CHARTERED BY Town CHARTERED BY NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW YORK AUGUST 20, 1761 of APRIL 8, 1772 Weathersfield, Vermont Website: http://www.weathersfield.org Town Plan Adopted July 15th, 2004 Amended September 15th, 2005 TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD, VERMONT TOWN PLAN Proposed Amendments Weathersfield Planning Commission Stephen A. Walasewicz, Chairperson Rene Bergeron Peter M. Daniels Julie A. Levy Steven J. Melanson Weathersfield Conservation Commission Marianne E. Walsh, Chairperson Annmarie J. Christensen Diana L. Day Christopher Harris Robert A. LaCasse Nathan G. McKeen Anna B. Sykas Weathersfield Select Board C. Peter Cole, Chair Henry C. Cobb, Jr., Vice-Chairperson Norman John Arrison, Board Clerk Daniel E. Boyer Patricia W. Daniels http://www.weathersfield.org Thanks to the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission, Weathersfield Conservation Commission, and community members for their work on this plan. e Adopted July 15th, 2004 Amended September 15th, 2005 TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD, VERMONT TOWN PLAN Table of Contents Acknowledgments Inside Front Cover Introduction ............................................................................... 1 Historical Background ....................................................... 1 Why and How a Town Plan is Used ..................................... 3 What is in a Town Plan? .................................................... 5 Goals and Objectives .......................................................... 8 Implementation Procedures ................................................ 9 Relationship to Local and Regional Plans ........................... 11 Neighboring Towns ................................................... 11 Southern Windsor County Region .............................. 11 Energy ....................................................................................... 13 Goals ................................................................................ 14 Recommendations .............................................................. 14 Education .................................................................................. 17 Goal ................................................................................. 20 Recommendations .............................................................. 20 Housing ..................................................................................... 21 Housing Types ................................................................... 22 Wages and Income ............................................................ 23 Pressure on the Land ......................................................... 24 Goals ................................................................................ 25 Recommendations .............................................................. 25 Adopted July 15th, 2004 Amended September 15th, 2005 -i- TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD, VERMONT TOWN PLAN Natural, Scenic, and Historic Resources ...................................... 27 Surface Waters ................................................................. 27 Wetlands .......................................................................... 29 Groundwater ..................................................................... 30 High Elevation, Unstable Soils, and Steep Slopes ................ 30 Agricultural Resources, Forest Land, and Open Space ......... 32 Land Enrolled in Current Use ............................................. 33 Conserved Land ................................................................. 34 Critical Habitat Areas ....................................................... 34 Invasive Species ................................................................ 36 Air Quality ........................................................................ 36 Earth Resources ................................................................ 37 Aesthetic Resources ........................................................... 38 Historic Resources ............................................................. 39 Goals ................................................................................ 43 Recommendations .............................................................. 43 Land Use ................................................................................... 49 Current Land Use .............................................................. 49 Future Land Use ................................................................ 50 Villages ................................................................... 50 Hamlets ................................................................... 51 Rural Areas ............................................................. 51 Commercial and Industrial ........................................ 53 Future Land Use Map ........................................................ 55 Adopted July 15th, 2004 -ii- Amended September 15th, 2005 TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD, VERMONT TOWN PLAN Future Land Use Categories ............................................... 56 Open and Agricultural ............................................... 56 Forest ...................................................................... 56 Institutional ............................................................. 57 Conservation ............................................................ 57 Recreation ............................................................... 57 Rural Residential ..................................................... 57 Mixed Use (Growth Center Districts) ......................... 58 Goals ................................................................................ 59 Recommendations .............................................................. 59 Transportation ............................................................................ 63 Present Road System ......................................................... 64 Regional or Arterial Highways .................................. 64 Collector Roads ........................................................ 64 Local Roads ............................................................. 64 Trails and Unused Roads .......................................... 65 Scenic Byways .......................................................... 65 Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation ................................ 65 Exit 8 Interchange ............................................................ 66 Access Management and Traffic Calming ............................ 67 Exit 8 Park-and-Ride ........................................................ 68 Upper Falls Covered Bridge ............................................... 68 Hartness State Airport ....................................................... 68 Other Aspects of Transportation ......................................... 69 Adopted July 15th, 2004 Amended September 15th, 2005 -iii- TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD, VERMONT TOWN PLAN Goals ................................................................................ 71 Recommendations .............................................................. 71 Utilities and Facilities ................................................................. 75 Water and Sewer ............................................................... 75 Electric Utilities ................................................................ 76 Communications ................................................................ 77 Town Facilities .................................................................. 78 Cemeteries ........................................................................ 79 Recreation ........................................................................ 79 Goals ................................................................................ 82 Recommendations .............................................................. 82 Adopted July 15th, 2004 -iv- Amended September 15th, 2005 TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD, VERMONT TOWN PLAN Index of Tables 1: Town of Weathersfield Adult Level of Education ....... 18 2: Weathersfield Elementary School: General Information ........................................ 19 3: Weathersfield Middle School: General Information ........................................ 19 4: Regional Populations Trends .................................... 21 5: Summary of Weathersfield Households and Housing Units 1990 - 2000 ............................. 22 6: Average Wages 1990 and 2000 ............................... 23 7: Income by Type ....................................................... 24 8: Southern Windsor County Current Use Program ....... 33 9: Conserved Land in Southern Windsor County ........... 34 10: Weathersfield Water Supplies .................................. 76 Adopted July 15th, 2004 Amended September 15th, 2005 -v- TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD, VERMONT TOWN PLAN In Back of Plan Maps Base Features .................................................................M1 Natural Resources ...........................................................M2 Current Land Use/Land Cover ..........................................M3 Future Land Use .............................................................M4 Appendix Planning for the Future of our Town [April, 2002] ... A1 Adopted July 15th, 2004 -vi- Amended September 15th, 2005 TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD, VERMONT TOWN PLAN INTRODUCTION I. Historical Background own planning is not a new function for the Town of Weathersfield. During the Tlast 235 years there have been many times when conditions beyond the control of local government have made it necessary