This commentary is by Mark Furnari, a mediator, counselor and leadership development coach and former staff person for the Burlington City Council.
Higher Ground and Burton Snowboards have been working on their major music venue proposal — up to 1,500 people per show five to seven days per week in a former manufacturing facility between three neighborhoods in Burlington’s South End bordering Red Rocks Park.
The Burlington City Council voted to approve the zoning change with little or no input from neighbors and other nearby community members.
As if :
—Contamination with toxic materials at the former site of General Dynamics, now Burton Snowboards, and the threat to local groundwater and drinking water is not enough.
—The spillover of this many patrons onto adjoining residential areas in both Burlington and South Burlington and South Burlington’s Red Rocks Park natural area is not enough to again question the location.
—The lack of adequate parking on site for up to 500 or 600 cars is not enough to raise serious concerns for safety and property damage to the neighboring properties.
Hey, while we are at it, let’s add one more concern to the list. The Burlington Police Department’s recent decision to cut back on staffing creates concerns that Burlington police will not be able to guarantee the kinds of police oversight at the proposed venue that would protect the safety and property of surrounding areas.
To quote then-Chief of Police Jennifer Morrison, writing to the Burlington Development Review Board on April 17, 2020: “But some of the larger events envisioned for the facility — up to 1,500 people — will require close coordination with facility owners and managers. The challenge will be that some large events at the new Higher Ground/Mixed Use Hub have the potential to divert BPD resources during a time when those resources are normally focused on downtown Burlington’s ‘bar closing.’“
And police services WILL be needed. Figures for “calls for service” from Higher Ground at its South Burlington location from June 2018 to May 2019 (pre-pandemic) show 137 calls to the South Burlington police and fire departments. Over 90 of these were for “directed patrol” (where the venue called for a patrol to come to prevent a possible problem), motor vehicle complaints (remember the inadequate parking), intoxication (yes, there will be drinking at these events), and “disturbance.”
Former Chief Morrison continued: “Specific concerns include: managing traffic flows in either direction on Queen City Park Road, particularly at the narrow bridge over the railroad tracks between Arthur Court and Central Avenue but also north to the intersection with Home Avenue; large gatherings in the parking lots before and after large events; the potential for disorder inside the venue during large events and/or performances by specific artists whose followings include disproportionate numbers of disruptive elements; and, for the South Burlington Police Department, after-hours activity potentially leaking into Red Rocks Park and down Central Avenue.
“Accordingly, BPD’s approval of the conditional use application is contingent on assurances by Burton and Higher Ground that event-specific, properly resourced security plans are put in place to address traffic concerns, crowd control, and the potential for disorder. Such plans might include additional private security personnel, personnel to direct traffic, and potentially armed security personnel (of the type provided by off-duty law enforcement).”
Are such guarantees in place? Are there enforcement provisions? Are there penalties for not providing these needed services? The public should know about this issue of policing adequacy, as well as all the other issues mentioned at the beginning of this letter.
The neighbors in both Burlington and South Burlington should not have to worry about their privacy, property, and peace of mind. The people of South Burlington should not have to worry about the costs of extra policing and potential harm to the Red Rocks Park Natural Area.
