Did you know that Brandon has an official Town Plan? The Town Plan is the foundation for community programs, policy setting, and decision-making. The findings and recommendations in the plan influence the Town’s budget and capital expenditures, community development efforts, and natural-resource protection initiatives. The plan is the basis for the local land-use controls, such as those in the Brandon Land Use Ordinance. The plan also establishes policies, goals, and action items for recreation, transportation, energy usage, residential and economic development, disaster resilience, and protection of historic and cultural resources.
Under Vermont law, municipal plans must be readopted every eight years and a current town plan is required before a municipality may become eligible for project funding.
Brandon’s town plan was most recently readopted in February 2016 and, apart from an amendment in 2019 to add a section on energy planning and development, it has not been updated since. Accordingly, over the next several months, the Brandon Planning Commission will be working to update the plan against the February 2024 readoption deadline by reviewing each section to determine which parts remain relevant, and which need to be revised.
But the key to a successful update is not just review by the Planning Commission; for the plan to be an accurate reflection of Brandon’s vision, citizen participation is essential. Thus, as it conducts its review, the Planning Commission is reaching out to the community for input.
A kick-off event is scheduled for Sunday, May 21, 2023, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Town Hall. Community members are invited to come, eat some free pizza, and share their visions for the future of Brandon.
Do you dream of a connector trail between downtown Brandon and Forest Dale? Do you have strong opinions about energy usage and resources? Perhaps you’d like to see more and better sidewalks, and wider shoulders on the roads for bicycles. Or maybe you have ideas about how to increase Brandon’s inventory of reasonably priced housing. Come to Town Hall on May 21, and add your voice to the conversation. And don’t despair if you can’t make it to the May 21 event: the Planning Commission will be continuing its outreach program throughout the readoption process.
The current version of the Town Plan is online at https://tinyurl.com/Town-
Plan. The Vermont statutes governing the creation and contents of municipal plans
can be found in Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 24, chapter 117.
Cecil Reniche-Smith
Brandon Planning Commission
