Po s i t i o n Pa p e r o f t h e Bu r l i n g t o n Gr e e n s o n t h e Wa t e r f r o n t

J anuar y 25, 1989

C i t i z e n I n p u t
I n February 1983, t he ci t i zens of Burl i ngt on met i n a Symposi um i n Ci t y Hal l
t o deci de what t hey want ed f or t he wat er f r ont . They l i st ed t hei r pr ef er ences as
f ol l ows: bi keway, wal kway, boar dwal k, ski pat hs, mar i na, shi ng, access, boat
moor i ngs, publ i c access, open space, r est aur ant , shops, bar s.
A 1986 survey by t he ci t y' s Communi t y and Economi c Of ce reveal ed t hat
95% of t hose surveyed f avored wat erf ront promenades, 82% support ed addi t i onal
parkl and devel opment , 82% support ed boat l aunchi ng f aci l i t i es, and 82% support ed
p u b l i c ma r i n a s .
The Burl i ngt on Greens bel i eve t hat t he above pref erences shoul d be i m
pl ement ed and t he l and on t he wat erf ront be made i nt o parkl and cont ai ni ng t hese
ameni t i es. We oppose any ot her ki nd of devel opment on t he wat erf ront .
Zoni ng
On November 4, 1986 voters approved a ballot item recommending re-zoning
a 100- f oot wi de st r i p al ong t he wat er f r ont f or r ecr eat i on- conser vat i on use. I t
passed with a 77% majority. This culminated in new zoning regulations, passed by
t h e Bo a r d o f Al d e r me n o n De c e mb e r 1 5 , 1 9 8 6 . Th e y p r o v i d e d f o r r e c r e a t i o n - c o n s e r
v a t i o n u s e s a n d f o r a mi n i mu m 1 0 0 - f o o t s e t b a c k f o r b u i l d i n g s a l o n g t h e wa t e r f r o n t
The Burlington Greens believe that these zoning ordances should be honored.
2 .
T h e P u b l i c T r u s t D o c t r i n e
In 1874 the Vermont Legislature passed an Act conrming^legal title
t o Ce n t r a l Ve r mo n t Ra i l r o a d f o r l l e d - i n l a n d wh i c h h a d b e e n c r e a t e d a l o n g
Lake Champl ai n beyond t he l ow- wat er mar k. The r ai l r oad never pai d f or t hi s
land. The Legislature granted the railroad title to the land with the understanding
t hat t he r ai l r oad was usi ng t he l and i n t he publ i c i nt er est and f or t he publ i c
good. And subsequent Court cases around the United States have afrmed that land
created by lling in the lakebed of a navigable waterway must be used in the pub
l i c i nt er est . Now t hat t he use of t hi s pr oper t y f or r ai l pur poses has al l but
ceased. Cent r al Var mont Rai l way, by of f er i ng t he l and t o pr i vat e devel oper s
f or t he const r uct i on of a l uxur y hot el and condomi ni ums, i s cl ear l y vi ol at i ng t he
pur pose f or whi ch t he St at e or gi nal l y gr ant ed t hi s l and.
I t i s al so vi ol at i ng t he Chi t t enden Super i our Cour t deci si on dat ed
Sept ember 23, 1987.
The Court concluded that Central Vermont Railway"holds the lled lands at
i ssue i n t hi s act i on i n f ee si mpl e i mpr essed wi t h t he publ i c t r ust doct r i ne.
Thi s means t hat t he rai l road i s f ree t o convey such l ands t o any part y, and
those parties to any other parties , so long as such land is used for a
publ i c pur pose. "
Co n d o mi n i u ms a n d h o t e l s a r e n o t i n d i c a t e d i n t h e v a r i o u s p u b l i c u s e s
c i t e d b y t h e c o u r t .
3 .
C o n c l u s i o n
I n summar y, t her e ar e t wo ways of l ooki ng at t he wat er f r ont . One i s
t o use t he l and f or publ i c pur poses, t o pr eser ve t he nat ur al envi r onment and
provi de publ i c and common space al ong t he ent i re edge of t he wat er f or recreat i on.
The other is to use the land as a money making resource from which developers
prot while the needs of the majority of the citizens of Burlington are ignored.
The Burlington Greens endorse full public 'ajse of the land so that all the
citizens of Burlington and Vermont can enjoy this magnicent natural resource.