Chester planners hear of alternative zoning for increasing housing

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The Chester Planning Commission is in the early days of updating the Town Plan with technical and writing assistance from the Mount Ascutney Regional Commission or MARC. But at Monday’s meeting, the most interesting moments came in a discussion of fast-tracking housing projects that could be applied not just to Chester but to towns all over Vermont.

Commission chair and Zoning Administrator Hugh Quinn told the meeting that he had received a document from Let’s Build Homes, a coalition of Vermonters led by former Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger that is working toward addressing the housing crisis. The document shows three open lots in Chester and compares what could be built on those lots under different zoning rules. These were created by Utile Architecture and Design for Let’s Build Homes to show how a different method approach to zoning in some areas in a town might work.

They are not future plans, but rather a demonstration of alternative methods in planning.

In a phone call with The Telegraph on Tuesday, Chester Town Manager Julie Hance said that she had served on the board of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns with Weinberger, who, when told of Chester’s work on housing development,  urged her to look into this housing initiative.  Let’s Build Homes went on to use three properties from the Chester Housing Commission’s search and discussions to craft its demonstration document. See the full slide presentation here.

Each property is shown in four zoning scenarios with a maximum construction height of two and a half stories. The scenarios are:

• The number of units of housing that can be built under current rules with a building permit (1,400 sq ft maximum footprint);
• The number of units that can be built under current rules but going through the Development Review Board process (1,400 sq ft maximum footprint);
• Transect 1 (3,600 sq ft maximum footprint);
• Transect 2 (2,400 sq ft maximum footprint).

The idea is for a town to amend its zoning so that specific areas are set aside for more intensive development with “clear and objective standards” that eliminate discretionary hearings and appeals. The result would be that some areas would have building permits issued “by right” rather than having to go through the quasi-judicial process of development review.  This would mean that if a project “ticked all the boxes” that had been established by a town, neighbors would not be able to appeal or even slow the development. Public action against housing development slows the process which makes projects more expensive.

For example, the maximum number of units allowed under current zoning for one Depot Street lot is 12, but that would increase to 14 under this new concept, which is known as ROOT,  for Residential Opportunity Overlay for Towns. While the increase of two units may seem minor, it could be done without the time and expense of the development review process.

State legislation still needed to move program forward

The Vermont Legislature would still have to pass legislation to bring the ROOT concept into being, and individual towns could either pursue the ROOT concept or opt out. Such legislation could offer “substantial” grants for planning to adapt the law to a community. That could include taking into account the historic character of a town. Let’s Build Homes has produced a model zoning code it is circulating for comment.

According to a spokesperson for Let’s Build Homes, Act 152 of 2026 began moving the idea toward its goal. That law directed “the Department of Housing and Community Development to meet with stakeholders and recommend mechanisms for limiting appeals of municipal permits while still allowing for review and to report on the impacts of discretionary review of residential development.”

That report is due Jan. 15, 2027 and legislation will likely be introduced, which would put the ROOT concept into state law if passed.

The Chester Planning Commission meets the first and third Monday of each month. It’s beginning the long process of amending the town plan which is a document required of all town that have zoning. While most residents and landowners have never read it, the town plan is the cornerstone of much of what happens in a town including zoning and application for grants that fund many town projects. Keep an eye out for Telegraph reporting on the deliberations and attend some meetings to express your opinions. The next meeting will be on October 5 and will take up the transportation chapter of the plan.