Text Box: The Downtowner is published quarterly by the Burlington Business Association, a non-profit membership organization. Board of Directors: Andréa Sisino, Chair, Phelan Fretz, Vice Chair, Sherry Prehoda, Treasurer, Marie Bouffard, Becky Cassidy, Paula Coletti, Tim Halvorson, Libby Harden, Dan Latcheran, Tom Leavitt, Bob McKearin, Sparky Millikin, Fran Mount, Jeff Nick, Kevin Owens, Chris Reck, Lori Smith, Peter Straube Executive Director: Nancy Wood Office Administrator: Denise Sortor Tel 802-863-1175 Fax 802-658-5866 110 Main Street, #3B Burlington, VT 05401 www.BurlingtonBusinessAssociation.com © June 2007 Burlington Business Assoc. Text Box: Volume 14 Issue 2 Text Box: Summer 2007 Text Box: BBA Meetings & Special Events Thur July 12 - 7:30 AM - 9 AM: Membership Meeting at the King Street Youth Center Thur Aug 2 - 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM: Summer Social at Burlington’s North Beach Thur Sept 6 - 7:30 AM - 9 AM: Membership Meeting (Location TBA) Thur Oct 4 - 7:30 AM - 9 AM: Membership Meeting at FAHC For information and reservations call 863-1175 , e-mail bbavt@aol.com, or visit the website www.bbavt.org

The Downtowner

Parking & Transportation are “Front Burner” Issues

The City of Burlington has issued a “Request for Qualifications” (RFQ) for developing mixed-income rental housing on the parking lot abutting Browns Court -- located downtown at the southeast corner of the King Street and St. Paul Street intersection. The RFQ solicits interested

expectation that it could be mitigated by development of public parking in the TD Banknorth block.  However, this would require public subsidy that relies on improvements to TIF (tax increment financing) legislation that the  Vermont State Legislature did not make this year.

The City-owned Browns Court parking lot on a typical workday morning (8:43 AM on 6/5/07)

developers for the property, which is owned by the City and is currently used as a long-term parking lot with 44 parking spaces with low cost 10 hour meters. According to a May 24 press release from Mayor Kiss, “Developing the Browns Court Parking lot for mixed-income housing has been a stated goal of the City for several years…  Issuance of an RFQ for the site was approved by the City Council at its April 18 meeting.”

The RFQ included a deadline of June 4 for submissions by developers. It is expected that qualified developers will be chosen within 30 days.

The documents express concern about the loss of the parking, but indicate an

The Board of Directors of the Burlington Business Association discussed the issue of downtown parking at their May 24 meeting, and approved the following statement:

 

 We believe it would be in the best interests of the City of Burlington and its economic vitality to include in the Zoning Ordinance and Municipal Development Plan provisions that ensure the replacement of existing parking and creation of new parking in the downtown area before any current parking spaces are removed, or existing parking lots are redeveloped.

 

This policy statement arises from concerns

(Continued on page 3)

BBA Board responds to the potential loss of parking at Browns Court and a lack of support for new parking in the Zoning Rewrite and Transportation Plan
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