On the agenda: South Burlington meeting — data center (Jun 10)

Housing Committee Meeting Agenda
Wednesday, June 10, 2026 | 6 PM

Participation Options
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In Person: City Hall, 180 Market Street, Library Board Room
Online: https://zoom.us/j/95623432643
Phone: 929 205 6099 ID: 95623432643

1.

6:00 PM Welcome
Instructions on exiting the building in the event of an emergency

2.

6:02 PM Agenda: Additions, deletions, or changes in order of agenda items
Documents:
MEMO 2025-06-10.PDF

3.

6:03 PM Open to the public for items not related to the agenda

4.

6:10 PM Announcements and staff report

5.

6:30 PM Minutes: May 2026
Documents:
HOUSING COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 13, 2026.PDF

6.

6:40 PM June 22 Learn from Your Neighbors Housing Event

7.

7:00 PM Recap of Rental Registry Presentation to City Council
Documents:
RENTAL REGISTRY UPDATE PRESENTATION 2026.PDF
ANNUAL UPDATE TO CITY COUNCIL ON RENTAL REGISTRATION PROGRAM
FINAL 2026.PDF

8. Other Business
9. Adjourn

MEMORANDUM
TO:

South Burlington Housing Committee

FROM:

Kelsey Peterson, Senior City Planner

SUBJECT: Housing Committee Meeting Memo
DATE:

For June 10, 2026 Housing Committee meeting

1. Welcome, instructions on exiting the building in the event of an emergency
2. Agenda: Additions, deletions, or changes in order of agenda items
3. Open to the public for items not related to the agenda
4. Announcements and staff report
•

On June 23 at 7pm, the Planning Commission is holding a Public Hearing on
amendments to the Land Development Regulations. Details are available on the City’s
website.

5. Minutes: May 2026
6. June 22 Learn from Your Neighbors Housing Event
Background

[This section is the same as from the May 13 Meeting Memo, as a reminder]
I have been working with staffpeople from Burlington, Winooski, Essex Junction, and the CCRPC
on a project coordinating education and outreach events targeted to homeowners in those
municipalities who are not familiar with recent changes at the municipal and state level that
change what they can do on a single-unit property. The idea is that many people are not keyed
into the details of local zoning and state regulation, so there are many homeowners who are
either do not know there have been changes that allow more housing to be built on their
properties or are intimidated by zoning and city offices who would benefit from intro-level
education. The events are designed to primarily be a Learn from Your Neighbors opportunity
based on the experiences of other local homeowners adding a unit to their homes.
We have currently planned two events in this series: May 16 in Burlington and June 22 in South
Burlington. The CCRPC is hosting a website about the project (https://www.ccrpcvt.org/ourwork/economic-development/housing/infill-housing-campaign/) and have included some
180 Market Street

South Burlington, VT 05403

tel 802.846.4106

fax 802.846.4101 www.sb vt.gov

resources, like a Key Zoning Terms glossary and a Resource Directory. Those are both still under
further review, but they are available to the public now.
June 2026 Meeting Asks
I’d like to have confirmation from Committee Members about who is available to attend the
event, who can help with set-up and/or break-down, picking up a food order, etc. Can we nail
down the details of who is doing day-of event assistance?
7. Recap of Rental Registry Presentation to City Council
City Council has now received a presentation on the Rental Registry which Sandy previously
sent around to the Committee and I have attached to this packet. The Committee can take this
opportunity to discuss the presentation on the Rental Registry and if there is follow-up from the
Committee on this topic right now.
8. Other Business
9. Adjourn

2

South Burlington Housing Committee
May 13, 2026, 6:00 to 8:00
Minutes
The South Burlington Housing Committee was called to order at 6:00 PM on May 13th in City Hall, 180
Market Street and via Zoom.
Committee members present included Chair Nora Senecal, Vince Bolduc, Sandy Dooley, Meghan Tedder and
Betty Milizia was filling in as a temporary replacement for Lydia Diamond. Chris Trombly and Tasos Zois
were absent. Lydia Diamond has moved to Burlington and resigned.
Others present: Kelsey Peterson (Senior City Planner), Elizabeth Fitzgerald, designated representative from the
City Council.

Announcements:
Sandy reported on the April 30th CCRPC Regional Housing event that featured Grace Murray from NH Youth
Movement and Matt Mooshian from 603 Forward, who spoke about navigating community resistance to
housing and building public support, relative to a Manchester, NH rezoning proposal. A major focus of their
presentation was how they used social media. Other committee members also attended this gathering.
Vince and Nora reported on a recent 55 page article on the city of Burlington by two UVM authors who argued
that “housing supply is not the problem.” Both Vince and Nora then pointed out a response to this argument by
Middlebury Professor Gary Winslett that identified a number of serious flaws in their research which made the
counter-point. Both articles are being sent to the Committee.
Elizabeth reported that the new position of Director of Economic Development has been approved and
recruitment to fill the position will start shortly. She also reported that the Econ Development Committee would
like to meet with us before long. Since we last met, the Planning Commission has met twice. Among other
business, a potential developer appeared before them and asked about how the City might respond to an
application for a “Wake Robin type of development” for long term care off Hinesburg Road. It was very
speculative. The PC also discussed potential adaptive re-use of the Gazebo/Pillsbury Manor space on Williston
Road as it could be used for affordable housing. The PC also had neighbors appear to discuss zoning off
Shunpike Road designed to accommodate housing for Beta employees. It seems that some neighbors were
concerned about the displacement of “legacy housing.”
Kelsey explained that the PC has continued to look the changes in the LDRs, including non-conforming
buildings, adaptive re-use, and restoring the City’s Energy code. In keeping with legislative changes, the City is
likely to receive exemptions for some Act 250 review for specified land in the City that would fit “Tier 1”
classification. The City needs to apply for these exemptions by August. The City is also making sure that
“Emergency Shelters” can be located in conformity with State goals, and serving the common good. The PC is
also looking at capping the size of data centers that would be permitted within the City boundaries.
Kelsey also reported that her four-community housing group is working on two “Learn from your Neighbors”
housing events for the summer. Both are designed to stimulate infill housing. The first one will be on May 16th
in Burlington and the second will be on June 22nd in the SB City Library (5 to 7). The title of both of the
programs is “Want your property to work for you?” Vince will be a presenter in the SB event based on his
recent experience of adding an ADU to his property.
The minutes of the last Housing Committee meeting were approved unanimously.

Nora then turned our attention to the Committee’s Work Plan that fits under the PPS or Public Priorities and
Strategies which she will present to the City Council on May 18th. A brainstorming session followed with
Committee members giving her ideas about how best to secure the support of the CC. One of our top priorities
is for the City to conduct a Housing Needs Assessment as soon as possible. The last one was done in 2012.
Many other City projects have requested support and have been granted priority treatment in the prior years, and
now the Committee strongly feels it is time for housing needs to be recognized as a priority.
A brief discussion also occurred on the Housing Trust Fund and the problem of generating more proposals,
either large or small. Should we have a rubric to judge proposals? This will be discussed more at subsequent
meetings.
Given the late hour, Sandy suggested we postpone discussion of the report on the new Rental Registry to a
subsequent meeting. All agreed.
A summary of the activities for April’s Fair Housing was given—namely the renter workshop titled “Know
Your Rights” and the book discussion on Brave New Home by Diana Lind which took place on April 16th.
Both were described as successful.
The Committee adjourned at 8:00.
Respectfully submitted,
Vince Bolduc, Secretary

Rental Registry Program
Update
John Christman, Battalion Chief/Fire Marshal
Patricia Wehman, Program Manager
May 04, 2026

Registrations (First Year vs Second Year)
• Total properties registered

417

565

35%

• Total rental units

2,643

3,783

43%

• Permanently affordable units

762

901

18%

• Long-term rental units

1,808

2,820

55%

• Existing short-term rentals

46

34

-26%

• Owner-Occupied STR

27

29

7%

Inspections (First Year vs Second Year)
• Total properties inspected

222

381

• Total units inspected

753

1725

• Total number of inspections

975

2106

Inspections and Violations (This cycle)
• Total number of violations found: 2,220
• Total number of violations corrected: 1,600
• Units in full compliance: 200 +

Most Common Violations
• Absence of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlets where required
• Carbon monoxide and smoke alarms do not meet City Ordinance or Code **
• Fuel-burning heating systems not inspected **
• Fire extinguishers are missing or out of compliance
• Handrails not meeting code or are non-existent
• Non-inhabitable spaces being used as living spaces
** = high life safety hazards

Challenges
• Cancelations and last-minute
rescheduling by owners/managers
• Programming errors in the
registration portal leading to delays
in renewal notification and
processing.
• Establishing and updating
owner/manager/property
information

Successes
• Education in the field.
• Rental housing stock in the city is
becoming safer every day.
• Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarms
are being installed or updated.
• Proper windows for code compliance
and escape purposes.

Ordinance Challenges
• Re-evaluate the sunset provision on short-term rental units.
• Re-evaluate the details of the short-term rental (STR) requirements as being
different than long-term rental (LTR) requirements.
• Consider fees related to missed appointments, last minute cancellations or reinspections where limited to no effort to make repairs has been made.

Closing
• Many of our owners and tenants have made significant
improvements to their properties, greatly improving the
safety for the citizens of this city.

MEMORANDUM
To:

City Council

From: Steven A. Locke, Fire Chief
John Christman, Battalion Chief/Fire Marshal
Patricia Wehman, Rental Registry Manager
CC:

Jessie Baker, City Manager

Date: May 4, 2026
Re:

Rental Registry Program Update 2026

We are pleased to provide you with an update on the Rental Registration Program for the
period between April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026. This period encompasses the
second full year of registry operation and is in line with the registration period. As you are
aware, in 2023 City Council adopted an ordinance to both address the issue of short-term
rentals and the registration of all rental housing in the City. The program was formally
launched in the spring of 2024 with the �irst year of registrations/inspections and the team
is working hard to identify the remaining units that have not registered. The overall goal is
to ensure residential rental units are safe for the occupants. A link to the adopted ordinance
can be found here.
Registrations

In our update last year, we highlighted the efforts we were making to increase voluntary
registrations. This included using a software system that identi�ies short-term rental units
within the community, sending out informational notices with the quarterly water bills and
collaborating with property owners and management. These steps proved to be effective at
getting the word out. This year, the registry team has continued to employ the same
software program as well as using existing data within the system to proactively reach out
to property owners as part of the renewal program. This has allowed the team to �ilter out
units that were either discontinued or transferred. The 3,783 units of housing registered
has exceeded our initial estimates, and while we anticipate there are still some unregistered
units, we do not believe this number will increase signi�icantly unless new buildings are
constructed.

The following is a summary of registrations with a comparison to last year’s update.
Category

Registered rental properties
Total rental units
Permanently affordable units
Long-term units at market rate
Existing short-term rental units
Owner-occupied short-term
rental units

First year (Feb 24 to
Feb 25)

417
2,643
762
1,808
46
27

April 1, 2025 to April
1, 2026

565
3,783
900
2,820
34
29

Percent
Change

35%
43%
18%
55%
-26%
7%

**It is important to note that while we use the term, “units” as a tracking feature, this number
truly indicates the number of homes for our neighbors.
Revenue and Outstanding Invoices
The revenue collected in the �irst year was approximately $340,000, which is used to fund
both the personnel and program cost associated with the rental registry program. It is
anticipated the revenues received will be suf�icient to cover all expenses without reliance
on general fund dollars. This �iscal year to date the actual revenues collected are roughly
$295,000 with another $140,000 outstanding. The outstanding fees are due to several
factors which include delayed mail delivery, missing fees on applications, incorrect
information on the application, or past-due payments. The rental registry team is
continuing to work with applicants, helping them navigate the renewal process and the
online portal.
As a reminder, the annual registration fees are:
•
•
•
•

Long-term, market rate unit:
Long-term, permanently affordable unit:
Short-term, existing unit:
Short-term, owner/tenant occupied:

$150.00
$25.00
$1,500.00
$150.00

Long-term, market rate unit:
Long-term, permanently affordable unit:
Short-term, existing unit:
Short-term, owner/tenant occupied:

$360,000.00
$21,000.00
$50,000.00
$4,350.00

The breakdown of the revenues (actual and projected) during this reporting cycle is shown
here:
•
•
•
•

180 MARKET STREET, SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT | (802) 846-4112 | WWW.SOUTHBURLINGTONVT.GOV

Inspections and Violations
The inspection team has been working diligently to perform inspections on all registered
properties. The purpose of these inspections is to ensure safe and quality housing for our
residents by identifying de�iciencies related to the State of Vermont Rental Housing Code,
Electrical Safety Code, and Fire and Building Safety Codes (Codes). These are the Codes we
adopt through our �ire prevention, electrical inspection and rental registry ordinances.

During this reporting timeframe, the team has inspected 381 unique addresses and a total
of 2,106 individual living units. Coupled together with the inspection numbers from the last
reporting period, they have inspected just over 3,000 total housing units since starting the
program. Units that have not yet been inspected will likely be viewed in the coming year. It
is the program’s goal to inspect each unit once every three to �ive years.

Within these, the team has identi�ied over 2,220 violations within the Codes during this
reporting timeframe. The vast majority of properties inspected for the �irst time have some
type of violation identi�ied and normally the property owner is simply not aware of the
code requirements. The most prevalent violations found during inspections of rental
housing units include (ordered from most common to less common, ** are violations with a
high life safety implication if not corrected):
•
•
•
•
•
•

Absence of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlets when required.
Carbon monoxide and smoke alarms do not meet City Ordinance or Code **
Fuel-burning heating systems not inspected **
Handrails not meeting code or are non-existent
Fire extinguishers are missing or out of compliance
Non-inhabitable spaces being used as living spaces

However, through the teams’ efforts, 1,600 of these violations have already been corrected
or resolved. The remaining violations are in the process of being corrected. Roughly 200 of
the registered “unique addresses” have received a certi�icate of compliance from the Rental
Registry inspection team, indicating they are fully compliant with the inspection.

Financial Assistance Fund

There is a program/policy for the Financial Assistance Fund, which as outlined in the fee
resolution (R2024-08), which directs $5.00 from every unit registered into a restricted
fund. The fund is designed to assist property owners who need �inancial help to correct
violations found during inspections. Applicants must demonstrate �inancial hardship, and
the award would be limited to $2,500, or 50% of total project costs, whichever is less, per
applicant. As of June 30, 2025, the balance in the fund was $13,500. Once the FY26 transfer
is made at the conclusion of the �iscal year, we anticipate approximately $20,000 additional
dollars will be added to the fund. Currently no requests have been received for assistance
from the fund, however, it is likely the funds’ availability is not well known.
180 MARKET STREET, SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT | (802) 846-4112 | WWW.SOUTHBURLINGTONVT.GOV

Challenges Experienced
In our �irst update we brought forth some challenges that included last-minute
cancellations, no-shows on inspections, reports of dif�iculties �inding contractors to correct
de�iciencies, and routine data collection errors. Unfortunately, many of these same
challenges still exist. The inspection team is still experiencing no-shows and last-minute
cancellations. There were some errors in the registration portal that delayed renewals
from being sent out as well as created dif�iculties with data collection. This was due
primarily to the use of a new online permitting software system that was not con�igured by
the vendor when initial setup was done. This has been corrected

Success Stories and Goals moving forward.

The success of this program is often not tangible and occurs behind the scenes. The rental
housing stock within the city is becoming safer every day through the efforts of the
inspection team. Having a dedicated group of professionals to receive housing condition
complaints and work with both tenants and property owners is a tremendous value.
Perhaps one of the biggest impacts they are having is simply educating the community on
the importance of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms that are properly installed. This
kind of education and collaboration has started building trusting relationships among
owners, managers, tenants, and the �ire prevention of�ice. In addition to this, we have had
several successes in the form of replacement heating systems and window replacements for
escape.

To continue to enhance the success of this program, we will be hosting informational and
educational sessions on owner as well as tenant rights and responsibilities. We also intend
to enhance the application/renewal process to make it more user friendly.
Areas for ordinance improvement:

In the last update we brought forth a list of opportunities to amend the ordinance. Some of
these opportunities have been reinforced over the last year.
•

•
•

Re-evaluate the sunset provision on short-term rental units. Many of these owners
have roots in this community.
Re-evaluate the details of the short-term rental (STR) requirements as being
different than long-term rental (LTR) requirements.
Consider fees for missed appointments or last-minute cancellations without prior
communication and for re-inspection where the owner has not demonstrated a
reasonable level of due diligence in making repairs.

180 MARKET STREET, SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT | (802) 846-4112 | WWW.SOUTHBURLINGTONVT.GOV

Summary
We would like to thank the owners, managers and tenants of the rental housing stock in
South Burlington. Many have welcomed our team into their spaces and made concerted
efforts to improve their rental units.

We would also like to thank the citizens of South Burlington and the city council for
supporting the bond vote allowing the �ire department to expand our of�ice space.
Expanding the of�ice space and bringing the entire prevention division under one roof will
help streamline operations, enhance collaboration amongst stakeholders and allow for a
better customer interface between the community and the prevention of�ice.
We look forward to another year of progress and success in ensuring the safety and
compliance of rental units within our city.

180 MARKET STREET, SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT | (802) 846-4112 | WWW.SOUTHBURLINGTONVT.GOV