Opinion From The Town

In August 2022, the Colchester Selectboard issued a letter in response to the Westbury Co-op’s efforts to find a municipal solution to services the Town could not or would not provide. The Selectboard had been in dialogue with the Co-op since 2018 as the Co-op began its search to find a solution to the typically municipal infrastructure it had accepted in the purchase of the park. The Town’s decision to stop plowing certain private roads in 2018 was the catalyst for the Co-op’s interest in this approach. 

 

The Selectboard expressed concerns about the Co-op’s ideas, questioning the need for a municipal village, particularly when the Co-op already manages the land and services within Westbury through its private not-for-profit status. The Selectboard also raised concerns about whether the creation of a village would impact the Co-op’s ability to enforce its existing rules, such as restrictions on renting or leasing homes, and other aspects of its occupancy agreement. 

 

The Town believes that establishing a new municipal village could set a precedent, making it difficult to deny efforts from homeowner associations in Colchester to do the same. They argue that it would be unfair to offer municipal services to one private community and not others, especially given that municipalities rarely take on such limited services. Furthermore, the Town is concerned about the increased costs and liability that might come with contracting services for a village like Westbury. 

 

The Selectboard also opposed providing Westbury with wholesale water rates from the 

Champlain Water District (CWD), as it could lead to increased costs for other residents in Colchester. They warned that granting wholesale rates to Westbury could create a precedent, causing a ripple effect across other communities, complicating the water distribution system and raising costs for non-village residents. 

 

The residents collective research and response to these ideas as well as the full letter from the Town can be found HERE.