Update on Brookfield's City Center progress, in Executive Session. Two updates Glassberg shared with public: previously posted Brookfield Developer has no plan for public engagement, and then this announcement:
Glassberg reported that Brookfield will be meeting with the Technical Review Committee on Jan. 9 at 5:30 in Room 12. City Attorney jumped in to say that meeting will be closed to the public. Requested explanation, here it is:
Well, the TRC meetings were open. I represented my NPA there on two projects in my ward. I sat in on the meetings, and commented about potential neighborhood concerns.
"The meeting on Thursday is a technical meeting between the applicant and City staff to get a preliminary
understanding of a proposed development project and early engagement of all affected city departments. There is no public body involved that would trigger the open meeting law. City staff is expected to provide general direction to the applicant, and there is nothing binding that comes out of this meeting. All Major Impact Projects such as this one are required to hold a separate pre-application public meeting that usually occurs at the NPA prior to filing a formal application. That is the place for the public to learn about and give input on the project prior to the application.
Lea, I don’t recall any issue a few years ago and haven’t heard from other staff that there has ever been a determination that this stage of the development process has to be open to the public.
Eileen M. BlackwoodCity Attorney & Corporation Counsel
Well, the TRC meetings were open. I represented my NPA there on two projects in my ward. I sat in on the meetings, and commented about potential neighborhood concerns.
The Technical Review Committee is listed with other advisory committees in the CDO: Design Advisory Board (DRB), Conservation Board (CB), Technical Review Committee (TRC). No mention of TRC being different than DRB and CB. No mention of it being closed to the public. The other two advisory committees are open to public, and have public comment periods.
PART 5: ADVISORY COMMITTEES
Sec. 2.5.3 Technical Review Committee. (a) Composition The city's Technical Review Committee (or committee), as established by resolution of the city council on April 21, 1986 shall be composed of those department heads, or their designees, whose departments are or will be significantly affected by major development projects. The administrative officer shall serve as chair of the committee. (b) Powers and Duties. The Technical Review Committee may review all Major Impact (Art. 3, Part 5), Subdivision (Art 10) and/or Planned Development (Art. 11) projects at the discretion of the administrative officer either prior to or as soon as practicable following a formal submission of an application. Members of the committee shall provide written comments following such review and indicate for the applicant any and all pertinent regulations and identifiable impacts of the proposed development project. In assessing such impacts, the committee shall consider the cumulative impact of developments on city services and infrastructure within the proceeding twelve (12) month period. The comments of the committee are intended to provide general direction to the applicant and are not deemed binding on either the members of the committee or upon the applicant unless such comments are incorporated into a final decision of the DRB.
PLANNING YOUR PROJECT: Technical Review Committee. https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/DPI/Planning- Your-Project At the discretion of the Zoning Administrator, a pre-application review may be scheduled before the City's Technical Review Committee (TRC) for any projects that will require review under the Major Impact (Article 3, Part 5), Subdivision (Article 10) and/or Planned Development (Article 11) provisions of the CDO, or for any project that, in the opinion of the Zoning Administrator due to its size and/or complexity, would benefit from an informal review by a cross-section of City Departments. Representatives from Zoning, Trades, Public Works, Planning, Burlington Electric, CEDO, Burlington Fire, and Parks & Recreation participate. This is a great opportunity to share information about large and more complex project across several City departments, and can be a huge help to you in navigating the permitting process.
No comments:
Post a Comment