Proposed Bylaw (Zoning) Updates for Villages
Proposed Updates to Jericho’s Land Use Rules
The Jericho Selectboard is considering changes to Land Use and Development Regulations ("zoning").
These proposed updates focus on removing barriers to development in the Village areas. They aim to make it easier to build housing, support local businesses, and create compact neighborhoods where people can live, work, and get around safely.
Highlights of the changes proposed:
Simplify the review process for multi-family homes and other smaller projects by authorizing the Zoning Administrator to approve certain site plans, instead of requiring Development Review Board hearings, so it's quicker and less expensive to build housing.
Remove the requirement in Villages for “¼ acre per unit”, so there is no longer a housing density limit or minimum lot size, which removes barriers and supports our community’s desire for greater variety of housing types in Jericho.
Smaller lots, smaller setbacks, and more than one building can be allowed on a lot, to encourage building houses of different types, sizes, and prices.
More flexible rules for building types and forms so multi-family homes, single family homes, and businesses, can all fit together into walkable village neighborhoods.
New street standards, including flexible options for on-street and shared parking, will calm traffic to make driving, walking, and biking safer, and make development less costly.
The Planning Commission recommended these changes to the Selectboard, after about a year of research, consultation, and public outreach. The PC relied on the Town Plan, a state guide called Enabling Better Places: A Zoning Guide for Vermont Neighborhoods, a local planning consultant, the Affordable Housing Committee, the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, and dozens of public forums, to develop the recommendations.
A future batch of changes will focus on rural areas, where residential development regulations need to consider natural resources, farmland, and forests.
