TOWNSHEND PLANNING COMMISSION
PO BOX 223
2006 ROUTE 30
TOWNSHEND, VT 05353
PHONE: 802-365- 7300
FAX: 802-365-7309

TOWNSHEND, VERMONT PLANNING COMMISSION

Appointed officials, appointed by the Select Board. Terms are for five years. Vacancies are, of course, filled by Select Board appointment. An appointed Planning Commission member may be removed at any time but it takes a unanimous vote of the Select Board to accomplish that.

In 1968, Vermont recognized the need for effective planning in order to assure that Vermont would grow and develop carefully with respect for its people and its visitors. It had become very obvious that, if some control were not exerted, the natural beauty that brings visitors to this state would be over run by development and the agricultural heritage would, indeed, become a thing of the past only to be seen in pictures of the olden days. The reason there are Planning Commissions is, simply put, to go forth, to make things better, but to not lose what is important. The statute which “created” Planning Commissions may be found here and it is just as long and complex as the job of serving on one.

One of the key tasks of a Planning Commission is the creation of a Town Plan which serves as a guide for future development within a town's borders. Of course, that is only a tiny fraction of all the tasks that the Vermont Legislature presented to them in the beginning and continues to add to their duties periodically. The statue mentioned above outlines, in detail, what any planning commission is responsible for.

In a town like Townshend, the Planning Commission's opinions have a great deal of influence in Act 250 hearings because Townshend has no zoning regulations. This means any commercial project that will involve more than 1 acre of land which, for all practical purposes, means any commercial project, must get approval from The State Of Vermont based on the ten criteria, one of which is conformance to the local and regional plan. No approval, no project. If a project is approved, there are usually numerous “conditions” that must be met by the applicant as they develop the project. The Planning Commission is an automatic party to the hearings and essentially speaks on the behalf of the Town of Townshend in all things development related.

Townshend also has representatives on the Windham Regional Planning Commission, or the county wide planning agency.

The Town Plan goes through periodic revision and a new plan was approved in 2017. A copy of that plan may be found under the “Documents” tab on the main menu bar.
 

Photo courtesy Steven Meyer