Burlington May 2025 Town Meeting: Key Non-Financial Articles Explained

Though May's Town Meeting in Burlington is primarily about budgeting for the services and other financial support that keeps the town running, general and bylaw articles always make the Warrant, as well.

General articles don't fit anywhere else in the warrant because they're not financial and they're not related to bylaws. This time around, Article 28 is the only such article and it is for the town to accept an easement so they can maintain a fire hydrant that is located on private property.

General Bylaw articles seek to amend the town's general bylaws. The town passes general bylaw articles regularly, and the May 2025 Town Meeting is no different. Articles are proposed that will:

• (Article 30) Make changes to the stormwater bylaw, renaming it and splitting off regulations from the bylaw
• (Article 31) Add two resident non-voting Associate Commissioners to the Conservation Commission
• (Article 32) Create a Home Rule Petition (which is permission/exception from the state) to allow for remote participation in Town Meetings for up to 15 members per meeting with advance permission.
• (Article 33) Create an implementation committee for electronic voting at Town Meeting. This is after a similar committee was formed last September but only given until January to do their work and report back. This time, the committee would have 24 months to complete the work of looking into pros and cons, pricing out systems, and reporting back.

Zoning bylaw articles seek to amend the zoning bylaws and, similar to general bylaw articles, are debated and passed regularly, though they require a 2/3 vote to pass. Two zoning bylaw articles are on the Warrant this time around:

• (Article 34) Amend the floodplain bylaw so homeowners can continue to get flood insurance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been working for several years on analyzing and updating the floodplain mapping in this area; this work resulted in new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). Though the town has done most of the work to amend the bylaw already, this amendment will make minor updates and include the dates of the final maps, which were not settled last time this bylaw was updated.
• (Article 35) Update the zoning use table to ensure consistency and promote ease of enforcement for zoning bylaws. This will restrict some uses in some zones, specifically related to the newly-created mixed-use zone – namely, requiring a special permit for hotels, performance theaters, pools, and some other uses. An amendment to this article is in the works and will likely be presented when the article (the last one on the Warrant!) hits the floor.

A few other articles we didn't summarize elsewhere:

• Article 16 - Cable Access Enterprise Fund uses a fee residents pay on their cable bills to fund Burlington Cable Access Television (BCAT) so they can provide public programming to you.
• Article 24 - Fourth of July Parade - For the last several years, the town has paid $20,000 of the $40,000 for the cost it takes to put this annual event together, with the rest paid by the business community. This year with the parade canceled, the fate of this article is uncertain.
• Articles 29 and 3 (passed on Monday, May 12) had to do Revolving Funds, which are accounts that fund themselves, paying for expenses out of revenues. These are things like the Ice Palace, the Local Transportation Lyft program, and more. Article 29 renamed one of the funds to reflect its current use, and Article 3 just authorized each fund and set the maximum amount that is allowed to be carried in each fund.

The likelihood that all these articles will be heard in the second night of Town Meeting (May 14, tonight) is slim, but the body will get through what they can before adjourning, usually around 10:30 or 11:00.

This year’s Annual Town Meeting will begin on Monday, May 12, at 7:00 PM and will continue on Wednesday and Monday evenings until the entire Warrant has been reviewed. Click here for our full Warrant Summary. Stay tuned to the Buzz for summaries of the articles in the Town Meeting Warrant and how Town Meeting votes on each.