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dmccullum t1_jcxmtxj wrote

Reply to comment by vermont4runner in What will the future of Vermont ski towns look like? by The_Idealist_Realist

We don’t need to “pave Mount Mansfield and put up a parking lot.”

There is PLENTY of room in our existing cities and towns to build dense, walkable housing. Just get rid of lot minimums and stupid zoning restrictions.

Vermont can have abundant wild spaces AND housing.

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vermont4runner t1_jcxwnwx wrote

There’s really not. Those existing cities and areas are built on very old infrastructure that wasn’t designed for denser development. There is far more to urban planning than just zoning regulations.

Prime example. My town has sidewalks that need to be rebuilt. The 1/2mi stretch will cost millions to do because modern sidewalks have very different drainage requirements than old slate ones. Many in town just say “pave over them” but it’s not possible because it’ll flood the rest of the town. There is so much more behind the scenes work.

Burlington would require whole new sewage and water systems coming up in the billions of dollars just to shove a few more units per block in. That’s money nobody has.

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RandyCheeseburgers01 t1_jczit7u wrote

>Those existing cities and areas are built on very old infrastructure that wasn’t designed for denser development.

Manhattan Island was once a fur trading post settlement with a similar problem. They made it work OK.

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Loudergood t1_jdasu1w wrote

Burlington reinvents it's water system every decade or so.

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vermont4runner t1_jdau9ri wrote

If you mean overflows it into the lake than you are correct.

They’re not ripping the entire system up and replacing it, ever.

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Loudergood t1_jdayf4e wrote

You're wrong on that, they do lots of miles every year and major upgrades to the plant about once a decade.

The overflows are caused by the same thing that causes increased farm runoff, stronger storms.

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RandyCheeseburgers01 t1_jczi9f6 wrote

>Vermont can have abundant wild spaces AND housing.

In fact, limiting sprawl and increasing housing density (and density in general) will allow for more wild areas to be preserved.

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