COMMUNITY PLANNING PARTNERSHIP:
Town of Warren
- Photo courtesy Town of Warren archive
Warren is a mostly rural town in the upper Mad River Valley. The valley floor is dotted with farms and homes, and the Village of Warren sits on the banks of the scenic Mad River. The surrounding mountains are largely in public ownership as part of the Green Mountain National Forest and are home to the Sugarbush Resort, one of Vermont's premier ski areas. The combination of scenic beauty and great skiing has turned the town into a highly desirable place to live, and median home prices are among the highest in the region.
Over the last few years, Warren has made a strong commitment to ensuring that moderately priced homes are available for the town's residents. At the same time, the town recognizes the need to balance development of moderately priced housing with all the town's other priorities, including conservation of farmland and protection of the village's historic character. To this end, Warren contracted with Smart Growth Vermont in 2008 to assist the town in identifying and developing strategies that will promote affordable housing in ways that are consistent with all the other goals as outlined in the town plan.
The primary project goal was to make it less costly to build new homes in Warren, in particular in and around Warren Village, in ways that are compatible with conservation of the town's historic character and scenic and natural resources.
Smart Growth Vermont, after community outreach, drafted suggested revisions to the town's bylaws to incorporate new options for village-scale housing. One suggested draft was to allow smaller lot sizes within and adjacent to the village so as to reduce the per-unit cost of land and facilitate development of smaller properties that are unusable under current standards. The Planning Commission are considering these draft updates.
QUICK LINKS
PROJECT SPECIFIC INFORMATION
Warren Village Center Designation:
Map of the designated village center
Photos submitted with the designation application
Smart Growth Vermont presentations:
November 10, 2008 presentation on housing options for Warren
GENERAL RESOURCES
- If you would like to learn more about Vermont's legal framework for land use planning, here is a summary of how land use planning law works in Vermont.
- If you would like to learn more about tools and strategies for promoting housing development in ways that complement Warren's traditional village center, check out Smart Growth Vermont’s Community Planning Toolbox.
- If you would like more information about the incentives available from the State of Vermont for developing moderately priced housing, visit the Vermont Neighborhoods Program's web page.
For more information contact Noelle MacKay at 864-6310 or noelle@smartgrowthvermont.org.
Smart Growth Vermont partnered with PlaceSense and the Planning Commission on this project. This project was supported, in part, by a Municipal Planning Grant from the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development.