Town plan update begins with a community survey

October 23, 2024  |  By Lisa Scagliotti 

The Waterbury Planning Commission is starting its work to update the town plan and one of the first steps is gathering input from the community. 

An online survey has been posted on the town website for local residents to weigh in to help inform the commission. 

Vermont state law requires that municipalities update their city and town plans every eight years. Waterbury last completed an update in 2018, according to Planning Director Neal Leitner. The next plan needs to be completed by December 2026. “We’re ahead of schedule,” he said. 

The commission decided to begin working on the plan update now in between projects to revise the town’s zoning bylaw. 

The commission recently finished rewriting the portion of the town’s zoning regulations that covers the corridor of Waterbury between the Winooski River and Interstate 89. The Phase 1 revision was adopted by the Waterbury Select Board in July. Many of its changes were geared to encourage more housing development in already-built areas.  

The second phase of the zoning update will address the rest of the town. In the world of municipal planning and zoning, the town plan is the highest-level document that outlines the vision the community has for growth and development, conservation, municipal infrastructure, etc. Zoning regulations are then created to implement those themes. The Development Review Board is charged with applying those regulations to proposed development projects. 

Leitner explained that the Planning Commission recognized that shifting to the town plan update before tackling the next round of zoning revisions makes sense. For the first phase of the zoning rewrite, “the existing town plan supported everything they wanted to do,” Leitner said. 

Looking at the rest of the town and potential revisions, there may be changes that first should be addressed by the town plan, he said. Completing the town plan update first will help set the stage for the next version of the zoning regs, he explained.  

Getting input from the community is the starting point. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and contains sections on the key topics a town plan covers such as housing, transportation, natural resources, infrastructure and economic activity. The survey explains that the town plan’s conclusions are then used to guide town government decisions, investments and actions in the years ahead.

“We want to get a sense of where people think Waterbury is headed, the direction it should go in,” Leitner said. 

Questions on the survey were crafted intentionally to mirror those used in 2017 when the last town plan update was developed. Leitner said planners will want to review the feedback to compare with answers from several years ago to see if public sentiment has changed on the key issues. Afterward, results will be shared as the process moves forward.

The survey will remain open through Dec. 1, Leitner said. Additional information will also be collected from the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission such as recent data on population, demographics, economic activity, etc. 

Planners also hope to apply for a state planning grant to work with a consultant on the process, Leitner said. As the new draft is assembled, future sessions will look to get more public feedback. 

Leitner said the commission aims to get the updated plan done in 2025 and then to move onto the zoning regulation revisions in 2026. 

The Planning Commission meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month. Find the current town plan online here and the community survey here. More information is also online on the town Planning and Zoning website.