Village Plan Alternative (VPA)

Issues Addressed:
Housing Costs Housing Options Infrastructure Multigenerational Sustainable Housing
A diagram of a parcel of land. On the top is a mix of one- to three-story buildings, many with an apparent mix of uses, sitting along the intersection of two roads. This is labeled "Mix of uses using traditional village design." Lines at the edges of this area point draw down, showing this area is at the center of a larger area shown in dark green and apparently undeveloped. It is labeled "80% of rural and conserved in VPA."

What is it?

The Village Plan Alternative (VPA) is a zoning tool designed to encourage the development of new villages in rural areas. The tool promotes compact development and a mix of land uses using traditional neighborhood design techniques, paired with open space conservation. The tool is similar to cluster zoning (also called “conservation development”), but it is focused on traditional mixed-use villages. The tool is also not an infill development ordinance, as it is focused on developing new villages in land that might otherwise go to conventional greenfield development. VPAs must conserve at least 80% of the total land in the VPA area.

Communities can allow the use of VPAs by incorporating a VPA ordinance into zoning. The VPA ordinance should specify applicable locations for establishing a VPA, allowed uses, dimensional rules, design standards for buildings and the public realm, and processes for permitting a VPA. All rules and standards should be specified for both the developable and conserved areas.

How can it help?

VPAs can…

  • Provide more diverse housing options with better access to everyday needs and community gathering spaces.
  • Reduce infrastructure costs for new development, reducing housing costs overall.
  • Create communities more accessible to seniors, young people, and new families.
  • Create economic development opportunities by providing more supply of commercial space and concentrating residents’ demand for goods and services.
  • Protect open spaces from sprawl style development.
  • Protect agricultural economies and traditions.
  • Create more local tax revenue, since housing near amenities tends to be valued more and successful mixed-use development can add more net revenue than housing alone.

Getting Started

  1. Recognize and promote VPA’s impact on common master plan goals, such as more diverse housing options, increased affordability, open space and agricultural preservation, efficient use of infrastructure, etc. 
  2. If undertaking a master plan, include adopting VPA as a recommendation.
  3. Conduct a public engagement process to gather public input on how to use the tool, including where new villages could be located, and which open spaces should be protected. Ensure the public understands how the tool works before moving forward with any legislation.
  4. Assess whether identified village areas can support greater housing development (i.e., access to utilities, traffic constraints, etc.).
  5. Draft zoning amendments that would adopt VPA into your existing zoning ordinance, specifying where VPAs are an available tool for development, where villages can be located, allowed uses, densities, parking requirements, etc. These amendments should account for any other zoning rules that may impact VPA implementation, as well as any non-zoning elements (e.g., Site Plan and Subdivision regulations) that must be adapted.
  6. Work with your Planning Board, Zoning Board, or any other relevant body to bring draft VPA legislation to the public and the Legislative Body.
  7. Once adopted, promote the VPA option to existing landowners and developers active in your town.

Considerations

  • VPA adoption and VPA development have been limited. While there is a model VPA ordinance, your community will need to commit resources to studying how best to implement VPA locally and how to educate the public on the tool. 
  • Long-term phased VPA development can aid more organic community development. That said, the developer and any businesses located in the VPA may need a critical mass of residents to flourish.
  • Where possible, the village area and preserved open spaces should feel connected and should support one another (e.g., residents directly purchasing produce from preserved farmland or by providing trails in preserved woodlands).
  • The relative density of VPA’s village areas means there may be more physical constraints on VPAs than similar tools like cluster housing. Tools like Tax Increment Financing (TIF) could be used to fund utility access or other infrastructure needs.
  • Mixed-use development requires a different skill-set than residential-only development. Your community should seek out mixed-use developers working in the region and connect them with local agricultural or open space landowners.
  • Businesses in totally new communities face significant economic risks, and commercial spaces risk sitting vacant. Tailor commercial space design to meet local business needs, and connect developers to local businesses and entrepreneurs. Partnerships between developers and commercial tenants can improve a project’s viability.

State Law

Case Studies

  • Few implementations of VPA
  • Serenbe, Chattahoochee Hills, GA
    • Read more

Resources

Related Tools

A drawing showing an aerial view of same plot of land three times. Above there is a version labeled "Undeveloped," with a wooded area and a lake and stream. At bottom-left there is a version labeled "Conventional Subdivision." It shows the land divided into a ten parcels of relatively even size spread out across the area. There is a large amount of road and driveway area and many of the trees have been removed. At bottom-right is a version labeled "Cluster Housing." It shows twelve relatively small homes on twelve small parcels, clustered in two groups at the bottom-left of the area. The trees have been preserved, and only a small amount of road/driveway area connects the homes to the main edge of the area. Green trails wind throughout the parcel and connect to both the houses and the public road away from the houses. The Cluster Housing diagram has additional labels: "Preserved Natural Features," "Less Infrastructure," "Bonus units," and "Public access."
Cluster Housing
A diagram of an idealized age-friendly neighborhood. The neighborhood includes a mix of housing types, including detached single-family homes of various sizes, mixed-use buildings, and a cottage court. The diagram includes the following labels pointing to aspects of the drawing: "Nearby retail, community center, and open space;" "Diverse housing options, including apartments and starter homes;" "Single-story housing layouts with shared amenities;" "Sidewalks and other accessible infrastructure;" and "Accessory dwelling units for multi-generational households."
Age Friendly Neighborhoods
A diagram showing the front facades of housing types and given labels: small single-family, townhomes (attached single-family), cottage court (grouped small single-family), duplex, stacked duplex, triplex, stacked triplex, four-plex, six-pack, courtyard apartments.
Missing Middle Housing Types
A diagram showing an axonometric view of an area with several colorful 1.5 and two-story homes. An area is demarcated on the land and labeled "Designated Housing Opportunity Zone." Below the axonometric drawing is the label "Taxes in Housing Opportunity Zone" with a column chart with two bars. The column on the left is labeled "Before new development" and "Taxed value on property before development." That column is small and shown in green. A larger column on the right is labeled "After new development." The portion of the column equal to the "Before new development" column is also green. The portion above that is gray and hatched and labeled "Untaxed value on new development: savings for up to 10 years."
Housing Opportunity Zones
A diagram with two versions of the same plot of land, one over the other. On the top version, the land contains only one single-family home with many wings and a large garage and a long driveway. This version is labeled with a large 'X' and "Regulations cannot mandate unaffordable housing everywhere." The version below contains two modestly sized single-family homes at the front of the site, and a driveway leading back to a cottage court, containing six small single-family homes around a central green. This version is labeled with a large checkmark and "Workforce housing must be allowed in a majority of residential areas."
Workforce Housing Ordinance
A diagram showing drawings connected by arrows. First, a plan view showing a large empty area next to dense urban fabric labeled "Large, complex site with single owner." Second, icons of buildings labeled "Mixed-use potential." Third, icons of a paint brush and magnifying glass labeled "Up-front planning and design." Fourth, icons of people talking labeled "public review and input." Fifth and finally, the initial empty plot of land in plan view, now with a mix of building types, a street network, and open spaces.
Planned Unit Developments (PUDs)
A subdivision of eight single-family homes surrounding a central green. The plot of land is labeled "Site plan that allows for community septic, prioritizing shared open space." Underground pipes lead from each home into a large underground box labeled "Joint septic tank." A pipe leads from that box into a smaller underground box labeled "Pre-treatment system." A pipe extends from that box and branches into many pipes with holes in them under a green area labeled "Community open space that doubles as a leach field."
Wastewater System Alternatives