Essex Junction consultants recommend 7‑story baseline with one‑story bonus to add housing near Pearl Street

Consultants from Framework recommended the draft Connect the Junction transit‑oriented development plan adopt a middle‑range zoning change that would allow seven stories outright with a one‑story bonus on key parcels along the Pearl Street corridor.

"The draft plan proposal is alternative 1," said Jeff Erangel of Framework, who presented the land‑capacity analysis to the joint Planning Commission and City Council. He told the meeting that the 7‑plus‑1 scenario would add roughly 1,600 units in the study area and would account for about half of Essex Junction’s mid‑range housing target. Under the existing (Alternative 0) standard—four stories plus a one‑story bonus—the study area’s capacity is estimated at about 1,150 new homes.

Consultants described assumptions used in the land‑capacity model, including pipeline developments and property‑owner redevelopment timelines. Erangel emphasized that averages—not every lot—would reach the maximum height and that actual projects would vary by parcel size and feasibility. "We are assuming an average between five and six stories," he said, "because of the variation in lot configurations and lot sizes."

The presentation acknowledged trade‑offs: taller buildings can deliver housing and fiscal benefits but raise concerns about historic character, parking and views. The consultants recommended mitigation tools—subdistrict heights, step‑backs near the sidewalk, active ground‑floor uses and frontage standards—to preserve pedestrian scale and address community concerns.

Staff reminded commissioners that state policy changes also affect allowable housing forms outside the TOD area (for example, four‑unit allowances in formerly single‑family zones) and that the plan is guidance for later, more specific land‑development‑code amendments.

The draft plan and the consultants’ recommendation will inform forthcoming LDC (Land Development Code) amendments; the consultants said adoption of the plan itself would not automatically change zoning — that will require the subsequent public hearing process.