The DRB meets on the second Wednesday of every month at 6:00 pm at the Town Clerk's Office on School Street in West Burke. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

Summary of Activities

The Development Review Board (DRB) meets the second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 P.M. at the Community Building, 212 School Street West Burke VT. Mike Harris serves as the Zoning Administrator and we currently have 7 members - Rodney Machell (chairman) Frank Cuccia, Nikki Peters, Scott Chappell, Eleanor Kenworthy, James Bentley, and Ed Guest.

In 2024, we had a total of 75 permits.  The Zoning Administrator approved numerous permits.  Mike has approved permits for single-family homes, garages, addition, barns, several decks, and two Pavilions. The Development Review Board approved permits for , multiple short & long-term rentals, signs, farm events, accessory uses, and 4 subdivisions. 

The Board welcomes and encourages residents to attend any meeting via Zoom at any time. Just call the office and we can email you the information. The email for the office is burke@burkevermont.org.  Phone (802) 467-3717.

DRB Clerk

Linda Hackett-Corey

Our Mission Statement: The Burke Conservation Commission will work to maintain the rural character of the Town of Burke by conserving and enhancing natural and cultural resources and open spaces within our community.

Commission members:

Elise Lawson

Chris Manges

Cathie Wheeler

Brandon Mapes

Dusty Labarr

Diane Wells

Lindley van der Linde

The Conservation Commission has hosted several public forums:

Button Up Vermont - addressed energy conservation for homeowners

Efficiency Vermont -options for energy savings for new and older buildings

Land Conservation- representatives from 2 land trusts, an attorney and county forester addressed current use and conservation easements 

Natural Resource Mapping Project- focused on contiguous forests, wetlands and riparian areas 

The Conservation Commission has presented several educational programs

Elise Lawson- moose in Ontario and NH

Kurt Valenta- owls 

Kevin Mack- songbird walk

Bob Gondar- grafting workshop

Doug Morin- NEK endangered species

Steve Agius- Canada Lynx

The Conservation Commission has organized several community events:

"Trees for Streams"  plantings for riparian restoration along the Passumpsic River

River Clean Up 

Green Up  Day

Water monitoring at 14 sites in the Passumpsic River watershed (7 rounds during summer 2015)

Tree Plantings at the Community Building and in Darling Memorial Park  (30 maple trees)

Burke Conservation Commission - 2024 Annual Report                     

The Burke Conservation Commission’s mission is to maintain the rural character of Burke by identifying, conserving, and enhancing the Town’s natural and cultural resources and encouraging the understanding of these resources and conservation needs through education.

This past year, the BCC worked on a variety of projects in an effort to fulfill this mission.

In March, the proposed 10-year stewardship plan for Willey Woods Community Forest was approved by the Selectboard and the two organizations that co-hold the

Forest’s conservation easement, the New England Forestry Foundation and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB). Since then, the Town

Forest Stewardship Subcommittee has worked on a number of projects in Willey Woods, including receiving

approval from easement holders for a parking area, reviving boundary markers, and siting and developing a trail system. Several trails were created, and along a particularly wet section, a culvert was installed and a 52-foot long cedar boardwalk was constructed. Burke Town School students built an information kiosk for visitors, to be placed in the parking area this coming Spring, while other community members worked on a large “Willey Woods” sign to be placed at the Forest’s entrance on Sugar Maple Lane.

In April the BCC learned of the opportunity to purchase a 60 acre parcel of land that not only shares a boundary with Willey Woods but encompasses the headwaters of

Roundy Brook. With approval from the Selectboard, the BCC and Forest Subcommittee looked into potential

grant opportunities and in October applied for a grant through VHCB. In late December the request for funding was approved, increasing the size of Willey Woods to 343 acres.

A fair bit of attention was also given to Burke’s 103-acre North Pasture Community Forest located along Victory Road. Mikail Tipton, town resident and student at

Sterling College, prepared the North Pasture

Community Forest Stewardship Plan over the course of the summer with guidance from Matt Langlais,

Caledonia County Forester, the Forest Subcommittee,

and the BCC. The Plan was approved by the Selectboard in November and is now awaiting

approval from the Forest’s easement holder, Vermont Land Trust.

Additional highlights from this past year include:

● May 4 was Green Up Day and many

volunteers spent considerable time cleaning

up our roadways and Willey Woods. Thank

you!

● The BCC developed a riparian restoration

project and with the help of the Caledonia

Natural Resource Conservation District and

Burke Town School students, shrubs and

trees will be planted along a section of the

West Branch of the Passumpsic this spring.

● Dr. Ali Kosiba, forest ecologist and UVM

Extension Forester led a field tour of Willey

Woods. The tour was well attended and topics of discussion included forest diversity,

forest stressors, the impacts of climate change, and what landowners can do to improve

forest resilience.

● The Selectboard approved funding for a town-wide Natural Resource Inventory, to be

completed in 2025.

● The BCC co-hosted a workshop with Kingdom Trails for landowners interested in

exploring options when it comes to conserving their land.

● The BCC has been working with the Planning Commission in the early stages of

updating Burke’s Town Plan in 2025.

The BCC would like to extend a special thanks to the following individuals: Makail Tipton for the

considerable amount of time and effort he put into developing the North Pasture Forest

Management Plan; Bob Gondar for his design and workmanship in the construction of the Willey

Woods sign; Rick Angell and the Lyndon Institute Foundry for the sign’s laser engravings; Mike

Cole for the gravel and Casey Lacourse for his excavation work when it came time to install the

VAST Trail culvert, and Brian Lukas for being a gracious and understanding neighbor to Willey Woods.

The BCC meets the third Wednesday of the month at 6 pm, and the Forest Subcommittee

meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 6pm. We welcome you to join us. And if you have

an interest in the outdoors and volunteering some time with a fun group of people, we are

always looking for new members!

BCC Members: Hank Butler, Dusty Labarr, Elise Lawson, Chris Manges, Brandon Mapes,

Diane Wells, Cathie Wheeler, and Lindley van der Linde

Town Forest Subcommittee Members: Hank Butler, Sara Bresnick, Don Hale, Dusty Labarr,

Brandon Mapes, Cliff Pierce, Elise Lawson (Alternate), and Diane Wells (Alternate).

The Planning Commission meets every third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 PM at the Town Clerk Office at 212 School Street in West Burke.. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

Summary of Activities:

The Planning Commission is made up of five members.  We currently have James Sullivan (Chair), Jenny McKenna (Co-Chair), Carroll Bean (Secretary), Zoe Gascon, and Keith Clark as members.  Mike Harris, the Zoning Administrator is an adviser to the Planning Commission

In March of 2023 the Planning Commission drafted and presented the Accessory Campsite Bylaw to the Town.  It was voted on and accepted by the Town at that time.  This bylaw added some rules and regulations pertaining to 1 to 3 campsites operating on private land

The Planning Commission als drafted and presented a Short-Term/Long-Term rental registration ordinance to the Town and Selectboard.  It was accepted and we hope to have the registration begin in the Summer of 2024