Planning Commission

The Planning Commission will next meet on September 17 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm in the Town Hall. Please join them. At this meeting they will discuss the following:

• Process Discussion: This will involve talking through the Commercial District Project and what remains of this project (Zoning Regulations) They will also talk about the process of implementing the Commercial District Master Plan, which they began with the Town Plan Amendments.
• Official Map Discussion: One of the recommendations in the Town Plan and the Commercial District Master Plan is the implementation of an Official Map. The PC will learn more about that process and discuss funding options.
• Next Planning Projects: The PC will spend some time talking about what they want to do/learn about next. This will likely include learning about alternative zoning regulations.
• Planning for the September 26 Farmers Market: The PC is attending an upcoming Jericho Farmers Market. They will talk about what they will do at the Market.

The Planning Commission will be meeting next on Tuesday September 10 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm in the Town Hall. Please feel free to join them.

At this meeting they will be discussing several things, including the following:

The Jericho Town Plan:

• The PC will hold an Open House on Saturday September 7 from 9:00 am - 2:00. They will discuss that open house and the comments received and how to integrate into the Town Plan draft.
• They will plan on finalizing the draft chapters: Natural Resources Overlay, Commercial District changes, new Healthy Community Chapter, and the Energy Chapter. Read more about these changes and see these changes on the 2019 Town Plan Amendment Page of this website.

Planning for next PC discussion Items.

• The PC will be working with the Commercial District consultant, Chris Sargent, to develop new Zoning Regulations for the Commercial District. These changes are based on the Master Plan developed over this past year and new Vision Statement. Learn more about that on the Commercial District Project page. They will discuss how that process will work as well as work on an education process about different types of zoning regulations.

Please join the Planning Commission on Tuesday. If you can't, you can always view the MMCTV video that will be posted on this web page following the meeting. Please also feel free to leave comments on this page.

The Planning Commission will be meeting next on Tuesday August 20 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm in the Town Hall. Please feel free to join them.

At this meeting they will be discussing several things, including the following:

1. The Commercial District Project Master Plan. The current draft is dated July 26, 2019. A new draft will be discussed and will be uploaded on the Commercial District Project page prior to the meeting. You can visit the Commercial District project page now to view the August 16 draft as well as draft maps and supporting materials.
2. They will discuss the following Town Plan chapters:

• Health in Jericho: This is a new chapter and the is the August 12, 2019 can be viewed HERE.
• The Commercial District changes: These changes are as a result of the Commercial District project. Visit the Commercial District page to learn more about the project. The most recent draft of the chapter (dated August 19) is posted on the Town Plan Amendment page.
• Energy Chapter: Changes made in order to comply with the state's energy plan. View the draft and maps HERE.
• Natural Resource Chapter: These changes are being made to reflect the adoption of the Natural Resources Overlay in the Land Use Regulations. The changes proposed are still under construction and will be posted when available HERE.
• The Planning Commission is holding an open house where the public can see the changes proposed and have a chance to offer any comments or ask questions. That Open House is on September 7 from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm. They will be discussing and planning the Open House.

The Planning Commission meets next on Tuesday August 6th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm in the Town Hall.

During the last PC meeting (July 30) the PC expected to have a revised draft of the Commercial District Master Plan. This will not be avaialbel, but will be for the August 20th meeting. So, this item will not be on their agenda. During this meeting, they will continue discussing amendments to the Town Plan.

In particular, they will be talking about changes related to the Commercial District. These changes are being made as a result of a change in the vision for the future of the Commercial District. You can view documents related to the meeting by clicking the links below:

• Draft Master Plan for the project
• Draft Maps
• Draft Appendix
• Draft Commercial District Town Plan Changes

The PC will also talk about changes related to the Energy Chapter. You can view more about the Energy Changes by clicking the link below.

• Town Plan Energy Draft

The Planning Commission meets next on July 30 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm.

At this meeting the Planning Commission will hear from their consultant, Chris Sargent, who will present a revised draft of the Master Plan for the Commercial District. The Planning Commission has been working on this for over a year and are excited to be close to wrapping up the Master Plan portion of the project.

To learn more about the Commercial District Project, visit the project page HERE.

If time permits, the Planning Commission is discuss changes to the Town Plan that will be required related to the Commercial District. There is a new project page related to the Town Plan Amendments. this is where details and drafts of all changes will be posted. View that page HERE

The Planning Commission meets next on July 16 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Jericho Town Hall. Please join us!

The Planning Commission will be discussing some potential edits to the Town Plan. Here is a summary of the areas that they are looking into:

• Energy Chapter - The state of Vermont has some very ambitious future energy goals and has tasked every town to play their part. With the help of the Regional Planning Commission, the Jericho Energy Task force have revised the Town Plan Energy chapter to reflect the new state goals and show how Jericho will help meet the goals. Emily Nosse-Leirer from the CCRPC will be attendance to talk about the current draft of the Energy chapter plan.
• Healthy Community language related to prevention/public health. Melanie Needle from the CCRPC and Juston Hoy from Essex CHIPS will be in attendance to discuss how Jericho can incorporate language into the Town Plan to support these efforts.
• The Commercial District project is wrapping up the Master Plan and Vision Statement portion of the project. The revised vision statement, below is very different from the current vision statement. As a result, the Town Plan, which explains the purpose and vision for all parts of town, will need to be changed. This process will begin on Tuesday. Below is the revised vision statement for the CD:

The PC met on June 18 with their consultant (Chris Sargent from DuBois & King) for the Commercial District project. They also heard from members of the Tri-Town Alternative Transportation Committee (TTATC) and spoke about the information they had received from other boards and committees about how the Commercial District could help meet their goals. The goal for the PC meeting was to wrap up the draft Master Plan and finalize the vision statement for the CD project.

The TTATC noted that they are looking for additional transit opportunities during the day. As they have been thinking about where to locate a park and ride, they see that the Commercial district would be an ideal spot.

Chris Sargent, presented a summary of his findings, which are as follows:

The Planning Commission meets next on Tuesday June 18 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. They would love it if you could join them! If you can't you can view the MMCTV video that will be posted on this page a couple of days after the Tuesday meeting.

The PC is wrapping up the Master Plan and Vision Statement part of the Commercial District project. They will discuss any lose ends with their consultant from DuBois & King, Chris Sargent. They will also hear from several boards and committees about how the CD furthers the goals of their boards.

Please visit the Commercial District page of this website to learn more about the project and take the surveys that are posted there. These surveys won't be up for much longer, so now is you time to participate.

Here are the direct links to each survey:

• Do you feel these buildings are appropriately sized for the Commercial District?
• What are the appropriate uses for the CD?
• What is the appropriate density for the CD?

Please feel free to leave any comments about the project here.

The Planning Commission met on Tuesday June 4. If you missed it, you can read the minutes on this page and view the MMCTV video on this page as well.

The Planning Commission held an Open House for the Commercial District on Saturday June 1 from 9:00 - 2:00 pm in the Town Hall. The PC spent the majority of their meeting discussing the Open House. They also talked about what the next steps are for the CD project.

They noted that they all thought that the Open House format was excellent. They observed that there were quite a few first time contributes to the CD project in attendance. They decided that it would be good to have the questions asked at the Open House up on the website in the form of surveys. They anticipate that they will close the survey just prior to their next meeting on June 18.

Their project consultant, Chris Sargent will be attending their meeting on June 18 and they will be wrapping up the Master Plan and Vision Statement part of the project.

The Planning Commission met on Tuesday May 21. If you missed it, you can read the minutes on this page and view the MMCTV video on this page as well.

The Planning Commission has an Open House for the Commercial District scheduled for Saturday June 1 from 9:00 - 2:00 pm in the Town Hall. The PC spent the majority of their meeting planning for the Open House.

They heard from the Conservation Commission and The Trails Committee on how they see the future development of the Commercial District helping their committee/commission meet the Town's goals under their purview.

• The CC discussed protection of prime agricultural soils as well at water resources (specifically the Browns River).
• The TC discussed their desire to see more of a recreational trail in the district as well as biking options, likely along RT 15. Both the TC and CC's vision will be available for public comment at the upcoming Open House.

Regarding the planning for the Open House they further discussed the items for public comment. The questions they are asking will be focused around the draft vision statement in the draft Master Plan. Here is that draft vision statement:

"A Commercial District that provides a valuable connection between Jericho Village and Riverside Village, acting as a location for mixed-use development and expanded commerce which preserves the natural beauty of the landscape and distant views at an appropriate scale for the community."

What If you can't attend the Open House but would like to comment, you may leave comments here. We will also be posting the Open House material on the Commercial District page for further commment. We want to hear from you!