The SE Group has been awarded the contract to create a Village Master Plan for Irasville. The Waitsfield Select Board awarded the contract at its May 13 meeting after reviewing proposals.
Last year the town approved a $45,000 municipal planning grant with a $4,990 local match. The goal of the project is to create a Village Master Plan with the special goals of increasing housing, improving natural resources, and increasing resilience against a changing climate. The Village Master Plan will include current conditions, community attitudes, identification of wetland enhancements, realistic design scenarios, and next steps for phased revitalization and resilience.
Waitsfield’s Town Plan identifies Irasville as the growth area for the Mad River Valley, accommodating the majority of new residential and commercial development in historic settlement patterns. The town made substantial progress on several issues keeping critical to achieving these goals for Irasville including bringing municipal water online in 2012, undertaking the planning and design of a municipal wastewater system, to be complete in 2024 and undertaking an Irasville wetlands analysis in 2021.
“Extensive conversations with the region’s DEC wetlands ecologist have resulted in an understanding of the key role that Irasville’s existing wetlands complex plays in flood storage, water quality improvement, and more. In a time of climate change-induced weather patterns, their role is increasing in significance. Waitsfield is committed to utilizing the lessons of its 2021 wetlands analysis to guide master planning, focusing first and foremost on how to enhance and support the functioning of Irasville’s wetlands complex. The town is fully committed to evolving Irasville’s automobile-centric development pattern into a bustling pedestrian-oriented growth center while also increasing the natural functioning of its landscape,” the town wrote in its request for qualifications.
Timing for the work is from July 2024 through November 2025 with opportunities for community engagement and participation in the process. The SE Group has worked with Waitsfield on updating zoning bylaws to align with Town Plan goals for village revitalization, housing development, and pedestrian connectivity. This project focused on evaluating permitted land uses, lot sizes, dimensional standards in Waitsfield Village and Irasville. The Irasville village area, with its mix of shopping plazas, residences, and critical wetlands, was a particular focus for this work.
Working with the planning commission, the SE Group reviewed existing land use patterns, local and regional housing needs, and existing land use regulations. They developed a website for the project, created educational videos and held an open house before distilling their findings into specific proposed bylaw revisions The final series of proposed bylaw revisions were adopted by the town.
