Selectboard Opens Public Hearings on Updated Town Plan
Manchester has begun the public hearing process for updates to the Town Plan, a required step to ensure the document remains current, legally compliant, and aligned with state statute. Housing emerged as a central focus of the discussion, reflecting both updated state requirements and the findings of the 2024 housing needs assessment. While the housing section did not change directionally, it was revised to incorporate new data, clarify targets, and align local planning with regional and state frameworks. The hearing underscored the role of the Town Plan as a living document—one that enables zoning updates, preserves eligibility for funding, and sets the foundation for addressing long-term housing and infrastructure challenges. Continued public participation remains an essential part of shaping how Manchester plans for its future.
“We’ve got a ways to go.”
Reposted from Manchester Journal
MANCHESTER — A discussion on housing dominated the first of two planned public hearings as the Town of Manchester works to update its town plan before the current one expires next month.
A draft of the revised plan can be found on the Town of Manchester’s website, as can the version approved in 2017. The document has grown from 73 pages to 108, with a number of additions intended to integrate the town plan with state statute.
A draft of Manchester's 2025 Town PlanTown of Manchester
A town plan is an important guiding document utilized by many Vermont municipalities and, though the document is not required by law, municipalities that do develop a plan are required to update them every eight years. If a town plan is not updated in time, zoning bylaws and other ordinances cannot be changed or added and the town’s eligibility for certain funding could be impacted. For Manchester, that deadline is May 9.
Those who were unable to attend this week’s hearing will still have at least once more chance to participate. A second public hearing, required under Vermont law, will be held before the board’s regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 6. The public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with the Select Board meeting to follow at 7 p.m., at which point the board could approve the updated town plan.
That doesn’t mean the consideration of the document will cease, however. The town’s Planning Commission has already embarked on a deeper dive into the plan and how it can be improved, according to Select Board Chair Ivan Beattie — work which will continue until the next deadline comes around.
“We’re trying to keep it as simple as possible because we're under a time constraint as to when we can implement the changes that are prescribed by state statute,” Beattie explained. “... It's the Planning Commission's intent, once we get this adopted, to immediately start a new version. So this is just to ensure that we have a Town Plan that doesn't expire.”
As Select Board members noted at the hearing on Tuesday, April 22, the energy section of the document was significantly expanded, growing from 2 pages to 26. The mission to “encourage and support the conservation of energy and the development of renewable energy resources in Manchester” remains unchanged, however.
Many of the additions under “Energy” are drawn from revisions to Manchester’s Land Use and Development Ordinance, which was adopted in 2018 with multiple revisions since. In 2020 the town also adopted a 33-page Energy Plan, much of which has been integrated into the 2025 version of the Town Plan.
Throughout the 2025 Town Plan, references to studies and reports completed since 2017 at both the town and regional level have been added, including the most recent Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Southern Vermont; a study on mixed-use development in downtown Manchester from 2020; a study on short term rentals in Manchester, also from 2020; and a downtown strategic plan developed in 2018, among others.
The 2025 Town Plan also integrates new state laws including housing elements compliant with the HOME Act and Act 181; enhanced energy elements derived from Act 174; and language and maps compliant with Act 171.
The Select Board’s hearing followed a similar meeting held by the Planning Commission on March 13. Commissioners reviewed changes that alter some land use areas – in particular, areas currently designated Neighborhood Residential Lands would be integrated into the town’s “Center” or “Planned Growth Area.”
Planning Commission passes on Town Plan revisions to Select Board
Now that they have been approved by the Planning Commission, they will now have to be considered by the Select Board, which will have to hold two public hearings of their own.
Among the incentives associated with the “Neighborhood Development Area” are exemptions from permitting under Act 250, Vermont’s primary land use and development law. Similar incentives, meant to spur much-needed housing development, are also detailed in Act 181, passed by the legislature last year, and would apply to eligible town centers.
At the Select Board hearing, Christina Young – one of three audience members in attendance – also highlighted housing as a top issue and asked the board to detail any updates to that section of the Town Plan.
According to Select Board member Jonathan West, who is also chair of the town’s Housing Task Force, there was “no substantive change in the focus or anything about the housing section, because most of the content is simply bringing things up to speed with any requirements from the state.”
“The parts that were updated were to include information specifically about the housing needs assessment that was done in 2024 and those recommended targets for meeting the requirements of the housing needs here within the county,” West said.
Manchester should aim to develop 200 new homes over six years under the recommendations, he explained, but the town is currently averaging 13.2 permits per year.
“We've got a ways to go,” West acknowledged, with a disclaimer that such numbers are not mandated – but rather a projection used to inform planning.
With such a small crowd, the board dedicated time to a broader discussion on housing in the region, which can be viewed in full through GNAT-TV’s recording of the meeting.
As the discussion drew to a close, audience member Andrew Baisley agreed that housing should be a top priority when considering Manchester’s future.
“In my mind, housing is the most important, I think the town should be doing anything within its power to accelerate development,” Baisley said. “I know it's not just Manchester, it's a statewide and nationwide issue, but I really do worry about the future of our town if there's not a place for the workforce to live, and families.”
“Every other economic dream that Manchester has for its future…,” Baisley continued, “if people can’t live here, I just don't see how any of the other stuff is possible.”
https://www.manchesterjournal.com/local-news/select-board-holds-first-of-two-public-hearings-on-town-plan-updates/article_d084174f-ad34-4cbd-90bd-d79bada54895.html
As always, I can be reached directly at (802) 768-7900 or at west.j@manchester-vt.gov
