Beta Technologies Can Build Factory at Burlington Airport.

Source: The Burlington Free Press

Beta Technologies is cleared for takeoff on the electric aircraft factory it is building at Burlington International Airport, after South Burlington’s Development Review Board gave its approval for the project on Tuesday morning.

“They can get a zoning permit for construction,” Paul Conner, director of planning and zoning, said Tuesday.

The clearance comes after the 344,000-square-foot assembly facility was held up by a South Burlington regulation that does not allow parking spaces to be visible from the road. Most of the 307 parking spaces for the facility would have been visible from Williston Road. 

The compromise reached at a Monday night meeting of the DRB would see Beta eliminate 266 parking spaces at the factory site and instead, according to Beta team member Art Klugo, employees would be shuttled in from an offsite parking lot the company has secured at the airport using a zero-emissions electric bus. 

Eventually, Klugo said, Beta will add the parking eliminated from the project, compliant with regulations, but in the meantime he said it’s essential to get started on building the assembly plant.

“I can’t stress enough, we’re out of time,” said Blain Newton, Beta’s chief operating officer, who joined Klugo in addressing the DRB.

The DRB accepted Beta’s parking proposal and issued its approval.