Algiers Village Living Communities Challenge Vision Plan

VISION PLAN PROCESS
Vision Plan Goals
As mentioned before, the four participating nonprofit organizations leading this LCC Vision Plan project are united in their
overlapping goals for community development in both Algiers Village and the Town of Guilford, Vermont. Because these
goals were so clearly articulated and defined, the Vision Plan consulting team quickly adopted them as the guidelines for
the Vision Plan design process.
The following diagram shows the four participating nonprofits, and the four goals that comprise the aspirational
framework of the LCC Vision Plan. A discussion of each of these goals is below.
VISION PLAN GOALS:
Friends
of Algiers
Village, Inc.
Goals of
the LCC
Vision Plan
Community
Collaborative
for Guilford
1. Controlled and desirable
development
2. Community well-being and
vitality
3. Social and economic equity
4. Environmental stewardship
Guilford
Community
Church
Controlled and Desirable Development
Guilford
Preservation,
Inc.
“
The overarching aspiration of the LCC
Vision Plan project is to
empower the local community to
steward desirable development
in such a way that is non-regulatory and in
compliance with the Guilford Town Plan.
”
The Town of Guilford does not have any zoning regulations and bylaws; a long-standing strategic planning intent of
the residents of the Town. While this means that businesses and residents in Guilford are allowed discretion in their
development, and are free from regulations (with the notable exception of state-wide Act 250 development review and
permitting), this also means that Guilford may be vulnerable to undesirable development patterns.
In response to this reality, many residents and community groups (including the four nonprofits involved in this project)
have taken a proactive approach to guiding development in their community. Guilford Preservation, Inc. is an obvious
example of how a group of citizens banded together to purchase a key 22-acre agricultural property along Route 5 and at
the entrance of Algiers Village. The acquisition and eventual conservation easement placed on this parcel has ensured
that this “gateway” into Algiers Village retains its rural character in perpetuity. This is especially relevant since just less
than 2 miles north on Route 5 is the commercial center of the “Exit 1” area in Brattleboro, off Interstate 91. Areas in such