Permit Information

Waterbury has Zoning Regulations which were rewritten in 1994, combining the Town and Village regulations. The 1994 Zoning Regulations have been amended numerous times since 1994 and re-compiled in 2007. The latest revision in 2016 includes amendments to Article VI, Flood Hazard Area Regulations and Overlay District, and Article XIII, Campus Overlay District. Our Zoning Regulations include subdivision regulations and have excellent Planned Unit Development, or cluster development, provisions which have been well utilized for exemplary residential developments. The Town and Village have combined all development review requiring board approval under the Development Review Board.

Waterbury requires a zoning permit for all land development which includes the following: the division of a parcel into two or more parcels, the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any building or other structure, or of any mining, excavation or landfill, and any change in the use of any building or other structure, or land or extension of use of land. All zoning permits are issued by the Zoning Administrator. Local building permit is not required in Waterbury. Also, local use and occupancy permits are not required in Waterbury.

No zoning permit is required nor are setbacks applicable for the following:

Structures And Activities Which Do Not Require A Permit

1. Any alteration that does not change the dimensions, location, or use of an existing building or structure;
2. Landscaping of a lot or premises, including ponds, provided such does not materially alter a landscaping plan approved under this ordinance;
3. Trails, including hiking, recreation, snowmobile, and bicycle trails;
4. Removal of surplus material that results from a bona fide construction, landscaping or agricultural operation;
5. Fences or walls of 6 or less feet in height in any side or rear yard, or 4 or less feet in height in any front yard, which do not interfere with corner visibility;
6. Utility poles and connection boxes, water well casings, and propane gas tanks not used for commercial storage;
7. Sheds, dog houses, tree houses, residential swing and play structures, satellite dishes, and similar structures with a floor area not more than 80 square feet and a height of not more than 8 feet, which may be lawfully located within any required yard except the front yard, but not closer than 10 feet from any property line.
8. Public utility power-generating plants and transmission facilities regulated under 30 V.S.A. §248;
9. Hunting, fishing, trapping, and other activities specified under 24 V.S.A. §2295; and
10. Farm structures or farming, as those terms are defined in 6 V.S.A. §4810 and 10 V.S.A. §§1021(f), 1259(f) & 6001(22). For purposes of this section, “farm structure” means a building, enclosure, or fence for housing livestock, raising horticultural or agronomic plants, or carrying out other practices associated with accepted agricultural or farming practices, including a silo, but excludes a dwelling for human habitation.  A person shall notify a municipality of the intent to build a farm structure and shall abide by setbacks approved by the secretary of agriculture, food, and markets. No municipal permit for a farm structure shall be required.

All land development requires site plan review and approval by the Development Review Board prior to the issuance of a zoning permit, with the exception of the following:

Exceptions

1. One or two family dwellings, or a residential accessory structure such as a garage or shed,
2. Home occupations as described in the Zoning Regulations,
3. A project which does not involve any intensification or expansion of use and does not require any parking lot or driveway construction, expansion, or relocation,
4. Any application solely to erect or replace a sign,
5. Any other project which the Development Review Board deems through their official action to be minor in nature and would not cause a substantial increase in traffic or otherwise adversely affect the purposes of the Zoning Regulations.

The Development Review Board for the Town or Village must approve all appeals for variances from dimensional requirements and requests for conditional use, prior to the issuance of a zoning permit for those activities. Variances cannot be granted from permitted or conditional uses, from minimum lot area requirements, or from sign requirements. The Development Review Board also hears all local appeals of permit decisions of the Zoning Administrator.

The subdivision of land and boundary line adjustments are reviewed under Article XII Subdivisions.

See the Waterbury Zoning Regulations, as amended, for all structures, uses, and other forms of land development requiring a zoning permit. If there are any questions regarding whether or not a use, activity or structure requires a permit please contact Steve Lotspeich.

Please plan ahead when applying for a zoning permit.

Applications are either reviewed and approved under a) Administrative Review (by the Zoning Administrator) or depending on the nature and scope under b) Board Review (by the Development Review Board). All zoning permits require certain appeal periods to run before a permit is effective.

This zoning permit process flowchart outlines the generalized steps of the permit process.