2026 Regional Plan Update

Plan

Maps

Overview

WRC is updating its current 2025 Regional Plan to comply with the Act 181 legislation passed in 2024. Act 181 reformed Vermont’s framework for coordinating state, regional, and municipal land use planning. The focus of this Regional Plan update will be on the Land Use and Housing Chapters in particular. WRC anticipates completing a draft of the Regional Plan update by the summer of 2026. If you have any questions, please contact Matt Bachler, Senior Planner, at 802-257-4547 ext. 112 or mbachler@windhamregional.org.

Final Public Hearing on Draft Regional Plan

A final public hearing on the draft Regional Plan will be held on Thursday, November 5th at 6:00 p.m. The hearing will take place at WRC’s office, 139 Main Street, Suite 505, Brattleboro, and remotely via Zoom. Please visit the main page of WRC’s website for Zoom access information.

WRC Full Commission Presentation on Draft Revisions (September 29th), click here
Report on Conformance with State Planning Goals & Required Plan Elements, click here
Guidelines for Requesting Tier 1 Exemption & Revisions to Future Land Use Map, click here

Land Use Review Board Preapplication

WRC submitted the required preapplication for its draft Regional Plan to the Land Use Review Board (LURB) on June 5th. Preapplication materials and other related documents can be viewed on the Land Use Review Board’s database. The LURB provided WRC with comments on the draft Regional Plan on August 14th. The draft Regional Plan has been updated based on the LURB’s review comments.

Land Use Review Board Preapplication Response: click here

Public Meeting and Hearing Recordings on Draft Regional Plan:

The Windham Regional Commission previously held public meetings and hearings on the first draft of the Regional Plan. Comments received from town officials and members of the public on the first draft have been addressed in the second draft of the plan. Presentation recordings and slides from previous meetings can be viewed below:

September 21st public hearing slides, click here
September 21st public hearing recording, click here
May 20th public meeting slides: click here
May 20th public meeting recording: click here

Please see below for links to additional information about Act 181:

WRC Summary of Act 181: click here
WRC Summary of Act 152: click here
WRC Act 181 FAQ: click here
Vermont Land Use Review Board Act 181 website: click here

Draft Regional Plan Text

The draft Regional Plan text has been updated as of October 1, 2026 based on comments received from the WRC Full Commission, Land Use Review Board, town officials, and members of the public on the first draft of the plan. Draft chapters are available to review below. The WRC Full Commission will review the draft text at their meeting on September 29, 2026. Any comments or questions can be directed to Matt Bachler: mbachler@windhamregional.org.

Chapter 1 , Introduction
Chapter 2 , Regional Profile
Chapter 3, Land Use
Chapter 4, Natural Resources
Chapter 5 , Transportation
Chapter 6, Community Utilities, Facilities, and Services
Chapter 7, Energy
Chapter 8, Housing
Chapter 9, Economic Development
Chapter 10, Educational, Cultural, and Recreational Resources
Chapter 11, Implementation
Appendix A, Equity and Environmental Justice
Appendix B, Regional LEAP Targets
Appendix C, Regional Energy Use and Targets Methodology
Appendix D, Municipal Energy Data Analysis and Targets
Appendix E, Regional and Municipal Housing Allocation Methodologies
Appendix F, Implementation Matrix

Draft Maps

Draft Regional Plan Maps, link to PDF of all 22 maps, including the Future Land Use map (to see bookmarks, right click and save the PDF to your computer), last updated September 25, 2026

Draft Regional Future Land Use map:

WRC has completed a draft update of the Windham Regional Future Land Use Map to address Act 181 requirements:

Draft Regional Future Land Use Interactive Map: link, last updated September 25,2026
Draft Regional Future Land Use PDF Map: link, last updated September 25, 2026

WRC met with each town in the Windham Region to review the draft regional future land use map between January and May 2026.

Draft Individual Town Future Land Use Maps (last updated September 25, 2026):

September 25, 2026