Windham Regional Commission

06/22/2026

The DRAFT 2026 Tactical Basin Plan for the West, Williams and Saxtons Rivers and the lower Connecticut River tributaries is now available for public review. There are two public meetings this week to learn about the draft plan and provide comments.

June 23, 2026 – 6:00 PM
In-Person: Newfane Town Office, 555 Vermont Rt. 30, Newfane, VT
Virtual Access: Pre-Register at https://dec.vermont.gov/water-investment/watershed-planning/basins-and-planners/basin11

June 25, 2026 – 6:00 PM
In-Person: Londonderry Town Office, 100 Old School Street, South Londonderry, VT
Virtual Access: Pre-Register at https://dec.vermont.gov/water-investment/watershed-planning/basins-and-planners/basin11

05/24/2026

UMass Amherst scenario planning grad students presented the Ready or Not board game they created as part of our 4-town flood adaptation project and charrette in the Deerfield Valley. The presentation was at the Southern VT Economy Summit. Great fun and learning was had by all! To learn more visit the Deerfield Valley RISE website https://www.deerfieldvalleyrise.com/.

05/24/2026

This semester a group of three graduate students with The Conway School: Graduate Program in Sustainable Planning and Design did a fantastic job working with us and the planning commissions in Grafton, Newfane and Wardsboro to develop a flood adaptation guide focused on historic villages that explores concepts like infill development and evolving up and away from risk. Thanks to the School and students for taking this on!


https://windhamregional.org/wp-content/uploads/Historic-Village-Flood-Adaptation-Guide.pdf

05/18/2026

WRC to Host Land Use Planning Online Workshops for Municipal Officials in May and June

The Windham Regional Commission will be hosting three Land Use Planning workshops in May and June 2026 focusing on strategies for implementing Town Plans, what towns can do to support housing development, and the land use decision making process for municipal boards. The workshops will be recorded and posted on WRC’s website.

Implementing the Town Plan – Regulatory & Non-Regulatory Strategies: Tuesday, May 19th from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. via Zoom

What Can Towns do to Support More Housing? Wednesday, June 10th from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. via Zoom

Land Use Application Review and Decision-Making Process:
Tuesday, June 16th from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. via Zoom

For more information, including how to log in, follow the link!

WRC is hosting three Land Use Planning workshops in May and June 2026 focusing on strategies for implementing Town Plans, what towns can do to support housing development, and the land use decision making process for municipal boards.

05/18/2026

We're holding a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, May 20th at 6 p.m. to discuss Act 181 updates to the Windham Regional Plan.

For login information go here:https://windhamregional.org/wp-content/uploads/Draft-Windham-Regional-Plan-Update-Public-Meetings-flyer.pdf

For regional plan update information go here: https://windhamregional.org/act-181/

2026 Regional Plan Update Overview WRC is updating its current 2025 Regional Plan to comply with the Act 181 legislation passed in 2024. Act 181 reformed Vermont’s framework for coordinating state, regional, and municipal land use planning. The focus of this Regional Plan update will be on the L...

05/14/2026

WRC Senior Planner Susan Westa, as part of the organizing committee of the Vermont Planners Association, brought the spring planning workshop to Brattleboro. Thank you to the Stone Church for hosting a large group of planners in this beautiful space.

05/06/2026

Upcoming Public Meetings on Draft Regional Plan:

Thursday, May 7th at 5:30 p.m., Winston Prouty Center, Holton Hall, 4th Floor Conference Room, 209 Austine Drive, Brattleboro, VT

Wednesday, May 20th at 6:00 pm, Remote Meeting via Zoom

For more information, including the Zoom login, visit our plan update page https://windhamregional.org/act-181/.

04/14/2026

Recently WRC staff had a chance to play a new board game called "Ready or Not," developed by students at the UMass Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning program. The game is a fun way to help engage in conversations surrounding flood risk and scenario planning. This game rose out of a project where students were working in collaboration with WRC in the Deerfield Valley.