PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT ADOPTED: January 09, 2017 First Chartered by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont in 1900 Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Location .................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Political History ....................................................................................................... 1 1.3 History - The early Period ....................................................................................... 1 1.4 History - The Resort Phase ..................................................................................... 2 1.5 Important Historical Establishments, Buildings, Places, and Institutions ................ 3 2.0 GOALS FOR THE VILLAGE ............................................................................................... 7 3.0 LAND SUITABILITY AND NATURAL RESOURCES ......................................................... 9 3.1 Surface Hydrology .................................................................................................. 9 3.2 Topography ............................................................................................................. 9 3.3 Soil Suitability for Development .............................................................................. 9 3.4 Earth Resources ................................................................................................... 10 4.0 FLOOD RESILIENCE ....................................................................................................... 14 4.1 Overview ............................................................................................................... 14 4.2 Assessing Community Hazards ............................................................................ 14 4.3 Limiting Risk from Flooding ................................................................................... 14 5.0 LAND USE ........................................................................................................................ 19 5.1 Settlement Pattern ................................................................................................ 19 5.2 General Guidelines for Development .................................................................... 20 5.3 Clustering .............................................................................................................. 21 5.4 Planned Development ........................................................................................... 21 5.5 Major Development Projects ................................................................................. 21 5.6 Residential Development ...................................................................................... 22 5.7 Affordable Housing ............................................................................................... 24 5.8 Special Needs Housing ......................................................................................... 25 5.9 Business Development ......................................................................................... 27 5.9.1 BUSINESS-1 ................................................................................................ 27 5.9.2 BUSINESS-2 ................................................................................................ 28 5.10 Major Development Review .................................................................................. 28 5.11 Equinox Historic District ........................................................................................ 28 5.12 Design Control District .......................................................................................... 29 5.12.1 Historic Core District .................................................................................... 29 5.12.2 Preservation District ..................................................................................... 30 5.12.3 General Review District ................................................................................ 30 5.13 Flood Hazard Area District .................................................................................... 31 5.14 Forest Districts ...................................................................................................... 31 6.0 POPULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ......................................................... 35 6.1 Population ............................................................................................................. 35 6.2 Economic Development ........................................................................................ 35 6.3 Village Center Designation ................................................................................... 37 6.4 Income .................................................................................................................. 38 6.5 Northshire Economic Development ...................................................................... 38 7.0 HISTORIC PRESERVATION ........................................................................................... 39 7.1 Legal Basis for Preservation in the Village of Manchester .................................... 39 7.2 History of Preservation in the Village of Manchester ............................................ 39 7.3 Preservation Procedure ........................................................................................ 39 8.0 TRANSPORTATION ......................................................................................................... 43 8.1 Roads Through the Village of Manchester ............................................................ 43 8.2 Scenic Roads ........................................................................................................ 43 8.3 Public Transportation and Intercity Bus Travel ..................................................... 44 8.4 Air Transportation ................................................................................................. 44 8.5 Bus to Rail Service ................................................................................................ 44 8.6 Electric Vehicles .................................................................................................... 45 9.0 COMMUNITY FACILITIES, UTILITIES AND ENERGY .................................................... 47 9.1. Education and Childcare ....................................................................................... 47 9.2. Police, Fire, and Emergency Services .................................................................. 48 9.3. Health and Social Services ................................................................................... 48 9.4. Solid Waste ........................................................................................................... 48 9.5. Wastewater Treatment .......................................................................................... 49 9.6. Water Supply ........................................................................................................ 49 9.7. Village Finances .................................................................................................... 50 9.8. Energy ................................................................................................................... 51 9.9. Siting of Solar and Wind Electric Generation Facilities and Cell Towers .............. 51 10.0 IMPLEMENTATION AND COORDINATION .................................................................... 55 10.1 Implementation ..................................................................................................... 55 10.2 Coordination and Relationship to Other Plans ...................................................... 56 APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................. 58 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Location The Village of Manchester (Village) and the Town of Manchester (Town) of which it is a part are located in the northern half of Bennington County (Northshire), the southwestern most county of Vermont. The narrow valley where the Village and Town lie runs North/South and is bounded on the East by the Green Mountains and on the West by the Taconics, of which Equinox is the tallest at just over 3800 feet. The Village lies at the foot of Equinox Mountain and stretches east to the Batten Kill River with its center running North/South along Vt. Route 7A. 1.2 Political History Manchester was first settled in 1764 based on a land grant from Benning Wentworth, the Governor of New Hampshire, issued in 1761. The early days were tumultuous ones for the settlers as both New York and New Hampshire issued conflicting land grants and each tried to exert exclusive control over the territory. This struggle for control largely ceased after the Revolution. In 1777 Vermont declared itself to be an independent republic, and later, when Vermont was admitted as the 14th State in 1791, Manchester and its residents became a part of the newly created United States. In the early days the Village served as the governmental center for the Town, but as the Town grew, this changed. In 1900 the legislature granted The Village its own charter, and it became a separately governed part of the Town with the ability to tax, make its own laws, and maintain