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Standish is GrowSmart Maine’s Model Town Project. Model Town Project Coordinator Bruce Hyman said this is a two-year partnership to help implement a vision for the growth of the town. Some 60 residents gathered for a June 12 public workshop facilitated by GrowSmart to receive input. A growth plan for Standish was devised in 1992, but since then, 72 percent of new buildings were constructed in areas labeled low growth and rural. Hyman said a lot of communities create growth plans, but don’t follow through. Town officials and GrowSmart are working to change that.

Victor, Idaho, may seem like a sleepy little town, but the Vermont-based Orton Foundation, recognizing the city’s unique qualities, has chosen Victor as one of four communities nationwide in which to pilot its Community Heart and Soul planning program. With a $100,000 grant from the Orton Foundation and a matching commitment from the Victor City government, Victor is poised to engage in a planning process over the next two years that seeks to ensure smart, inclusive, community-oriented growth into the future.

Standish Corner Village Implementation Meeting, Standish, ME, October 30, 2008 Meeting Agenda: Translating A Vision into Zoning - Pedestrian-friendly, compact village - Attract businesses that serve local needs - Preserve historic buildings & character - Create public gathering places

Old-timers in this hill town remember when a car driving through at night would draw residents to their windows. Now headlights routinely gleam on the narrow roads well past dark, as people who commute to jobs in Burlington and Montpelier come home to a place where the prospect of change looms larger each year. Like other New England towns rich in history and tradition, Starksboro, 20 miles south of Burlington and population 1,900, is eager to preserve its uniqueness in the face of growth. But hoping to head off the conflict that often stymies planning, this fall it tried a new approach. Starksboro asked students from nearby Middlebury College to spend the semester interviewing its residents to document what they value most about the place.