Town Planning Resource Page

This page contains information that will assist Windham Region towns in the preparation of their town plan and in the management of their planning program. Towns are encouraged to contact the Windham Regional Commission for assistance.

VSA Chapter 117 allows towns to guide their futures with Town Plans. The plans must contain at a minimum 10 specific elements, and the plan needs to address 13 specific Vermont planning goals. Every five years, Town Plans are:

• written by the town's Planning Commission,
• adopted by the town's Selectboard, and
• approved by the Regional Commission, if so requested by the Town.

Click here for a chart (showing the status of Bylaws and Ordinances for towns in the Windham Region, including zoning, subdivision, flood hazard, telecom, and sewage or health, as well as the status of a Zoning Board of Adjustment or a Development Review Board. Click here for here for a map (GIF, 87kb) that shows the

Useful Documents from the WRC:

    Town Plan Adoption and Approval Guide, Part 1 PDF (132kb), and Part 2 PDF (94kb), which include:

• Requirements of Vermont’s Planning law with regard to Town Plans
• Terms, goals, elements, sample data and standards
• Timeline for adoption of a plan by the town along with approval of that plan by the WRC
• Information about the WRC’s role in the approval process

    Town Plan Review Duties and Responsibilities, PDF (45kb):

• Serves as a summary or simplified account of the Approval process described in the above Guide
• Describes the town plan review process by WRC that may lead to town plan approval

    Town Self-Assessment Form PDF (61kb):

• Helps insure that nothing is left out of the plan that is required by law
• Lists all the required goals and elements of the Town Plan, and asks the Planning Commission to state on what page(s) these are addressed.
• This form, completed by the Planning Commission, accompanies the draft plan to both the Selectboard and the WRC for their hearings and their separate adoption/approval processes.

    Guidelines for Addressing the Vermont Child Care Planning Goal PDF (61kb):

• Produced in cooperation with the Windham Child Care Association
• Useful for town's that must address the Child Care Planning Goal (Goal 13).
• Includes definitions, resources, and options for addressing the components of the Goal

Useful Links:

• Vt. Planning Information Center (www.vpic.info): lots of information and training opportunities for planners, including text of 24 VSA Chapter 117.
• Vt. Land Use Planning Implementation Manual ( www.vpic.info/pubs/implementation): a new publication with a wide range of concepts, tools, and techniques for helping towns achieve their planning goals.
• "Vermont Municipal Guide to Land Use Regulation": a publication of the Vermont Secretary of State's office.
• Windham Regional Commission census page: Maintains a page on population numbers for each town with links to census data www.rpc.windham.vt.us/census.htm.

Towns wishing to have a strong hand in Act 250 applications need to have a Town Plan, duly adopted by its selectboard, that protects its interests and those of its townspeople. If the Town wishes to be eligible for State Municipal Planning Grants to further its planning processes, such as updating zoning or subdivision regulations, or conducting special studies, it must also have its plan approved by the WRC, which will also confirm its planning processes.

last updated 11/19/07