THETFORD — Smaller towns are considering how to contend with increased development as it spreads from the Upper Valley’s core.
Thetford is nearing the end of a two-year long study commissioned to plan for residential growth “as pressure expands outward from Hanover and Lebanon,” according to a draft of the report.
“Inevitably, that housing pressure is going to expand beyond their borders and it’s going to pressure towns like Thetford, like Vershire, a number of them in the Upper Valley that parallel us or surround us currently,” Selectboard member David Forbes said at a Monday meeting.
The Thetford Development Review Board issued permits for 50 new residences from 2021 through 2024, according to the town report from last year which notes it was a “remarkably busy year” for the board and zoning office. In 2025, zoning activity stayed “steady” from the previous year, though new home construction slowed, according to the most recent town report.
Another town facing increased development pressure is Grantham, where a new version of the town’s Master Plan has sparked conversations about how the town has changed and might continue to change as more people move from part-time to full-time residents working in Hanover and Lebanon.
In search of ‘realistic potential’
Thetford’s growth study aims to help the town prepare for growth, incentivize workforce housing development and comply with changes to Vermont law, members of the Selectboard and Capacity Study Steering Committee explained Monday. It is a guiding document that will be used to plan future zoning changes, water capacity studies and inform the town’s next master plan.
In Thetford, recent development has largely been focused outside of village centers, according to the draft report. The study aims to identify areas in Thetford’s village centers that are more suited to development to lessen the environmental impacts of continued growth.
“For me, this was an opportunity to hire an independent company to do something that I’ve always wondered about,” Capacity Study Steering Committee member Tim Taylor said at the meeting. “Are there parcels in town that might be suitable for little pocket neighborhoods; four, five, six little clusters of housing that might have less environmental impacts?”
After considering environmental constraints, access to infrastructure and community resources, Thetford zoning regulations and town goals, the committee identified Post Mills, a portion of East Thetford and an area around Thetford Hill and Thetford Academy as ideal for possible growth.
Engineers from Dubois & King identified 78 properties in those parts of town that have “realistic potential in the near and mid-term” to be developed or redeveloped. The engineers then ranked those properties based on natural features such as flood zones, wetlands, steep slopes, habitat corridors or conserved land, if they are big enough to be subdivided and access to infrastructure.
The initiative has two primary purposes, Dubois & King Engineer Dan Mallach said Monday. The first is to “support informal conversations with private property owners” about potential development or redevelopment opportunities, and the second is to prepare for a potential analysis of Thetford’s water capacity.
The town and consultants have been working on the study since 2024 and are nearing the finish line. At a meeting Monday night, the Selectboard sought resident feedback that will be used to finalize the report. The Planning Board and study committee plan to next start conversations with landowners and abutters about the study and opportunities for growth.
Tim Helms, who lives part time in Connecticut and part time in a home on Academy Road, questioned why the town is pursuing a growth study now, considering Thetford updated its zoning bylaws in 2023 and 2024 to simplify development of structures such as accessory dwelling units.
Selectboard member Li Shen said more planning is necessary to continue to comply with state law.
Legislation such as Act 181 of 2024 and the HOME Act of 2023 made sweeping changes to Vermont’s Act 250. Act 181 is sparking controversy and protests around the state as lawmakers work through its implementation.
“We’re doing even more because the state is pressing even harder, they’re removing Act 250 in lots of areas so there’s huge pressure on towns to jump,” Shen said. “…We are desperately short of a workforce of not elderly people who can afford big expensive houses, but a workforce of your average nurse or post office worker or store clerk who needs affordable housing.”
Helms also questioned if Thetford should be changing town regulations to accommodate people who are going to work in Hanover and Lebanon and likely spend much of their time outside of town.
But, Forbes argued that the Upper Valley, especially population centers such as Lebanon have seen continued growth over the past several years and are reaching their capacities. Thetford should be “proactive” and plan for responsible growth, he said.
“Given the fact that not only Thetford, but the state of Vermont is essentially greying out right now, we need an influx of people, particularly younger people, to pick up the baton as it were,” Forbes said.
Grantham’s demographic debate
As Grantham works to revise its own Master Plan to guide development over the next decade the conversation has also centered on how the town can pursue some development, while maintaining rural character and contending with what residents perceive as an influx of residents who work in Lebanon and Hanover.
Residents met with a panel of business owners last week to discuss what growth residents would like to see and how the town might be able to incentivize development.
One resident, John Rutherford, said he was concerned about how continued development and an influx of families in the Eastman Community might bring more costs to taxpayers and impact the Grantham Village School.
Two-thirds of Grantham’s residents live in Eastman, a 3,600-acre private community that stretches between Grantham, Enfield and Springfield. It has seen a slight increase in full-time residents over the past five years.
Only 14% of Eastman landowners have someone under 18 living in their home and that number is declining, Eastman CEO and General Manager Steve Schneider said at the meeting.
“It feels as if there are more families in Eastman, but the reality is that that’s not happening,” Schneider said. “It’s going to be a struggle to kind of encourage more young families to relocate to the Upper Valley period.”
Schneider, a former director of the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission, said he would like to see Eastman play a greater role in providing homes for families and for seniors.
In response to resident questions, Drew Edmunds, of Northwinds Security Products, which owns and rents commercial and residential properties in Grantham said the town is “one of the harder towns for us to operate in business wise” because of strict planning and zoning regulations.
Under Grantham’s site plan review regulations, all residential projects greater than one-family and two-family residences, and non-residential projects have to be reviewed by the Planning Board, including usage changes or site plan changes for existing uses.
The rules can result in many hoops for companies to jump through, Edmunds said, and make the town “not-particularly business friendly.”
Other residents had questions about bringing specific amenities to Grantham, such as a coffee shop in addition to the Dunkin’ location on Route 10.
Bruce Bergeron — who owns Jake’s Market & Deli, which operates Rum Brook Market & Deli in Grantham — said he is open to the idea, but it might be difficult to pencil, particularly a sit-down location. He noted that the company previously ran a coffee shop on Mechanic Street in Lebanon. That shop closed in 2023 and was replaced by the Lucky’s Coffee Garage drive-through, which has also since closed.
“It’s something I would love to be able to bring here, it was something I wouldn’t rule out,” Bergeron said.
The Grantham Master Plan Committee planned to take feedback from last week’s meeting and incorporate it into a final draft of the new plan. The Committee will submit that plan to the town Planning Board for further review. The Master Plan Committee is scheduled to meet next May 6 at 6 p.m.
