Quechee — Town planners might be able to move forward with the community’s preferred design for a pocket park between the Quechee Covered Bridge and the Simon Pearce building, following an apparent reversal of a federal decision that would have otherwise scuttled the town’s designs.

“We’re still assessing what it means and the way ahead,” Town Manager Leo Pullar said shortly after receiving a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday afternoon.

In August, FEMA told the town that its design for the property, a $350,000, three-tiered plan that includes stone benches on a lower level that lies within the flood plain, was unacceptable.

The agency said the town would have to be content with a two-tiered design that kept residents farther from the Ottauquechee River.

The town asked the Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, which has represented the state in the discussions, and the office of U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., for support in its appeal of the decision.

This week, the agency sent the town a letter that seems to have reversed that decision.

“I am approving the Grantee’s request for reconsideration and this letter constitutes the final agency decision on this matter,” wrote Paul Ford, regional administrator for FEMA.

In the letter, Ford also writes that the agency recommends Hartford not pursue its current design, based on safety considerations related to its placement in the flood zone.

FEMA is involved because it provided funds for the purchase and remediation of the property in the wake of 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene.

“This new decision will open the range of options for us as we move forward with the project,” Pullar said, according to a release from Leahy’s office that announced the FEMA reversal. “In the end we will have an open space that will be enjoyed by citizens and visitors and allow for up-close views of one of the more beautiful locations in the state.”

FEMA’s delay was upsetting to Quechee landowners who have urged the town to quickly remediate the eyesore, citing fears that it is depressing both tourism and property values. After considering plans that were both more and less expensive, the Hartford Selectboard agreed to the $350,000 design following a lengthy and sometimes-contentious process that included a series of community meetings.

The town hopes to build the park next year.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.