Weinberger said the city has reached an agreement with developer Eric Farrell, to involve parties who have expressed an interest in preserving some of the land, which fronts Lake Champlain.
Concerns over how the nearly 30-acre site formerly owned by the Burlington Diocese and most recently by the financially troubled Burlington College have led to the formation of a new grassroots group, Save Our Space-Burlington, which has organized and put pressure on city officials to involve the broader community in plans for the property.
Friday, Weinberger announced a memorandum of understanding with Farrell that calls for a “collaborative planning process intended to take public input and explore possible site designs for the property.”
“The parties – Vermont Land Trust, Champlain Housing Trust (CHT), property owner Eric Farrell through BC Community Housing, LLC (BCCH), and the City of Burlington – recognize that the property is an iconic piece of Burlington, and the MOU offers the opportunity for a broad public discussion about the future of the land before any formal permitting process begins,” the announcement from the the mayor’s office stated.
“I was born and raised in Burlington and now live in the New North End,” Farrell said in the release. “As a long-standing resident, I am as concerned as anyone with how this strategic property is developed. The entire community can and should benefit from the development of this property.”
Champlain Housing Trust, along with the Cathedral Square Corp., will work with Farrell’s BCCH on the provision of affordable family and senior housing, the announcement stated, outlining goals that will seek to protect sensitive areas of the space from sustainability to minimizing traffic impacts and more.
A consultant will work with the groups involved to hold a collaborative workshop with all interested parties, community members and experts, the city hall announcement went on, “to envision potential site plans for the property.”
The agreement announced Friday by the mayor’s office can be terminated by either the City or Eric Farrell through BCCH should the parties reach an impasse despite a good-faith effort, the news release stated.
Andrew Simon, spokesman for the SOS-Burlington group, said the MOU did not go far enough.
“While we are somewhat encouraged that the mayor is responding to public pressure on the Burlington College land, the MOU describes another deal between or among developers,” Simon said. “For this to be anything other than a greenwash, there has to be full and meaningful public participation in any discussion about the land; (and) there can be no preconditions. In other words, the option keeping 100 percent of the land open has to be on the table.”
