Things are coming full circle in Warren where the town’s planning commission is holding a hearing to take public comment on a final draft of revised Land Use and Development Regulations (LUDRs), closing a process that began five years ago.
That public hearing takes place Monday, October 29, 2024, at 7 p.m. at the Warren town office.
In 2019 the Warren Planning Commission undertook a major overhaul of its LUDRs which were most recently adopted in 2001 with minor amendments over more than two decades.
At the time, town leaders recognized that it was time for a comprehensive review and amendment of the LUDRs to realign the LUDRs with the town’s planning policies and to address inconsistencies resulting from state statute and programming changes over the past two decades. There was also a commitment from the planning commission to improving the clarity of the LUDRs and the town’s development review and permitting processes.
There was strong public interest in the 2019 process which was quickly interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the beginning of Zoom era public hearings. The COVID era hearings were extremely well attended with as many as 80 people watching and participating in at least one meeting.
After a thorough review by the planning commission including some revisions, the LUDRs went to the town select board where interest in the LUDRs was also high. That board rejected the regulations in April 2023 to allow projects already in the permitting process to take advantage of the 2023 construction season.
The select board came back to the regulations later in 2023, holding multiple hearings, including some with Sugarbush, going line by line over the proposed changes and draft chapters.
The select board has completed its review and revisions and now the LUDRs are back before the planning commission for final public hearings. Absent significant changes, the LUDRs will be adopted by the select board.
The revised LUDRs impact the entire town. All the existing zoning districts have been renamed, redefined and have had their boundaries redrawn.
The full text of the revised LUDRs and the planning commission’s report can be viewed at http://planning.warrenvt.org.
For those interested in attending the October 28 hearing remotely, the ZOOM information will be published with the agenda on Friday, October 25, 2024, on the town’s website: Planning Commission | Town of Warren Vermont (warrenvt.org)
