VERMONT LAND USE PLANNING IMPLEMENTATION MANUAL

In 2004, Vermont revised its land use statutes to encourage creative, non-regulatory approaches to implementing municipal land use plans. As part of a team led by Sharon Murray, AICP of the Waitsfield, Vermont planning firm Burnt Rock, Inc., Dodson & Flinker prepared illustrations to help local planners visualize the mechanics of more than twenty five creative land use techniques. To help convey the idea that these tools should be part of a integrated program of regulations, non-regulatory approaches and design techniques, Dodson & Flinker came up with the idea of a single image showing a transect across the Vermont landscape, from town center to rural countryside. Presented in the form of an annotated poster, the image shows where each of the tools described in the manual could be applied, and how they collectively serve to promote Vermont’s goals for smart growth and sustainable development.