By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
City of Burlington Plan Commissioners approved two site plans, one of which involved parking lot expansion of the future Community Pool, at its June 13 meeting.
Expansion of the community pool parking lot at 394 Amanda St. calls for an increase of spaces from 85 to 157 spaces.
The expansion, City Administrator Carina Walters told plan commissioners, should reduce the need for off-street parking when the new aquatic center opens next year.
With an increase of parking spaces, the current playground faces relocation, according to the site diagram.
Meanwhile, the other site plan relates to expansion of the We Energies parking lot at 700 S. Kane St., where four mature trees are slated for removal to create more spaces.
The four trees create a buffer between traffic and the We Energies facility along Kane Street.
Other items in the plan include resurfacing current driveways, pavement around the fuel island within the parking lot for easier access and increasing asphalt surface by 17,140 square feet.
Although the plan suggests replanting the lost trees, it is not a requirement, a question some plan commissioners had for Zoning Administrator Gregory Guidry
“There are four mature trees that are going to be removed and they are suggesting, or asking, that they be replanted,” Alderman Bob Grandi said. “Do you know what the plan is at this point?”
Although Guidry did not have an answer, We Energies representative Lance Bento told commissioners the company plans to take the matter under consideration, pending review of the project budget.
“Consideration would be given, and the overall budget would drive whether or not it would get done,” Bento said. “I have no issue with looking at that in the budget, adding more vegetation.”
While the project has a contingency fund to address this matter, Bento said it is too soon to tell whether it could ease the concern.
“We do have a contingency built into the project, a lot of times the contingency gets consumed if we find a bad base,” he said. “Other than that, I would have no issue putting vegetation back in.”
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