BURLINGTON — The City Council has paved the way for concert venue Higher Ground to move into property owned by Burton in the South End by approving zoning changes.
The council voted 11-1 to approve changes which will allow Burton to move forward with its plans to turn an industrial manufacturing building into a multi-use space. Only South End city councilor Joan Shannon voted against the change.
Before the vote, the council heard from neighbors with mixed feelings about the project, with opponents concerned about noise, traffic and safety and supporters expressing excitement about the project.
The concert venue would be part of a wider re-purposing of an 85,000 square foot building behind Burton’s building on Industrial Parkway. Higher Ground would be moving from its current site on Williston Road in South Burlington.
Justin Worthley, Burton’s vice president for human resources, said that Burton believes the plans for the under-utilized facility would transform it into a vibrant, mixed-use destination.
“It’ll become a really great local destination for the community and a place people can come and experience food, manufacturing, shopping, entertainment, recreation with a skatepark,” he said.
The snowboard manufacturer had originally purchased the building with the intention of expanding its business there, but the 2008 recession and industry trends since then have halted those plans.
“We bought it with an intent to fill it up, and that changed quickly based on a pretty dramatic change in circumstances for our business,” Worthley said. “Since that time, we’ve worked on multiple options that are sort of fitting within the existing zoning, and it’s not working.”
While Burton tried to find manufacturing tenants for the space, and worked with the city to do so, those efforts have been unsuccessful.
Higher Ground will be the facility’s main new tenant, with approximately 12,000 square feet of space. There will also be a 6,500 square foot food court featuring local restaurants Mad Taco and Misery Loves Company.
Burton will use 25,000 square feet of the space as a prototype facility for product development and customer services, and around 8,500 square feet as its store.
Two nonprofits will also use space in the facility — the Talent Skatepark and the Chill Foundation, which offers snow, skate and paddleboarding opportunities to low-income youth.
The project still needs to go through the Development Review Board process before final approval.
The zoning changes update the city’s definition of manufacturing, industrial and art production uses and clarifies the city wants to prioritize these uses south of Home Avenue.
The change also allows other general commercial uses in the area as long as they exist on lots where manufacturing or production is also occurring, said Meagan Tuttle, the city’s principal planner for comprehensive planning.
“If we want to have these general commercial uses on lots in the heart of what we consider to be the part of the enterprise zone we need to protect for industry, they need to exist on lots where industry, or some kind of making activity, is happening,” she said.
Tuttle said the city is seeking a balance between preserving industrial and manufacturing uses in the South End and acknowledging the reality of the market and evolution of the neighborhood.
Shannon said that she opposed the change because she believed it wasn’t consistent with the city’s development plan for the South End. She said she was also concerned that the project was moving forward before the completion of the Champlain Parkway.
“This is controversial, not everyone agrees on this,” she said. “I do like the vision of what they are trying to create, but I am very concerned about going forward with this without going through the community visioning process we did for Plan BTV South End.”
Councilor Adam Roof supported the zoning changes allowing the project.
“Manufacturing in Burlington is not coming back, and we need zoning that is responsive to the realities of our future,” he said. “We need to bold in moving away from decisions based on the fear of unlikely worst-case scenarios.”
The meeting’s public forum featured a mix of supporters and opponents to the zoning changes. Supporters said the zoning changes could help foster continued growth in the South End.
South End Resident Brett Smith said he thought the change would be good for retention and recruitment of young professionals to the state, and that the concerns around the project would be addressed in the permitting process.
“I feel this change will make the South End a more vibrant and liveable area,” he said.
Opponents said they are worried about increased noise, traffic and police activity the project would bring to their neighborhoods.
Elisa Nelson, who lives close to Burton, said she was worried about traffic and safety if the plans move forward.
“The time to say yes to Burton’s is when, and if … the Champlain Parkway is built,” she said. “Once it has proved that it can work and it can handle the extra volume, then it’s the right time to say yes.”
Worthley said that Burton was conscious of the traffic impact of the facility, but that the completion of the Champlain Parkway, after decades of delay, would ease those concerns.
“If not for the Parkway moving forward, I don’t know that this would necessarily make sense,” he said. “So we’re really dovetailing with the commitment the city’s made to get that road open, and that will make it super easy to get to and from our location.”
Meaghan Emery, vice chair of South Burlington’s city council, sent a letter to the city council before the meeting expressing concern about the zoning changes, including noise, traffic, increased nighttime activity in Red Rocks Park and increased police/fire responses to the area.
Emery wrote a strongly-worded letter to the full Burlington city council Tuesday saying their approval reflected “another example of your callous disregard for your neighbor,” especially since three South Burlington city councilors and dozens of South Burlington residents expressed concerns.
She said the council should have held off on voting on the issue to their next meeting so South Burlington could weigh in.
“The fact that you simply pushed it through frankly speaks of disrespect and lack of due diligence,” she said.
Councilor Max Tracy said he would have been opening to considering a delay on the action, but Emery had not requested it in her initial letter to the council and the process had been in the works since November.
Additionally, Tracy said there is still an opportunity to provide input in the development review process.
“I think there is ample opportunity to participate,” he said.
The city is anticipating a late 2019 start for construction of the two-lane, 25 MPH Champlain Parkway, which will connect I-89 and downtown Burlignton.
Worthley said that in a best-case scenario it would take 18 to 24 months for the venue to be up-and-running following a six months to a year of planning, designing and permitting.
