Introducing CVRPC

CVRPC is a regional planning organization working with and for twenty-three municipalities in Central Vermont, including all the towns in Washington County and three towns in Orange County; Orange, Washington, and Williamstown. Our mission is to assist member municipalities in providing effective local government and to work cooperatively with them to address regional issues.

Formed in 1967, CVRPC is one of Vermont's eleven regional commissions. Local representatives to the Commission are appointed by the legislative bodies of each municipality. The Commission meets monthly with topics covering a broad range of Central Vermont concerns: regional land use issues, local growth center identification and evaluation, economic development, natural resource issues, public/private sector cooperation, and review of Act 250 projects. CVRPC is uniquely positioned to coordinate and guide activities between state and local governments.

Income to cover the operating expenses of CVRPC comes from a variety of sources including appropriations from member communities, the state's property transfer tax, and service contracts with state agencies and local governments.

Technical Assistance

CVRPC provides direct technical assistance to local officials on a range of activities:

• Development and review of municipal plans, zoning bylaws, subdivision regulations, impact fee ordinances, capital budget plans, and other local planning tools

• Development and review of municipal plans, zoning bylaws, subdivision regulations, impact fee ordinances, capital budget plans, and other local planning tools

• Regional data collection, analysis and interpretation through our roles as a GIS Service Center and a U.S. Census Data Center

• Professional assistance and opinions on local ordinances and bylaw administration

• Obtaining and administering grant funds for community development, housing, economic development, capital improvements, recreation, conservation, and infrastructure improvements.

GIS Service Center

CVRPC is designated as an official Geographic Information System (GIS) Service Center. We develop and maintain computerized regional databases that are compatible with GIS data standards. Our Service Center also contains digital data for municipalities and provides GIS services to meet their needs for planning and development. Hundreds of data sets are now included on the system. This information helps selectboards, planning commissioners, listers, and other municipal officials to better fulfill their duties and responsibilities.

Regional Planning

CVRPC's comprehensive Regional Plan was adopted in 2003 to guide growth and development in the region. This plan is useful to local communities as a resource in the preparation of local plans, and is also used in the Act 250 review process to evaluate major land use developments and subdivisions.

Using Federal transportation funds, CVRPC is also engaged in a multi-year cooperative effort with local governments to identify transportation needs from the local level up. This effort will lead to a regional transportation plan and capital plan that reflects local priorities and will guide public investments in the region's transportation system.

Intergovernmental Planning and Coordination

One of CVRPC's primary functions is to help communities work together to solve problems. Our work with union municipal districts exemplifies this mission.

Taking advantage of a provision in Vermont Statutes which allows municipalities to pool their resources to serve their common needs, CVRPC helped facilitate the formation of the Mad River Valley Planning District (Fayston, Waitsfield, and Warren) and the Wrightsville Beach Recreation District (Montpelier, East Montpelier, Worcester, and Middlesex) over a decade ago. We have been providing technical and administrative support to these organizations ever since, thereby ensuring that they continue to provide the benefits for which they were created.

In addition, CVRPC serves State agencies and the Executive branch of government, often sponsoring public forums on behalf of State agencies, and serving as a conduit for information and technical support to member municipalities.

Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission

 29 Main Street - Suite 4 Montpelier, Vermont 05602

(802) 229-0389 FAX (802) 223-1977

Email: cvrpc@cvregion.com