Calais Land Use and Development Regulations
The purpose of the Calais Land Use Development Regulations (or “Zoning Regulations”) is to:
- implement the Calais Town Plan in accordance with its vision and goals
- (provide for a balanced and coordinated approach for community development while preserving a sustainable natural environment to include land, forests, water, wildlife, and air; and
- protect the health, safety, and welfare of Calais residents.
The Calais Planning Commission is tasked with ensuring that the regulations continue to meet these goals, and when changes need to be made (due to new state legislation, an update to the Town Plan, etc.), they are carefully composed by the Planning Commission and voted on by both the Selectboard and the Town.
Current Land Use and Development (or “Zoning”) Regulations
These are the most current LUD Zoning Regulations in Calais.
- Adopted by the Calais Selectboard on January 2, 2005
- Adopted by Town Vote on March 1, 2005
- Last Amendment approved by Town Vote on March 5, 2024
- Last Amendment adopted by Selectboard on April 28, 2025
Current Zoning Districts Map
Before you begin planning any project requiring a Zoning Permit, you’ll need to be aware of the Zoning District within which you plan to do the work.
You can find the districts mapped onto the town by clicking the button on the left.
These districts are also visible in your web browser on the Calais Axis GIS map by clicking here. Enable the Zoning layer to see the district overlays.
More Zoning Links and Information
Stormwater Maps and Master Plan
This “story board” map shows the first sites that will be worked on by the Town of Calais to prevent erosion, manage storm water, and help keep our waters clean. This is a collaborative planning process involving Central Vermont Regional Planning, Calais Planning Commission, the Calais Conservation Commission, Calais Selectboard, and the Calais Highway Department.
Through funding provided by the Ecosystem Restoration Grant Program at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the CVRPC retained WCA to complete two Stormwater Master Plans (SWMPs): one for the Kingsbury Branch Watershed including chapters for the towns of Calais, East Montpelier and Woodbury; and one, with Friends of the Mad River, for the Mad River Watershed including chapters for the towns of Moretown, Waitsfield, Warren, Fayston, and Duxbury. The CVRPC, WCA, and FMR team worked to engage municipal stakeholders for each town so that the results of the process were understood and the products were of local value. WCA created online story maps for each of the towns to provide information on stormwater, solutions to stormwater mitigation using green stormwater infrastructure, and results of the stormwater master planning process.
The results include the top five priority sites for each of the eight municipalities, along with 30% engineering designs and artistic renderings for projects to address water quality and quantity issues at these sites. By completing the initial engineering designs for these priority sites, each municipality can focus on securing funds for final engineering designs and project implementation. Implementing these project will allow communities to address their runoff problems contributing to poor water quality and advance the goals to reduce phosphorus loading in the Lake Champlain basin.