Some 50 people came to the first open house for Irasville master planning this week, gathering on November 18 at the Village Meeting House in the Waitsfield United Church of Christ for the event.
Waitsfield’s planners and its planning commission, along with a steering committee created to address master planning for Irasville gathered with the public and with consultants from the SE Group for this first open house. This master planning work is funded by a $45,000 grant and is designed to address how Irasville can be developed – given its wetlands – for housing and commercial development.
Participants were asked to answer questions and rank priorities using colored stickers on cardboard placards. Most of this was done privately, but three questions were asked publicly including these: “Why should we limit ourselves to Irasville?” “Will existing wetlands stay there or be built on?” “How many plots of land are available for development?”
Irasville is “[the community’s] commerce center, something that goes beyond Waitsfield itself,” said Waitsfield Planning and Zoning Administrator JB Weir. This plan would create the “community center and civic center that [The Valley] needs.” Redevelopment would accommodate the housing crisis, flood vulnerability, and the Mad River Valley’s changing demographics.
He said The Valley is currently estimated to have a housing shortage of about 450 units, and this plan would create more housing, focusing on affordable rentals, affordable senior housing, and first-time homeowners. The plan also addresses the community’s commercial needs and provides space for a potential health clinic or pharmacy.
The environment and the threat of flooding is of primary concern for planners. Irasville is not flood prone and is home to many high functioning wetlands, which absorb floodwater and create their own ecosystems. The project will consider how to bolster the wetland function and minimize the amount of impervious surfaces, which create water runoff and do not allow for absorption. It will not develop on any flood plains and will not clear any more space to create a village center.
The community open house was the first of multiple events to “grow this project from an idea to an actual plan.” It was not a lecture on what should happen in Irasville, but a space to hear the community’s thoughts and concerns. The next meetings will be held next winter to showcase the development’s initial conceptual designs and hold another community open house.
