More than four years after announcing plans to partner with Higher Ground to turn vacant warehouse space into a performing arts center, Burton Snowboards is still fighting for approvals.
According to plans submitted to Burlington’s Development Review Board, Burton is seeking to turn 11,560 square feet of unused warehouse space and a new outdoor plaza at Burton’s Queen City Park Road headquarters into a music venue, relying on partnerships with Higher Ground and other companies. The capacity for the new space would be 1,500 people.
Over the years, Burton has worked to obtain zoning changes, Burlington Development Review Board approvals and eventually a state Act 250 permit. But after the DRB and state decisions, a group of residents, under the name “citizens for responsible zoning,” appealed in state environmental court.
Last month both cases were argued in front of Judge Mary Teachout in Vermont Superior court in Burlington. Following attorneys’ arguments, both sides have until early June to file post-trial memos. Once all filings in the cases are complete, Teachout will consider the appeals and issue a ruling.
In a written statement, Justin Worthley, Burton senior vice president of people and culture, described the “Global HUB project” as “a new, mixed-use project that complements the exciting arts and cultural growth happening in Burlington’s South End.”
“Burton is confident in its careful design of the Project, believes the concerns raised by a small group of opponents are misplaced, and looks forward to a decision from the Environmental Court in the pending appeal of the project’s zoning and Act 250 permits,” Worthley wrote. He declined further comment, citing the ongoing legal process.
Burton said on its website that, back in 2014, it started looking to fill vacant space at its headquarters with other manufacturers, since at that time it was the only permitted use in that zoning district. Without any takers, Burton and other manufacturers made the case to the city in January 2019 for more flexible zoning requirements, as reported in the Burlington Free Press.
Eventually, the city agreed. A set of zoning changes that paved the way for the Burton venue were eventually approved by the City Council in June 2019.
With the zoning change in hand, Burton moved forward with its specific plans. In September 2020, the Development Review Board approved the proposed venue. The first appeal by citizens for responsible zoning, or CRZ Group, was filed later that month. The state’s Act 250 approval took longer, but arrived in early 2022. That, too, was appealed by CRZ Group last March in a separate case. Both cases are now linked in environmental court.
Lawrence Smith, a South Burlington resident from a nearby neighborhood who is the designated representative for CRZ Group, said in an interview that the group is “not opposed” to development in general at the Burton campus. Its opposition centers on “traffic, noise and safety” that would come from the performing arts center, he said.
Smith said the informal group was formed shortly after the Burlington zoning change. It received support from a nonprofit called Voice for the Potash Brook Watershed, which has fought development in South Burlington.
Smith said that, before going to trial, the group had mediation sessions and conversations about a settlement, both unsuccessful.
“We have tried to settle or have a collaborative negotiation with Burton since day one,” Smith said. “They basically spoke with us up until the time they filed their first permit application, at which point it became very clear that they were just going to try to do what they wanted without — from our perspective — without having a willingness to really address the concerns that the neighbors have.”
According to Smith, noise is one of the biggest concerns the group has, in particular the effect on nearby Red Rocks Park in South Burlington.
Burton used a noise expert, Eddie Duncan from the consulting firm Resource Systems Group, according to court files. Duncan’s analysis concluded that noise levels at the nearby homes would be “comparable to existing nighttime sound levels in the area,” according to a court memo by Burton’s attorneys.
Smith said almost two days of the trial centered on Burton’s noise analysis, which Burton stood by.
Another issue raised was parking and traffic. Currently the Burton campus has more than 400 parking spaces, but with a capacity of 1,500, some neighbors worry about possible spillover of cars on residential streets. During the trial, Burton’s side again stood by an analysis that it will have enough parking.
The attorney for CRZ Group, James Dumont, also argued that the Burton plans still violate Burlington’s zoning ordinance, even after the 2019 accommodations were passed. Dumont argued that under the updated zoning, performing arts centers are not supposed to be serving alcohol in more than 50% of their space.
But acting Burlington City Attorney Kimberlee Sturtevant responded in a memo, saying Dumont and CRZ Group misinterpreted the zoning ordinance. Sturtevant said the 50% threshold is about where food and beverages are “prepared and served” and that customers are allowed to consume elsewhere in the facility.
Burlington is not the only municipality that is an interested party in the appeals. South Burlington is also involved, and one city councilor said she is concerned about the impact on South Burlington neighborhoods that are close to the Burton campus.
“We are concerned about the quality of life of the residents in that neighborhood, as well as the wildlife and natural resources that are in Red Rocks Park,” South Burlington City Councilor Meaghan Emery said in an interview.
Regarding Red Rocks Park, Emery said she also worries that, with alcohol being served at the new venue, there could be drinking inside the park before or after an event, which she said raises safety concerns with the high cliffs near the lake.
Emery said South Burlington primarily wanted to make its presence known at the trial.
“We really wanted to register our concern that this is something that we are not indifferent to — all of these concerns being raised in this trial,” Emery said.
As the parties await Teachout’s ruling, Smith said he didn’t expect the environmental court cases to be the end of the story.
“I would say there’s a higher likelihood that this will end up going to the Supreme Court than it will end with the judge’s ruling,” Smith said.
