Planning Commission

The Jericho Planning Commission (PC) is made up of seven volunteer-members appointed by the Select Board. We do our work through a lens which attempts to balance the public good with private rights and interests by listening to public input, researching issues and solutions, and following state and regional laws and guidelines.

The primary duties and responsibilities of the PC include:

  • Prepare the Comprehensive Plan, for consideration by the Selectboard. The Comprehensive Plan, also known as the Town Plan or Municipal Plan, describes the future visions and goals of the community, and it sets forth how the Town intends to achieve its goals.

  • Propose by-laws, for consideration by the Selectboard. The by-laws, also known as Land Use and Development regulations or zoning regulations, implement the growth and development goals of the community, and they must conform with the Town Plan.

Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Public participation and comment is welcomed and encouraged. Click Here For PC Meeting Procedures

Other roles of the PC:

  • Advises the Selectboard and other Town committees (e.g. Conservation Commission, Trails Committee, Affordable Housing Committee) on planning topics, projects, and the capital program.

  • Assists town committees and staff with actions that will implement the visions and goals of the adopted Town Plan. Each town committee has a liaison on the Planning Commission so we remain apprised of each others' work.

The PC is assisted and guided by the Town Planner, who is a town employee. Through this collaboration the PC and Planner:

  • Collect information and recommend town policies related to land use and development, housing, public spaces, transportation, economic and social development, historic and scenic preservation, recreation, energy use and conservation, and natural resources protection.
  • Identify grants from government and nonprofits to fund projects.
  • Ensure Jericho complies with state planning goals and smart growth principles.

  • Work with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, our neighboring towns, and state agencies like the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development and the Agency of Natural Resources.




Click on any of the buttons below to read the documents:

Click this link to view more planning documents on the Town Documents Page. You can also find all old versions of the Town Plan and Land Use Regulations Here. You can also find more Planning Documents on the sidebar of this page.



Here are some of our current projects - click on each image for more information.






Connecting Jericho Corners and Riverside - Multimodal Path










The Jericho Planning Commission (PC) is made up of seven volunteer-members appointed by the Select Board. We do our work through a lens which attempts to balance the public good with private rights and interests by listening to public input, researching issues and solutions, and following state and regional laws and guidelines.

The primary duties and responsibilities of the PC include:

  • Prepare the Comprehensive Plan, for consideration by the Selectboard. The Comprehensive Plan, also known as the Town Plan or Municipal Plan, describes the future visions and goals of the community, and it sets forth how the Town intends to achieve its goals.

  • Propose by-laws, for consideration by the Selectboard. The by-laws, also known as Land Use and Development regulations or zoning regulations, implement the growth and development goals of the community, and they must conform with the Town Plan.

Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Public participation and comment is welcomed and encouraged. Click Here For PC Meeting Procedures

Other roles of the PC:

  • Advises the Selectboard and other Town committees (e.g. Conservation Commission, Trails Committee, Affordable Housing Committee) on planning topics, projects, and the capital program.

  • Assists town committees and staff with actions that will implement the visions and goals of the adopted Town Plan. Each town committee has a liaison on the Planning Commission so we remain apprised of each others' work.

The PC is assisted and guided by the Town Planner, who is a town employee. Through this collaboration the PC and Planner:

  • Collect information and recommend town policies related to land use and development, housing, public spaces, transportation, economic and social development, historic and scenic preservation, recreation, energy use and conservation, and natural resources protection.
  • Identify grants from government and nonprofits to fund projects.
  • Ensure Jericho complies with state planning goals and smart growth principles.

  • Work with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, our neighboring towns, and state agencies like the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development and the Agency of Natural Resources.




Click on any of the buttons below to read the documents:

Click this link to view more planning documents on the Town Documents Page. You can also find all old versions of the Town Plan and Land Use Regulations Here. You can also find more Planning Documents on the sidebar of this page.



Here are some of our current projects - click on each image for more information.






Connecting Jericho Corners and Riverside - Multimodal Path










  • Speak up! Special Planning Commission Meeting - April 16 - Please Come!

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    The Planning Commission meets next on April 16th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm at Town Hall.

    This is a special meeting where we want to continue the discussion on the Commercial District. We are targeting the evening's discussion around the question,

    "What is Mixed-Use mean in the Commercial District".

    As you may know, we have been hearing a lot of different ideas about this is and we want to hear more from the community. We'll be opening up the floor to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments on this web page about this topic as well.

    Please join us on Tuesday night. This discussion will occur right after the starting time of 7:00 pm.

    Following this discussion, the PC will talk further about the CD project and work on further planning for more community outreach, including the next public gathering - an Open House on Saturday June 1. Stay tuned for more details on this.

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  • Planning Commission Meeting Summary - April 2

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    The Planning Commission met last on April 2. They had a fairly light agenda, but had a lively discussion on the Commercial District Project.

    They discussed the workshop they had on March 26 and what they learned. They spent most of their time talking about what is next. Save the Date! They are planning an open house type meeting on a Saturday in early June. More details to follow.

    If you want to learn more about the Commercial District project, please visit the project page HERE. Take a survey, leave a comment, read up on the project.

    You can view the MMCTV recording of the April 2 PC meeting on the PC's page as well as read the draft minutes. Feel free to leave a comment here too.

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  • Planning Commission Meeting - April 2

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    The Planning Commission will be meeting next on Tuesday April 2 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm in the Town Hall. Join us if you can!

    The majority of the meeting will be discussing the Commercial District Workshop that they held on Tuesday March 26. For more information on that project, go to the Commercial District project page.

    Specifically they will discuss comments received at well as how to engage the public further and begin planning their next meeting with the public.

    Feel free to ask any questions about the Planning Commission or what they do here.

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  • Update - Planning Commission Public Hearing

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    The Planning Commission held their public hearing on a round of Land Use and Development (AKA Zoning) Amendments. After hearing the public, they approved the draft amendments to be sent off to the Selectboard. They anticipate that the Selectboard will receive the draft at their meeting on March 21 and warn for a public hearing. For more information on the draft, you can view these documents:

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  • Zoning Amendments Public Hearing

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    The Planning Commission has been working on a round of small Land Use and Development Regulations (A.K.A. “Zoning”) amendments for the last several months during their regular meetings.

    They are holding a public hearing on these changes on Tuesday March 12 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall.

    The amendments include:

    • Accessory Apartments – these long debated changes address clarifying the permitted size of accessory apartments as well as measures to ensure that accessory apartments do not become second primary residences on a property. For those who recall this proposal back in 2016: gone is the requirement for shared wastewater systems.
    • Cemeteries – a revised definition to clarify how home burials are considered separately from cemetery burials. Also, an amendment was made to allow cemeteries in the Rural Agricultural Residential District.
    • Planned Unit Developments (PUD) – Two changes were made here. One is to update the density bonus section with the current high energy standard. The second is to tie together the Site Plan, Conditional Use and Subdivision review sections to the PUD section so it is clear when a PUD may possibly be required.
    • Character Based Zoning – A set of technical amendments are proposed help produce building that more accurately reflect the existing character of the neighborhood.

    For more details on these changes, click the hyperlinks below:

    The Public Hearing is the time for the public to offer their thoughts about the proposed amendments. Additionally, comments may be left here on this site and those comments will become a part of the public record and provided to the Planning Commission at their meeting on March 12.

    The Planning Commission will, after considering public comment, decide to vote/not vote and approve/ not approve the amendments. If they approve them, they will send them on to the Selectboard who will hold one or more public hearings on the amendments. Further comment on the amendments can be directed to the Selectboard at that time or anytime on this webpage.

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  • Planning Commission Meeting - February 19

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    The Planning Commission met on Tuesday February 19th. The following items were on the agenda:

    • Wendy reported on her meeting with the Energy Task Force on the Energy Plan. They want to use this website more for their information and communication.
    • The PC discussed a small change to the Zoning Regulations for energy deficiency in the PUD density bonus section. They will also looked at some proposed changes to the Character Based Zoning. They also approve the small package of Zoning rewrites and warned for a public hearing for their next meeting in March. Which, by the way will be on March 12, instead of March 5, which is Town Meeting day.
    • Here is the Draft Zoning Amendments 2-19-19
    • Here is the Public Hearing Notice
    • Here is a summary of changes, along with the official state required Zoning Report.
    • They will also talk about the Commercial District project and work more on their public engagement strategy. Come check out their table at Town Meeting!

    The minutes will be posted on this page when available as well as the MMCTV video.

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  • Planning Commission Meeting Summary - February 5

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    The Planning Commission met on Tuesday February 5th. They discussed the following items:

    • As has become the custom, the PC members will reported on any of their communication with other Town boards and committees. Susan Bresee is working with the Conservation Commission on developing standards for a new Tax Stabilization program. Wendy Verrei Berenback reported that she is continuing to work with the Energy Task Force on a revised Energy Chapter for the Town Plan and they desire to use the town website (this site!) more. She also has been in touch with the Transition Town group and they have invited the PC to attend their April meeting to discuss the Commercial District Project. She is also in touch with the Environmental Club at MMU and can hopefully talk to them about the Commercial District Project. Chris discussed the DRB's review of accessory apartments. Jason noted that he will be attending the Jericho Waterboard's meeting on February 20 to discuss the extension of the water line to the Commercial District.
    • The then discussed a small change to the Zoning Regulations for PUDs regarding making it clear in the site plan, conditional use and subdivision sections that a PUD may be required. A reader of the the subdivision, site plan and conditional use review sections would be refereed to the existing language in the PUD section.
    • The PC noted that in response to the DRB's recent comment about the out of date language in the PUD density bonus section about energy efficiency they should update the language to reflect the current higher standard.
    • They also heard about some potential changes to the Character Based Zoning. These changes are in relation to some areas that might not make sense or would not carry out the intent of the CBZ.
    • They talked about the Commercial District project and worked more on their public engagement strategy. The executive summary of the project can be distributed and they will start reaching out to the different school communities as well as churches, and senior community.

    The MMCTV video of the meeting is posted on this web page.

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  • PC Meeting Summary - January 22

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    The Planning Commission met with its consultant to have their first look at the draft Commercial District master plan and vision statement. They discussed how the draft at this stage represents the vision of the Commercial District land owners and the next step will be to engage the public to shape a town-wide vision. This draft Master Plan and vision will be posted shortly.

    Stay tuned....


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  • PC Meeting Summary - January 15

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    The Planning Commission met Tuesday January 15.

    They discussed the following items:

    • Susan Bresee is working with the Conservation Commission on developing a new local tax stabilization program. She noted that they will discuss this in an upcoming CC meeting. Wendy Verrei Berenback continues to work with the Jericho Energy Task Force on the Energy chapter in the Town Plan. Sarah McLeod and Chris Brown met with the Trails Committee and learned about the TC's desire to educate people on easements and sidewalks.
    • The PC will discussed some updates on the Commercial District Project. The PC received the draft Master Plan that will first be discussed by the Commercial District property owners next Monday and then by the PC on Tuesday January 22. This will be the first time that the PC has had an opportunity to discuss the plan, as to this point it has been the draft vision of the Commercial District property owners.
    • The PC continued to discuss their communication plan for public engagement for the Commercial District Project. Currently there isn't much to communicate as the public involvement process will begin in February.
    • They will also discuss a couple more potential zoning amendments. Specifically to Planned Unit Developments and to the Character Based Zoning District. More information on those proposed changes will be posted early next week on this site.

    The meeting was recorded by MMCTV and is posted on this page, to the right. Please feel free to to comment on anything about this meeting on this website, specifically here on this page, below.

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  • December 18 - Summary PC Meeting

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    The Planning Commission met on December 18.

    They discussed the following items:

    • As has become the custom, the PC members reported back on any of their communication with other Town boards and committees. Wendy met with the Jericho Energy Task Force the previous evening to discuss Energy chapter of the Town Plan. Edits are progressing with the help of the Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC). Jason reported that he, Susan and Chris all attended the December 13 DRB meeting to observe. Susan noted that an impact study is going to be required for one of the DRB projects, on the recommendation of the Conservation Committee.
    • The PC briefly discussed the Commercial District project. The project Advisory Committee had met the previous night and Chris Sargent (the consultant) had delivered a sizable package including the Commercial District land owner's vision and a draft master plan. More information on that project can be viewed on the Commercial District page.
    • The PC continued their discussion on their public engagement "bucket list," which is geared towards how to get information and input from Jericho residents on the Commercial District project. Heads up - more information about how you can engage in the process is upcoming!
    • The PC wrapped up their review of Accessory Apartments, with the aim of AAs providing affordable housing. The draft document may be viewed here.
    Please feel free to leave any comments here on this meeting and topics. The MMCTV video may be viewed on the right sidebar.

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Page last updated: 26 Mar 2024, 09:57 AM