2019 Town Plan Amendments

The current Town Plan was written in 2016, so is not due for a rewrite until 2024.

However.....

the Planning Commission has discussed amendments to the Town Plan:

• during their meetings over the last few months;
• held an open house on Saturday September 7 to hear from the public;
• heard comments on this website and via email; and
• Check out this October article in the Mountain Gazette about the Town Plan and growth in Jericho.

The PC finalized the draft amendments to the Town Plan for a public hearing on October 15 and sent it along to the Selectboard for their public hearings. On January 2, 2020, the Selectboard approved the draft Town Plan. Click on the image below to view the adopted Town Plan.

Please see the timeline on this page for more details on the amendment process.

You can also see the various drafts of the chapters in the document library on this page.

What is the Town Plan?

The Planning Commission's main guiding planning document is the Town Plan. The Town Plan reflects the aspirations of Jericho's citizens for the future of the Town and is updated every 8 years. From the Town Plan comes the regulating documents: the Zoning Map and the Land Use Regulations. Check them out below:

Here are some more details about the items that were amended:

• The Commercial District. In 2018 - 2019 the Planning Commission undertook a study of the Commercial District. They are actually still working on the project, but have wrapped up the Master Plan and Vision Statement phase. As a result of this project, changes are required to be made to how the District is characterized in the Town Plan. The changes to the Town Plan is the first implementation step suggested in the Master Plan.
• Energy Chapter. The Planning Commission is working with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) and the Jericho Energy Task Force to revise the Town Plan's Energy Chapter. The energy revisions are based on developing a path for Jericho to meet the goals of the Vermont state Energy Plan, such as weatherizing homes, increased renewable energy generation, and reduced energy consumption. Additionally, with a state approved energy plan, Jericho will have more say in the state review process for the siting of renewable energy projects. Take a look at the current Energy Chapter, below. We have it in both a tracked changes version and one without all of the cross-outs and underlining.
• Healthy Community chapter. With help from the CCRPC and the state Department of Health, the Planning Commission is working on a short chapter addressing healthy community design and implementing initiatives to encourage healthy living. This is a new chapter.

• The Natural Resources chapter addresses the desire to amend the Natural Resources Overlay based on extensive data gathered in through the ECOS Science to Action Project. Good news: the Planning and Conservation Commissions completed that last year. The Natural Resources chapter will be updated to reflect the completion of that project.