Board forwards draft 2026 ECOS regional plan to land use review board, sets Jan. 21 public hearing

The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission voted Oct. 15 to submit the draft 2026 ECOS regional plan to the Land Use Review Board (LERB) for a 60-day pre-application review and to warn the plan’s first public hearing for Jan. 21, 2026.

Taylor and staff summarized prior committee review and public outreach. The long-range planning committee updated housing targets after fixing a mapping issue in Essex’s sewer core district; the revised targets were largely consistent with earlier proposals, with the largest change noted as Williston receiving 300 additional housing units in the 2050 projection.

Board members thanked planning staff and commissioner reviewers for extensive work on the draft plan. Several members requested an executive summary to aid public readability; staff agreed to attempt to complete that summary before the January hearing and welcomed help from the long-range planning committee to produce it. The board moved, seconded and voted unanimously, among those present and voting, to transmit the draft plan for pre-application review and to schedule the January public hearing.

Why it matters: the ECOS regional plan outlines coordinated land-use, housing, transportation and environmental policy for Chittenden County. Sending the draft to LERB and warning a public hearing begins the formal review process that can lead to adoption with subsequent local implementation steps.