Burlington will allow its indoor mask mandate to expire next month as coronavirus cases continue to decline.

Starting March 3, people will no longer have to mask up when entering public buildings in the Queen City. City councilors voted unanimously Tuesday night to discontinue the mandate, which has been in place since early December.

State lawmakers passed legislation late last year that allows municipalities to adopt mask mandates for 30-day periods through April 30. Burlington twice extended its mandate during the Omicron surge.
Since the variant’s peak in early January, however, case counts in Vermont have dropped by 84 percent; hospitalizations have also decreased. The city’s wastewater monitoring program has also seen a “drastic decrease” in concentrations of the virus at all three treatment plants, a memo from city officials said.

The Vermont House on Friday gave preliminary approval to a charter change in Burlington that would ban no-cause evictions.

The chamber advanced the bill with a 98-49 vote. The legislation will have one final vote in the House next week before being sent to the Senate for consideration. Nine of 10 Burlington representatives voted in favor of the bill. House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) did not vote, as is custom.

"Just cause policies are intended to promote residential stability," Rep. Barbara Rachelson (D-Burlington) said. "Renters who are meeting all the requirements of their lease need assurance they can remain in their home."

Vermont law allows renters to be evicted from their units for no reason at all, or simply because their lease is ending. The bill, H.708, would ban these no-cause evictions in Burlington by requiring landlords to have a valid reason for displacing their tenants. The bill provides some examples — nonpayment of rent, breaking a lease — but the details would be fleshed out in a new city ordinance.

Updated at 7:53 p.m.

Tyeastia Green, the City of Burlington’s first-ever director of racial equity, inclusion and belonging, is resigning after nearly two years on the job.

In a statement Tuesday, Mayor Miro Weinberger said Green is leaving the city next month to “pursue other opportunities.” Green wouldn't comment on her departure, but several people who spoke to her about the decision did — and said Green is leaving because she feels unsupported in her role. Her last day is March 10.

“There were conversations that made her feel truly unwelcome and that made it clear the systemic change she was trying to bring was unwelcome,” said Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden), a friend of Green’s. “I frankly don't know how she stayed this long.”

City Council President Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) placed the blame squarely on Weinberger, alleging that the administration threatened to slash Green’s budget and to move management of the department’s marquee event, Juneteenth, to Burlington City Arts.

“Everything that she’s tried to do since Juneteenth has been a battle, has been a fight,” Tracy said. “For people who declared racism a public health emergency, it seems like they've done everything they can to stall progress on racial justice.”

Seven Days planned to ask the mayor specific questions about Green's tenure, including the incidents mentioned by Tracy and Ram Hinsdale, during an interview scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday. But Weinberger's office canceled the interview and later sent a press release about Green's impending departure.

“Tyeastia has been a tireless, fearless leader throughout her time in Burlington and I will greatly miss having her perspective and candor on the City’s Leadership Team,” the mayor wrote. “Racial equity work is challenging and it will be even harder without Tyeastia here.”

Around 5:30 p.m., the mayor's chief of staff, Jordan Redell, sent Seven Days an email responding to Tracy's allegations, calling them "pure fiction."

The City of Burlington will use federal coronavirus relief funds to build a community of "shelter pods" for unhoused residents.

The nearly $3 million plan, which won unanimous support from Burlington city councilors Monday night, also calls for hiring a new city staffer to help end chronic homelessness.

"I just hope everyone shares the sense of hopefulness and belief that we can make progress on this long-standing challenge," Mayor Miro Weinberger said. "I'm hopeful we're on the cusp of making a big step forward."

The proposal was one of two resolutions introduced Monday night aimed at helping the city's homeless population. The second, a proposed update to the city's ordinance that bans camping on public lands, also passed unanimously.

By a 6-6 vote on Monday, the Burlington City Council rejected Mayor Miro Weinberger's pick for the city's next police chief.

One of two finalists in the city’s monthslong search, acting Chief Jon Murad was unable to win over any of the six council Progressives, who painted him as unwilling to lead the city’s police reform efforts. The councilors also expressed concern about Murad’s reportedly strained relationships with some police commissioners.

“The willingness for engaging in meaningful police reform is what I have wanted to see,” Councilor Jane Stromberg (P-Ward 8) said. “Character comes before credentials, no matter how many a person has.”

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