Decision on yoga studio rezoning delayed

Operator wants more time to address neighbors’ concerns

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Staff writer

Opponents to a proposed yoga studio moving into a pre-Civil War home on Jefferson Street – and the change in zoning it would signal – got a surprise at Tuesday night’s City of Burlington Common Council meeting.

Mayor Bob Miller pulled the item from the agenda, saying, “It may or may not appear on future agendas.”

That was a surprise to some residents of Jefferson Street, who came to oppose the idea of Megan MacCarthy opening a small yoga studio in the current two-family residence at 216 Jefferson.

Opponents had numerous concerns, ranging from parking on the street already causing issues, to the idea of such a historic home being lost to a business, to a business spreading into a residential neighborhood.

MacCarthy said after the meeting that she asked the mayor to table the item so she could have time to speak with the residents and try and work out a compromise.

“We would like to sit down with the residents and talk with them, and see if we can alleviate some of their concerns,” MacCarthy said.

She added that she wanted residents to know that she would not be promoting parking on the street, and that the historic nature of the building would not be compromised.

However, George Dundore – an appointed spokesperson for the residents – said parking is only one part of a larger problem. He said that the old home should be labeled as part of historic Burlington, and that allowing one business to creep into a residential neighborhood could eventually lead to others, in what he called a “domino effect.”

“It’s not just the parking,” Dundore said. “We don’t want a business period.”

He added that while MacCarthy’s clients had appealed to the council from a personal standpoint, residents of the street were not viewing this as a battle against MacCarthy’s business, rather as a front against any rezoning of the residential neighborhood.