generation in this field which is why there’s historic under-investment in these cost-effective approaches to being a climate resilient city. Every dollar spent on urban conservation and nature-based climate solutions returns $3 in avoided damage and co-benefits. This is a conservative estimate from the World Bank. We can’t afford not to invest.”
As the council deliberated on the plan, Ward 2 Progressive Gene Bergman noted it has been decades since the Open Space Plan was updated.
“Twenty-five years is a long time to have a plan that’s just been there. And there have been a lot of dramatic changes in the city. So, it is time that we make this change. And what this does is set a framework by which we can work to really build the city and the way that we do it is critically important and this provides us a template.”
Ward 8 Progressive Marek Broderick supported the update, noting the original plan was approved two years before he was born.
“For a 25-year-old plan things that are in here ring painfully true today. The incorporation of modern best practices for urban planning specifically around reducing sprawl and creating more environments for people and in turn nature-centric environments, that is how we blend our need for solving our housing crisis but also including these nature-based climate solutions. There’s always the argument can these two things coexist? And I do believe that is possible and I think this plan shows it.”
Parks, Arts and Culture Committee Chair Ward 1 Progressive Carter Neubieser offered the motion to approve the plan.
“There’s obviously a climate aspect to this but really the quality-of-life aspect for our city and our residents is so huge. I’ve seen examples where this kind of planning doesn’t happen. You know, you can quickly take a city or a town and turn it into a lot of gas stations or concrete paved everything over, etcetera. So I’m really glad and proud that we live in a community that has taken a different approach.“
The City Council unanimously approved the new Open Space Plan.
During her report on General City Affairs, Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak told councilors she plans to unveil a three-prong plan to address the city’s housing crisis.
“While we’ll be unveiling this three-pronged strategy, there are a couple other elements other departments are still working on. And that includes how we are strategically addressing problem properties, distressed properties, vacant properties in the city of Burlington, especially in the downtown core. And also, you can’t talk about housing without talking about the emergency that we continue to live in day in and day out of how many folks are unhoused in the streets of Burlington but also in the state of Vermont.”
The mayor also reported that her administration continues to work on the 2027 proposed budget and are engaging employees for suggestions on how to fill a $10-to-12-million budget gap.
