Business View Civil and Municipal | March 2021

150 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL MARCH 2021 focused on building the density without going beyond the capacity of our sewer core, and without breaking the boundaries of where our open space is preserved,” says Haney. “Our community is deeply attached to a lot of the open spaces we have, so we want to make the best of those areas where we can develop. We have to be very thoughtful about it.” “There’s a real way for the town and the village to complement each other in terms of the development to go after, and the development they’ve already approved” adds Pierce. “For the first time in a long time, the village center is vibrant at night. And the town has the space for industrial, manufacturing, and commercial. They’re beefing up their downtown as well. It’s going to be like two ends of a barbell, where we have the New Town Center and the Old Town Center, compact settlements in the village, and single-family homes in the town. All with enough space to provide for incoming businesses.” Irrespective of the outcome of the March 2 vote, the Selectboard members and Trustees are confident in Essex’s ability to support a quality of life between the town and the village that will be highly desirable, both for living and for the local economy. PREFERRED VENDOR/ PARTNER n O’Leary-Burke Civil Associates, PLC obca@olearyburke.com