Miro Weinberger issued a statement Tuesday about the city’s goals for the lakefront acreage less than 24 hours after a group of faculty, staff and students met to strategize on how to halt the development of the land.
Burlington College plans to sell 25 acres of the 32 acre property on Lake Champlain to developer Eric Farrell for $7 million.
Without giving a thumbs up or down to the preliminary deal, the mayor’s office listed 10 guidelines for any development of the property.
“In the coming months, I am committed to working with the city’s conservation partners and Mr. Farrell and engaging the land use permitting process to realize a vision for the land,” Weinberger said in a statement.
The college is selling the parcel because it is in deep debt after the 2010 purchase of the 32-acre campus from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.
The diocese sold the land to the college for $10 million under former president Jane Sanders, the wife of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Since then, the college, under subsequent president Christine Plunkett, failed to meet fundraising and enrollment growth goals.
Meanwhile, a Friends of Burlington College group has begun meeting and plans to hire an attorney to review the memorandum of understanding with Farrell and to explore ways to raise money to preserve the land.
The memorandum of understanding, signed Nov. 14, includes a provision that gives conservation groups 60 days to counter Farrell’s offer.
The uncertainty surrounding the future of the land caused the city to review its own goals and policies regarding the property, according to the statement from Weinberger’s office.
The 10 guidelines are drawn primarily from a November 2001 report commissioned by then-mayor Peter Clavelle.
Those guidelines include: protecting the beach from development, providing public access to the bike path from North Avenue, keeping a large portion of the land undeveloped and constructing rental and affordable housing units.
In addition to reviewing city policies that impact the parcel, city officials have met with conservation stakeholders, Burlington College officials and real estate developer Eric Farrell to consider the options of housing, conservation and public use of the land, according to the statement.
Burlington College interim president Michael Smith on Tuesday said he had a conversation with Weinberger in early September after he took the helm. The mayor did not consult with Smith before releasing the guidelines.
“These are issues that will be worked out between the mayor’s office and the future owner of the land, Mr. Farrell,” Smith said. Farrell did not return a call for comment.
Weinberger has commented publicly on the land sale twice.
The mayor issued a statement on Oct. 21, when Smith first announced the plan to sell to Farrell. Weinberger said he was pleased the college was “taking decisive, proactive steps to address its serious financial challenges.”
Weinberger said he supports efforts by the board of trustees and the new interim leadership trio to “save this important Burlington institution.”
The mayor’s statement in October also mentioned the North Avenue connection to the bike path. “We will continue to be engaged in the development and conservation discussions about the land in the months and years ahead,” he said.
Greg Guma, a Burlington resident who is considering challenging Weinberger in the March election, issued his own statement.
“While it’s an encouraging preliminary response, open, ongoing engagement by city hall will be needed for that to happen. And the plans should be considered as part of a broader development review and actions that make housing more affordable, preserve open land, and protect an important, 42-year-old community institution,” Guma said.
From the mayor’s Nov. 25 statement
“I am committed to working with the city’s conservation partners and Mr. Farrell and engaging the land use permitting process to realize a vision for the land that is guided by the following principles, most of which come directly from the 2001 Mayor Clavelle report:
• Housing of all types should be incorporated into the development, including housing that will serve a range of income types and provide opportunity for both home ownership and rental opportunities;
• A generous portion of the land should remain open space, and the open space should be open to the public;
• The public should have access to the beach area and to the bike path through property in an similar to the current access
• The entire waterfront area west of bike path should be maintained as public space;
• Community gardens should continue to have a substantial presence on the property;
• The bluffs directly east of the bike path should be protected from any construction and development;
• Development should be sensitive to and protective of significant natural features, especially the path and tree-scape on the bluffs, including the rare pine-oak-heath sandplain forest at the Northwest corner of the property;
• Neighborhood commercial/small business use that serves the local neighborhood should be encouraged through the development process;
• Development of this property should enhance revitalization of Burlington’s Old North End, specifically commerce along North Avenue; and
• Development should support alternative modes of transportation to minimize traffic impacts.”
