BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. (WCAX) – For municipalities to be eligible for certain public grants, they need to have long-term development plans. The town of Rockingham is unveiling its new eight-year plan to the public Tuesday evening.
Downtown Bellows Falls, which is located within the town of Rockingham, is a place where you can hit the hardware store, get your watch fixed, and buy a book all on the same block.
The Little Art Supply Shop opened up on Main Street less than a year ago. “All the other businesses checked in with me and gave me advice and helped me out,” said the store’s Ashley Cormack. She says there’s a lot of community support. But like other towns across the region, housing is in short supply. “I’ve had customers come in and ask me if I know if there’s apartments or houses for sale and I don’t know of anything.”
Addressing that housing crunch is part of the town’s new eight-year plan which has three main focuses. “Things that we want to maintain, evolve and transform,” said Rockingham Economic Development Director Gary Fox. They include maintaining the current infrastructure that allows the community to grow; Evolving zoning regulations to create more housing on lots close to downtown; And additional EV charging stations and other key infrastructure to help meet the region’s long-term goals. He says it also sets goals for education and recreation. “Density in the downtown and in rural areas to keep that rural landscape, maintain the look and the feel.”
They are hoping the public will provide feedback. Lifelong resident Nick Bennett would like to see more opportunity for the region’s younger residents. “So they can get active again instead of just staying indoors, getting into trouble,” he said.