Why is the City Doing This?

Essex Junction needs more places for people to live, for young families, longtime residents looking to downsize, and the workforce our community depends on. In December 2025, the City Council adopted Connect the Junction, a long-term plan for the City’s most transit-served areas - the City Center and the Pearl Street Corridor. The plan calls for more homes and destinations and, in some locations, taller buildings to make room for them.

The City’s current development rules predate that plan and weren’t written to carry it out. Today, new buildings are reviewed mostly on whether their design is “harmonious” with the surroundings, a standard that is subjective and hard to predict. The proposed form-based code updates those rules and replaces vague judgment calls with clear, measurable standards, so applicants and neighbors alike know what to expect.

​​​​​​​The goal isn’t more rules, it’s clearer ones