North Hill Petitioners Lose Zoning Battle

The council chambers were completely filled for the rezoning hearing.

The council chambers were completely filled for the rezoning hearing.

A single block of in the North Hill Neighborhood will not be rezoned following a split decision by the Burlington City Council.

The petition to rezone the block containing 1111 North 5th Street from multi-family residential to single-family residential was first brought to the Council’s attention when the issue came in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustments in March, who unanimously denied the petition.

Neighbors signed the petition specifically to target 1111 North 5th, which was previously used as an 11 unit boarding house. Under a previous owner, the property was a nuisance in the neighborhood, a den of drugs, crime, and uncleanliness. Ed Russell used to own the home next door, raising his children there.

“It became a situation where we had to live out of our back door. It wasn’t safe to go to the front door because of the occupants at 1111 [North 5th],” Russell said.

Jesse Caston is the new owner of the property. He told the council that he intends to sell the property, but that if it doesn’t sell, he would like to keep all available plans for the building on the table, and asked the council not to rezone the property.

Mayor Pro Temp Becky Anderson voted to approve the rezoning. She said that her vote reflected the voice of the community.

“All these people have a vested interest in this neighborhood.” Anderson told the capacity crowd, “They want to make it a better and better neighborhood…if I don’t vote for them, they don’t have a vote.”

Mayor Shane McCampbell voted against the rezoning. He said that just because the building was a problem in the past, doesn’t mean that it will be again.

“We can’t let the past dictate our future. Because that building was something bad doesn’t mean it has to be in the future,” said McCampbell, “We have to be mindful of that.”

Councilmen Jim Davidson and Bob Fleming joined McCampbell in voting against the rezoning. Councilmen Tim Scott joined Anderson in voting for the rezoning.