The Town of Burke is a small rural community in northeastern Vermont.  Most of the town is forested, with farms scattered along the valleys that run north to south through the area. The town’s three villages – East Burke, West Burke, and Burke Hollow – all sit below Burke Mountain, a 3200 foot peak that has long been home to a community-oriented ski area.  In 2005, the ski resort and surrounding lands – over 1000 acres altogether – were purchased by the Ginn Corporation, a national developer of high-end resorts.  The town was suddenly faced with the opportunities and the challenges of managing large-scale development, with the possibility of 1000 new homes and a golf course to be constructed over the next decade or so. 

The Select Board and Planning Commission are committed to ensuring that the change that is coming contributes to Burke’s long-term prosperity and quality of life, and have begun a process of updating the town plan and bylaws so they protect Burke’s rural heritage, scenic beauty, and ecological value.  Burke’s residents have an important role to play in this effort, and broad community involvement is essential to creating a strategy for managing growth that is fair to everyone.  The Town of Burke selected Smart Growth Vermont and the Northeastern Vermont Development Association to assist in this process, and the two organizations will be working with the Select Board and Planning Commission over the months to come to ensure that everyone has a voice in shaping the town’s future.