Growth Center Initiative

Excerpt from the Waitsfield Town Plan (2005):

The Irasville Village District has served as Waitsfield’s principal growth center for nearly 30 years. Centrally located in the Mad River Valley at the crossroads of Routes 100 and 17, Irasville is the result of farsighted land use policies and public and private investment initiated in the 1970s and continuing through today. Encompassing approximately 190 acres—Irasville was envisioned as a compact, mixed use village serving the commercial, cultural and housing needs of the Mad River Valley.  Nearly 200,000 square feet of mixed-commercial space, over 80 residential dwellings, and several recreation facilities have been constructed in Irasville since it was first designated as a growth center.

Irasville not only serves Waitsfield residents—the neighboring towns of Fayston, Moretown and Warren all recognize Irasville as their communities’ “downtown” in their respective town plans. This function as the Valley’s downtown has been supported with strategic infrastructure improvements, including road construction to establish a partial grid street network, and sidewalk construction to provide pedestrian access within Irasville and a pedestrian connection to historic Waitsfield Village. The lack of community wastewater or water systems, however, coupled with the lack of integrated stormwater management, have resulted in a fragmented development pattern and limited capacity to accommodate anticipated growth pressure.