The Guilford Town Plan is meant to provide guidance to the Town as it grows and changes. The Planning Commission carried out the Town Survey in 2001 in order to allow residents to express their feelings and concerns about Guilford today and what they would like the Town to be in the future. In writing this Town Plan, we have tried to keep faith with the large percentage of residents who took the time to complete the Survey, and to incorporate your feelings about our Town into this important planning document.
All of us place great value on the rural, small-town character of Guilford and want to retain it. We want to preserve the natural beauty of our surroundings and the historic aspects of the Town we love. At the same time, we know that we can’t keep the Town forever as it is now. Guilford has changed significantly during our lifetimes and it will inevitably continue to change in the future. What this Town Plan attempts to do is to plan for future growth and change so that it will disrupt the high quality of life in Guilford as little as possible, so that our children and grandchildren will cherish this place as we do.
The Town Plan contains Policies and Recommended Actions concerning land use, natural resources, housing, economic opportunity, education, transportation, historic and aesthetic features, environmental quality, recreation, agriculture, public facilities and child care. These Policies will be interpreted by the Planning Commission and the Select Board as guidelines for implementing the Town Plan, and they will aid the State and the Windham Regional Commission in planning; they will also help the District II Environmental Commission to know the will of the Town when they evaluate Act 250 applications concerning projects in Guilford. The Recommended Actions are steps which the Planning Commission thinks it would be prudent for the Town to take, in a number of areas. Once the Town Plan is adopted the Planning Commission will consider all the means of implementation discussed in the Implementation section and will invite the public to participate in the process.
For all these reasons, we urge Guilford residents to read the Town Plan carefully.
The Town Plan addresses the following issues, each of which the Planning Commission considers critical to the future of Guilford:
1.) Maintaining Guilford’s historic settlement pattern, with population centers in the village of Algiers and the hamlets of Guilford Center and Green River. Between these centers, we encourage the preservation of pastures and mowings, woodlands and the rural character of our roads.
2.) Planning to meet the Town’s future needs for education, Town services, housing, health and safety, and employment opportunities.
3.) Encouraging, wherever possible, the preservation of undeveloped ridgelines and large tracts of undeveloped woodland, in order to protect wildlife habitat and biodiversity within the Town.
4.) Discouraging development which adversely affects the rural character of the Town or neighboring properties.
5.) Encouraging the vitality and protection of agriculture within Town boundaries.
6.) Protecting significant historic and natural resources.
7.) Encouraging a mix of appropriate economic activities, including services, agriculture, small businesses, light manufacturing and home enterprises.
8.) Promoting awareness of Guilford’s special qualities of community and natural beauty.
9.) Asking residents to think about how we can best balance property rights with the common good, so that we can plan well for the future of Guilford.
The purpose of Guilford’s Town Plan is to establish goals and objectives for future social, economic and land use development of the Town to benefit the people of Guilford, the region and the State. We hope the Plan will serve as a guide for responsible development and the preservation of the natural, historic and cultural resources, and the vitality of the Town.
Development of this Town Plan
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