Implement Land Use Tools to Accomplish
Our Goals
The most powerful tools at our disposal for shaping
the future of
our
community
are those
that
deal with land use. Our
current codes
have served us well but are due for an update. In places
they are ambiguous, and occasionally in conflict with themselves,
the county,
or state.
 The
town last revised the zoning code in 1991. Since then, communities
have learned the
lessons of ‘smart growth’ and conservation
development. Communities successful at shaping their growth have
learned to partner with developers to achieve their community
goals rather than react to the developer’s goals.
Proactive Partnerships With Developers Can Help
Us Achieve Our Goals
If
the Town can be clear about what we want, as well as what we
don’t
want, the development process can become proactive and creative
rather than reactive and adversarial. If we can agree on
development goals
and underlying principles, separate from any individual proposal
under consideration, the resulting predictability will enable
both land owners and developers to shape plans that accommodate
those goals and at less cost. Those savings, in many towns,
contribute to amenities that benefit the community.
The First Step -- To Agree Upon
Our Goals
Reaching agreement on our development goals is
the next challenge. In
the course
of
developing
this
plan several principles
have emerged that now need to be explored in detail and translated
into concrete
strategies.
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