Town of Georgia Town Plan
The Town of Georgia VT is in the process of updating its Town Plan to help guide future policy and long-term planning.
A Town Plan is a document—often with photos, drawings and maps—which outline the desired future vision and general goals of the community. This planning process seeks to invite local residents to provide input on what issues are most important to them and what they would like to see to help shape the plan.
Topics of discussion can include any variety of issues, including zoning, housing, economic development, recreational improvements, water and sewer services, tourism, and many more.
But we need your help—a Town Plan needs to be developed using the input of the community—we want to hear your ideas! Please join us at any of our various events and meetings, announced below, to hear different ideas and share your own. You can also submit comments and suggestions here using the “COMMENT FORM” button below.
GEORGIA TOWN PLAN - For Public Review / SB Public Hearing
DRAFT TOWN PLAN (v2.1) 25mb (NEW)
OLDER Document Downloads
OLD DRAFT PLAN (v1.0)
2017 Georgia VT Town Plan
Open House & Meeting Materials
October 24 Presentation Slides
OCT 24 MEETING NOTES
Video of Feb 27 Meeting (Link to YouTube)
(NOTE: Video cuts out after 1 hour 40 minutes when Zoom lost connection)
PLAN APPENDIX (NEW)
July 30 Presentation Slides
Town Plan Survey PDF (NOW CLOSED)
Open House Display Boards
OCT 24 MEETING NOTES
(ORGANIZED BY TOPIC)
Feb 27 MEETING NOTES
PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT (NEW)
July 30 Meeting Video
Survey Results Report
Video of Oct 24 Meeting (LCA TV)
February 27 Presentation Slides
News & Announcements
October 24th, 2024 - SELECTBOARD REVIEW - TOWN PLAN
ANNOUNCEMENT - A Public Hearing was held by the Planning Commission on October 22nd to receive comments on the final draft, and a revised (Version 2.1) copy of the 2024 Georgia Town Plan has just been submitted to the Georgia Selectboard for review and consideration. This commences a 30-day public review period in advance of a Selectboard Public Hearing on NOVEMBER 25th to take comments on the proposed plan. Comments on the plan can be made at that public hearing, or submitted in advance with the Online Comment Form (link provided near the top of this page). Comments on the plan are encouraged.
After the conclusion of the public hearing by the Selectboard, the proposed plan will require a second public hearing with the board before it can be adopted.
September 20th, 2024 - PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD STARTS - TOWN PLAN
ANNOUNCEMENT - An updated version of the 2024 Georgia Town Plan (Version 2.0) has just been made available for public review and is being circulated to interested agencies including neighboring municipalities and the Regional Planning Commission. This commences a 30-day public review period in advance of a Planning Commission Public Hearing on OCTOBER 22nd to take comments on the proposed plan. Comments on the plan can be made at that public hearing, or submitted in advance with the Online Comment Form (link provided near the top of this page). Comments on the plan are encouraged. A copy of the proposed plan, the Appendix, and the Planning Commission Report are available above for viewing or download.
After the conclusion of the public hearing by the Planning Commission, the proposed plan will require two separate public hearings with the Georgia Selectboard, at which point it can be officially adopted.
July 30 2024- PUBLIC MEETING TODAY
For those unable to join the meeting today in person, here is the zoom information to watch the meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88323794158?pwd=NnEuHe26UoJbU43EBRO9ZdNGVaBogs.1
Meeting ID: 883 2379 4158
Passcode: 594247
July 20 2024 - DRAFT PLAN AVAILABLE!
A copy of the draft Town Plan (Version 1.0) is now available for public review. You can view or download it via the link HERE, or from the documents section of the webpage above. We invite everyone to review the draft in advance of our public meeting on July 30th. Comments on this draft will be collected at the public meeting, and/or may be submitted via the Comment Form links on this website. Thank you!
July 30, 2024 - PUBLIC MEETING - DRAFT PLAN PRESENTATION
ANNOUNCEMENT! The Town of Georgia Planning Commission will be hosting a Public Meeting to present a preliminary draft of the new Town Plan on Tuesday, July 30th, 6:30pm, at the Georgia Fire & Rescue meeting room in Georgia Center. A presentation will be given with an overview of the new plan, with a specific emphasis on reviewing the draft policies and goals which have been developed. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A discussion period to take comments and suggestions from the public on how the draft could be improved.
Note that this meeting is not a public hearing, but is being provided as an informal opportunity for the public to review and discuss the ideas presented.
This draft (Version 1.0) carries forward most of the goals and policies of the existing Town Plan, and has added or modified others based on public input collected from previous public meetings and the community survey from last winter. A link to view or download a PDF copy of the draft will be provided in the “Documents” section of this webpage above about a week before the meeting so that the public has the opportunity to review it in advance.
Comments received on this first draft will be used to make revisions to the Plan before any official Planning Commission or Selectboard public hearings are scheduled to consider adoption, likely in late summer or early fall of 2024. Once the draft document is available for presentation and review, we will update this page with more information.
COMMENT PERIOD. After this public meeting, a comment period will remain open for about a week where people can still submit additional comments or suggestions to the Planning Commission via the Online Comment Form.
ZOOM OPTION. This public meeting will be BROADCAST live on zoom for people to view if they are not able to attend in person, however it is not certain that we will be able to take live questions from the online audience. A link to the Zoom meeting will be provided on this page before the meeting.
RECORDING. A video recording of the presentation and discussion will be provided on this webpage a few days after the meeting for people who were unable to catch it live.
We hope that many of you can join us and provide your input!
May/June 2024 - DRAFT PLAN UNDER DEVELOPMENT
Based on the input from the Community Survey and review of the current Town Plan, we are in the process of developing a first draft of the new Town Plan Update. We hope to have this first draft available for public review and presentation in late July 2024.
Comments received on the draft will be used to make revisions/corrections before any official public hearings on adoption are held, likely in late summer or early fall of 2024. Once the draft is available for presentation and review, we will update this page with more information.
February 27, 2024 - PUBLIC MEETING / SURVEY RESULTS
Thank You to everyone who participated in the recent Town Survey for the Town of Georgia Town Plan Update!
The survey was officially closed on January 18th, and recieved over 400 responses. We are in the process of tabulating and reviewing the results, and will be hosting a public meeting on February 27th to formally present the results of the survey and discuss nest steps in the Town Plan Update. We hope that you can join us that evening at the Georgia Fire & Rescue building from 6-8 pm in Georgia Center.
If you are not able to attend the meeting, feel free to join us on March 5th for Town Meeting Day at the Georgia Elementary & Middle School (GEMS) between 10 am and 7 pm, where we will have some tables and materials to review.
December 14, 2023 - TOWN SURVEY LAUNCHED!
Our Town Survey has officially launched today! All residents, property and business owners in the Town of Georgia are invited and encouraged to participate. The information collected in this survey will be used to identify topics for additional public meetings in the Spring of 2024 and will help inform the Town Plan Update. This survey will remain open until January 17th, 2024.
There are 3 Options to participate, as follows:
NOTE: If you select either of the printed options, please return your completed survey by mail addressed to: Town of Georgia Survey, 47 Town Common Road, St. Albans, VT 05478 or leave at the dropbox located at the same address.
November 7, 2023 - MEETING NOTES AND VIDEO
Meeting notes, as well as a video, of our October 24th Open House and Public Workshop is now available to view on this webpage in the documents section above. The meeting notes are provided in regular "chronological” format, as well as “organized by topic” for easier reference. We are currently using this input to begin developing potential questions for the upcoming Town-wide Survey, which we hope to launch before the end of the year. Keep checking here for updates!
October 25, 2023 - OPEN HOUSE & WORKSHOP HELD
An Open House and Public Workshop was held on Tuesday, October 24th at the Georgia Fire & Rescue building. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the discussion, as well as the Planning Commission members and town staff who were in attendance to assist. The event was attended by approximately 38 people and provided very good input on issues which the updated Town Plan will need to address.
October 24, 2023 - OPEN HOUSE & PUBLIC WORKSHOP
We will be hosting an Open House and Public Workshop on Tuesday, October 24th at the Georgia Fire & Rescue building to kickoff the planning effort and get input from the public on what issues are most important to you. The ideas collected at these two events that day will be used to begin development of the Town Plan update and help develop a Community Survey which will be launched in the Fall/Winter. We hope you can join us!
The Open House will be held between 1:00pm to 5:00pm to make it more convenient for people to participate during the day if they cannot make it to the evening presentation. Stop by anytime in that period to learn about the community planning effort, provide input and ideas, ask questions and review the interactive materials presented.
The Workshop will start at 6:00pm with a formal presentation, followed by a discussion period of what issues in town are most important to you, and what you would like to see for the future of Georgia, VT.
Upcoming Events & Timeline
Project Start: September 2023
Open House / Public Workshop Event: Tuesday, October 24th
Community Survey: Winter 2023
Survey Results Discussion: Spring 2024
Draft Plan Presentation - July 30, 2024
Public Hearings - TBD - Fall 2024
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the goal of this effort?
The goal of this effort is to develop a vision document which will help guide the Town of Georgia on achieving both short and long-term priorities for improving the community. The document will be used by local town officials, community leaders and residents to work toward a common vision for improving the community and will help leverage future grant funding for specific projects which the community supports.
Who is overseeing this work?
The Town Plan update is being conducted by our planning consultant Regrowth Planning, with the assistance and guidance of the Town of Georgia Planning Commission.
How can I submit comments or suggestions?
Georgia residents, property and business owners are invited to attend the various meetings and events for this effort, including the Open House, Topic Meetings, Community Survey and draft presentations planned over the next year. You may also submit comments and suggestions anytime through our online form, using the button below. Comments submitted will be collected and reviewed periodically by our planning consultant and the Planning Commission: