24 Leicester Whiting Rd, Leicester, VT 05733

Village District

The Village District VL District encompasses an area of town including and surrounding the historic village center of the Town of Leicester. The VL District promotes the future land use vision contained in the section of the Leicester Town Plan entitled Village Center Area. As such, the zoning in this area is designed to extend the traditional village patterns of development currently contained in Leicester village. Lot sizes, setbacks and frontages mimic the existing patterns in Leicester village. The VL District supports existing residential uses and encourages future residential uses as PUDs or otherwise planned to extend and strengthen the existing settlement pattern of small village lots. Buildings should support existing architectural styles and scale and include a range of housing options. This district encourages new commercial activities appropriate in scale and character to a traditional New England village center. Re-establishing businesses in the village that provide gathering places for Leicester residents, promoting community interaction and strengthening the residents’ sense of community constitute a priority. Large or franchise retail operations and architecture that are out of scale or character with the community will not be allowed. Strip commercial development along Route 7 in this area will be severely discouraged. Conditional use review will be used to guide larger scale proposals. Site Plan review governing scale and impacts will be used to maintain the character of the village for smaller commercial proposals ensuring that they support the integrity of the existing buildings.