How do we grow? Thetford kicks off the Capacity for Growth Study

On September 10th the Town Manager, together with a subset of the Selectboard and one member of the Housing Committee, welcomed representatives of the engineering company DuBois and King to discuss how to proceed with a capacity for growth study, also called a capacity study, for the town of Thetford.

It had taken some time to get to this point. Thoughts about commissioning such a study have been going on for over a year, and the Town Manager and Selectboard had solicited and reviewed three different proposals. The board had unanimously selected DuBois and King, the contractor with the most experience in Vermont municipal projects, in particular village development and wastewater plans. The team at D&K will include Project Manager Emily Lewis, a planner and landscape architect; Project Director John Ashley, a civil and environmental engineer; Dan Mallach, a planner, landscape architect and arborist; Jenny Austin, a senior transportation engineer; and Kait Campbell, a community planner and landscape designer.

In the introductory meeting, the D&K contingent mostly listened while those attending highlighted various issues in Thetford in the areas of housing, municipal infrastructure, lack of a single town center, Thetford's place in the greater Upper Valley, and the environment and climate. Providing informational town documents and organizing a tour of Thetford's villages are next steps still in the works.

One of the Town's first actions will be to appoint a steering committee of townspeople to develop a common understanding between the town and the consultants of the project process and outcomes.

According to D&K's proposal the capacity study will proceed as follows:

Firstly, they will establish a list of "prioritized goals, realistic investigations based on desired benefits, and a targeted focus on how to achieve them." Notably D&K will "lead a process aimed at strengthening communication among residents."  They will tour the villages, take photos and measurements, and analyze existing public infrastructure like roads, transportation networks and utilities, and building size and density. D&K will then consider how the character of each village has been configured in response to its history, natural surroundings, and cultural resources. 

For the major five villages (Post Mills, Thetford Center, Thetford Hill, East Thetford, and North Thetford), they will compare the existing conditions to the Town Plan, town regulations and policies, and past planning initiatives. This exercise will be critical in pinpointing limitations or opportunities for growth relative to capacity that would be beneficial and desirable.

Following a review of the five villages, D&K will study three villages in depth, including water and wastewater systems, soils, traffic networks, the character and size of existing housing, and local services. They will assess how the vitality of these villages may be enhanced in a way that is consistent with the Town Plan and the vision of the residents. A recap of Thetford's history will help them to engage concerning the reasons for future planning and the role of residents.

D&K will incorporate and build upon recent planning efforts by the Town, including the Thetford Water Study, the Town Plan, the latest Local Emergency Management Plan, together with town maps and ordinances. They also propose to assess the Town's ordinances and policies to determine how they may be enhanced to support desirable growth. 

All this will be brought together in projections for future land use in each of the three study villages, in terms of numbers of new housing units and commercial uses.

Plans, of course, do not materialize without money. Therefore they will also pose the question of whether private investment in housing or business development would be encouraged by public infrastructure like water and sewer. The study will be prepared in a way that would hopefully leverage future funding for community investments and more in-depth studies in specific areas. 

D&K acknowledges that "every community shares, discusses and acts upon information differently." They will endeavor to understand the decision-making processes in Thetford so the consultants can be of the most help to the town leadership, staff, and residents.

On the Town's side of things, eight residents came before the Town Manager and Selectboard on October 21st to articulate their interests in serving on the capacity study steering committee and acquaint the board with their relevant qualifications. Many of the applicants have experience in town planning, ordinances and their interpretation, and even planning at the regional level. Town Manager Brian Story had supplied them ahead of time with a list of questions designed to tease out their interests and priorities. One resident who could not attend in person sent a written reply to the questions. Many interesting points were raised by the various candidates, leaving the Selectboard with a lot of information to process. The board members requested time to mull things over and will make their choices at their next meeting on November 4th.

Photo credit: Li Shen