Planning Commission

Planning Commission Update – Spring 2026 (March – June)

Our new Town Plan 2026 is alive and well, having been approved by the Richmond voters and the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. There are print copies of the document available in our planning office and in the Richmond Library, as well as the online copy found under “Ordinances and Policies” on the town website. The next step in the Town Plan process is to provide each named committee or group with a list of “Action Items” from the Implementation Table for which they have some responsibility. This will help the Planning Commission (and the committees) to keep track of how we are all doing with achieving our goals over the next 8 years. 

One of the important goals assigned to the Planning Commission (PC) in the Plan is to develop Municipal Stormwater Bylaws that control and treat run-off from impervious surfaces to prevent erosion and sedimentation” (Natural Resources 2.7), and the PC has taken on this task as our first project for 2026. Most neighboring towns have such regulations, and they are becoming increasingly necessary as our housing density increases (thus more impervious surfaces) and rainfall events become more intense. 

Stormwater regulations will help to protect water quality and prevent damaging flooding, and we hope to have drafts available in May to begin the public discussion about how these new regulations will better prepare us for our heavy rainfall events. 

Other tasks on the PC’s spring list include: 

• “Improving the planning and zoning process” (Community Development 6.1)
• Finishing revisions to the Village zoning districts to comply with state laws approved as Acts 47 and 181 (Housing 1.1 and 1.4)
• Completing a list of “ technical fixes” to make the zoning document more readable and to correct minor errors
• Revising the Subdivision Regulations to allow for “major” and “minor” categories, and to better align with the Zoning Ordinance

One of our current challenges is attracting new members to serve on the Commission. We are down to 4, and have had to reduce the size of the board from 7 to 5 in order to maintain a quorum. More opinions on the board will help us arrive at better solutions as we formulate and revise our ordinances, so we would love to have you join us!   

 Virginia Clarke, Chair                                    

5 members, 1 alternate – 4-year term