Regional Plan and Planned Growth Areas
At a glance
Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.
- What: the regional plan and future land use map, including planned growth areas, and their fit with Montpelier's city plan and infrastructure.
- Where it stands: a member of the public argued on 2026-10-13 that planned growth areas overreach, ignore combined sewer overflow areas, are not complete streets compliant, and that the city needs a contingency plan if the state Supreme Court requires a fresh review of its municipal plan. A commissioner replied that, in their opinion, growth areas cover a tiny share of Central Vermont land and there has been underreach.
- Next: the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission was to vote on adopting the regional plan and future land use map the following Tuesday (October 20, 2026).
Points raised
- Growth areas should target parcels where pipe capacity exists, not just parcels within 1,000 ft of water and sewer.
- School Street and St. Paul Street were mentioned as good infill locations that may lie in overflow areas.
- A commissioner also noted a council vote the next night (October 14) on a letter of intent with the Country Club Road developer and asked whether commissioners had reviewed it; none had to the speaker's knowledge.
Earlier discussion at the City Council
- 2026-07-08 (item 2026-258): Planning Director Mike Miller gave an informational update on the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission's draft Future Land Use Map, prepared under Act 181. Alan Goldman, Carlton Anderson and Stephen Whitaker commented. No action (2026-07-08 - City Council).
Sources
Discussion time
About 7 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-13 - Planning Commission | 7 |
Log
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2026-07-08 - City Council — informational update on the draft Future Land Use Map; no action.
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2026-10-13 - Planning Commission — public comment critical of planned growth areas; commissioner rebuttal; reminder of the regional plan vote.
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2026-09-28 - Planning Commission — regional commission votes October 20; state review board has 120 days; 2027 readoption could add Berlin, Terrace and Elm Street areas.