Lyndon planning commission backs six-month push to create downtown design overlay and apply for downtown designation

Heather Carrington, the town-hired consultant working with Lyndon staff, told the Planning Commission she will lead a six-month effort to create a design overlay district to support a downtown (Step 3 Center) designation. "Having a design district, or some type of form-based regulations, is one of the other prerequisites the town needs to complete in order to apply for downtown (Step 3 Center) designation, and will ensure the physical form and scale of development in a compact, central, civic, and business district," Carrington said.

Carrington described the overlay as a tool that would not require changing existing zoning boundaries but would add a layer of design review to protect historic fabric, inform setbacks and materials, and better align local rules with smart growth principles. She said the project is funded by a Municipal Planning Grant and outlined a schedule that aims to produce draft bylaws for public review before July 8, pursue adoption by Oct. 19, and submit the downtown designation application in November. Carrington committed to providing detailed memos in advance and to attending Planning Commission and Selectboard meetings as needed.

Commissioners and staff raised concerns about the tight timetable and the scope of work, including how the overlay would apply to nonconforming parcels and how the Selectboard and broader community would be kept informed. Carrington responded that the approach "was not a broad-based review of all existing bylaws that would normally take much more time," emphasizing the targeted nature of the overlay work. Planning Director Tracy Bodeo and the Commission discussed the need to coordinate public hearings and a planning report required for the designation.

Next steps include staff and the consultant circulating analysis memos and proposed options for bylaw language, scheduling public hearings, and preparing the planning report that accompanies a downtown designation application. The Commission’s stated timing—drafts by early July, adoption by mid-October, and a November application—frames the calendar for the remainder of 2026.