South Hero’s current (2020) Development Regulations created two large “Village Zoning Districts” having dramatically different zoning regulations from the rest of our town. The South Hero Village Zoning District is centered roughly at the intersection of South St and Route 2 and the other area is around the intersection of Route 2 and Route 314. The South Hero Village Zoning District is about 354 acres and goes from Folsom School to Lake Champlain on the north, and from beyond Gifford Dr. on the east to IslandAcres Farm. The Keeler Bay Village Zoning District is about 280 acres and goes from Lake Champlain to beyond Eagle Camp Rd and from beyond the old site of the Champlain Islands Health Center to just south of Keeler Bay Marina. Maps of the Village Zoning Districts are posted on the Town’s website here, and copies of these maps are accessible via links provided below.
South Hero’s Village Centers, which are areas designated by the State, are much smaller than the Village Zoning Districts. Maps of these Village Centers are also provided below.
Whereas South Hero’s current (2015) Town Plan defines the Village Centers, it does NOT define the Village Zoning Districts. Nor are maps of the Village Zoning Districts included in the new Development Regulations.
The zoning regulations in the Village Zoning Districts include the following:
- There is no minimum lot size (versus 1 acre in most of South Hero).
- The required setback of a major structure from a property line, including from commercial or light industrial, is just 10 feet (versus 25 feet in other zoning districts).
- There is no minimum green space requirement (versus 30% in other zoning districts)
- Building heights may be 40 feet (versus 35 feet in other zoning districts)
- No objective, quantitative standards are provided for impacts such as noise on neighbors from industrial development, even though a citizen petition requesting such standards was submitted by over 8% of adult residents.
The following maps show how much larger the Village Zoning Districts (defined in the Town’s Development Regulations) are relative to the Village Centers (described in the 2015 Town Plan).
South Hero Village Center (from town website; updated 2020 ~52 acres)
South Hero Village Zoning District map (August 2021 Development Regulations; ~354 acres)
Keeler Bay Village Center (from 2015 South Hero Town Plan, p.81; ~14 acres)
Keeler Bay Village Zoning District map (August 2021 Development Regulations; ~280 acres)
