What’s next at the Barge Canal?
What: Major Impact Review for “Silt Bathhouse” Project at 453 Pine Street Development Review Board,
When: Tuesday, July 18, 5 PM
Where: 645 Pine Street or via Zoom (see link in Agenda)
Jovial King’s 30,000 square foot bathhouse project (with an adjacent 12,400 sf “Commercial Building”) at 453 Pine Street will have a huge impact on the Barge Canal and the South End. Though Friends of the Barge Canal made a decision not to oppose this development, we have been and will continue to monitor it closely, specifically watching the effects it will have on the wetlands and forest surrounding it.
We encourage you to join us in these efforts. Look at the plans for the project (scroll down on this page). Attend the meeting (in person or via Zoom) next Tuesday to listen and ask questions.
Time will be limited for public comment at the DRB meeting, but anyone who wishes to speak has the right to comment or ask questions.
Some possible questions:
What will be the impacts – positive and negative – on the ecology of the Barge Canal and Lake Champlain?
In a time of climate emergency, as we have seen first hand in the recent flooding, does it make sense to expend this much energy on a project like this?
How many standing trees will be cut down for this project? What kind of trees?
What are the benefits of this project for Burlington?
What will the construction of this project do to the contaminants in the soil and groundwater?
How much soil will be removed for the construction? Where will it be taken?
When the plans speak of “soil remediation”, what does this mean?
Do developers or city officials have concerns about the growing numbers of people without houses who are trying to live on the Barge Canal?
The developers have covered their bases (thanks, in part to $6 million dollars in public money) and we do not doubt that the DRB will approve this project. It is, however, worth asking the bigger questions that we should be asking of all projects in this time of environmental crisis.
What: Barge Canal Mini-tour
When: Saturday, August 5, 9-10 AM
Where: Meet at 453 Pine St., metal fence across from Dealer.com
Have you been curious about the Barge Canal, but have been reluctant to walk there on your own? Meet FBC members for a short walking tour to get to know the wetlands and forest. Wear long pants, long sleeves and sturdy shoes. Bring friends, allies and family.
If you can’t make it on that Saturday morning but you still want to take a walk at the Barge Canal, send us an email at sosburlington@gmail.com. We would be glad to set up another date & time for a mini-tour.
Save the date! Sunday, September 24 for “Reverse Tashlich” cleanup and ritual.
Last year, Lynda Siegel, with support from area synagogues, organized an innovative, Earth-loving approach to the traditional Jewish “taschlich” ceremony during the High Holidays. Instead of casting bread on a local waterway, the idea is to help clean up a local natural area. In October, 2022, forty people showed up to haul trash from the wetlands and forest of the Barge Canal. It was fulfilling, useful and fun. This year, we will gather on Sunday, September 24 to repeat this “mitzvah”. Time to be determined. You don’t have to be Jewish :).
And also… (not directly BC-related):
With everything that has happened this week in Vermont, we need to acknowledge the wider context outside of the Barge Canal work that frames our local conservation actions. We’ve included a New York Times article followed by a call to action for the “‘Wake Up, Step Up” climate rally in Burlington on July 24. We send solidarity and best wishes to all affected by the recent floods as well as by climate disruption around the world.
NYT Article
Vermont Floods Show Limits of America’s Efforts to Adapt to Climate Change
“But the scale of intervention required is also a chance to fix old mistakes, according to Amy Chester, managing director for Rebuild by Design, a New York-based nonprofit that helps communities prepare for and recover from disasters. She said cities and towns can rethink how they build, returning to nature the land that was built on rivers, streams and wetlands, and creating new parks or other landscapes to hold rainfall.
In that sense, she said, adapting to climate change is an opportunity. “When else,” Ms. Chester asked, “are you able to rethink how you want to live?”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/climate/climate-change-floods-preparedness.html
