Shelburne Today and Tomorrow (STAT)
'Community Profile' Event is Planned to Help Shape Update of Shelburne Comprehensive Plan
When Shelburne was established in 1763 it was an agricultural mill town with village life centered on the LaPlatte River Falls. Shelburne today has a village center bisected by the LaPlatte River and surrounded by a diverse mixture of open land (including working farms.)
Over the years, local and regional growth has placed development pressure on land in Shelburne. Drawn by the quality schools, beautiful natural resources, and close proximity to Burlington, Shelburne's population increased by nearly 20% to 6,944 inhabitants between 1990 and 2000. Growth and change are important issues that will be considered during the updating of the Shelburne Comprehensive Plan.
To help involve residents and others in the Plan-update process, the Town is preparing to hold an event known as a Community Profile.
What is a Community Profile?
A Community Profile is a one-and-a-half day event that gives all town residents the chance to participate in visioning and planning for their town's future. Citizens with diverse viewpoints present their ideas about the town's key issues and the best projects to undertake in order to address them. Many towns in Vermont and New Hampshire have held Community Profiles, clarifying goals that informed Master Plans and led to concrete results. Results have included forming a Conservation Commission; creating a town directory; reviving Old Home Day; and creating an annual local agriculture festival.
The Profile has a specific structure that helps participants consider all aspects of community life in their town and evaluate its needs. This process results in five valuable products that guide town leaders and citizens in creating or updating Master Plans and in taking action to improve town life.
The Community Profile begins on Friday night with a program that includes a brainstorming session on key issues facing the town. To ensure that no aspect of community life is overlooked in 'scanning' for the town's key issues, ten specific topics are assigned- one to each of ten small discussion groups - to elicit brainstorming on a full range of relevant subjects. Along with its topic, each discussion group has a list of questions to help it 'dig for information' and a facilitator to guide the brainstorming process. (Facilitators are volunteer members of the community who are trained before the event.)
Products of the process can include:
A list of the Top 10 Issues of interest or concern to town residents.
A list of the Top 5 Projects (highest in potential impact and feasibility) suggested by town residents to address those issues.
Five Working Groups to begin taking action on the Top 5 Projects.
A Written Report documenting all issues and projects suggested at the event.
New connections among town residents; renewed community spirit & vision for the town.
When will the Community Profile take place?
Shelburne Today and Tomorrow (STAT) took place on Friday evening May 16th and Saturday May 17th.
To learn more about STAT, please contact Dean Pierce, Shelburne's Town Planner, by phone (264.5033) or email
dpierce@shelburnevt.org
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