It’s been over a year since the Westbury mobile home park in Colchester became the Village of Westbury, the first village established in Vermont in nearly a century.

By Olivia Conti, for the Community News Service

It’s been a little more than a year since the Westbury mobile home park in Colchester became the Village of Westbury — the first new village established in Vermont in nearly a century.

Westbury is a sprawling, tree-lined community with 250 mobile homes on the east edge of Colchester. Residents say they love Westbury’s abundance of quiet, nature and wildlife — one resident recently counted 43 wild turkeys on their property. 

“You feel like you’re at a campground, but you’re in the heart of Chittenden County.” – Marc Juneau

Marc Juneau is a teacher who has lived in Westbury for eight years. He said he fell in love with Westbury the day his real estate agent brought him there.

“When I got out of the car to see the unit on Webley Street, it was just a little slice of heaven,” Juneau said. “I couldn’t hear the traffic on 15. I couldn’t hear the traffic on Severance Road. You feel like you’re at a campground, but you’re in the heart of Chittenden County.”  

But a few years ago, Westbury residents almost lost their “little slice of heaven.” 

In 2018, the mobile home park’s owner put the property up for sale. Some residents were afraid the land would be bought by developers and they’d lose their homes. 

So the residents started organizing. 

“There was an immediate, grassroots effort to see if we can’t save this somehow,” Juneau said. “So that big business doesn’t come in, run it over, cut down all the trees and put up condos.” 

There’s a Vermont law that allows residents of mobile home parks to compete with buyers to keep control of their land if it goes up for sale. And in 2019, Westbury residents came together, formed a housing co-op, took out a loan and bought the property themselves.

But buying the park came with new challenges. 

The co-op was now responsible for the park’s maintenance and infrastructure needs, like water, electricity, roads and snow plowing. 

Because working-class Westbury is technically a private community, getting those services was complicated and expensive.

Gayle Pezzo is a longtime Westbury resident and community leader who was recently elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. She said she felt like “there’s got to be a solution.”

Pezzo and her neighbors — including Colchester resident and community leader Ralph Perkins — started researching.

They found that Westbury might be able to get better rates on utilities and other financial incentives like state grants if it became a public municipality — a village — in addition to being a co-op. 

Organizers asked Ted Brady of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns whether that would work, and he said, “I think that’s a viable option.”

Once again, Westbury residents rallied to take control of their future.

Becoming a village wasn’t easy. 

The last new village in Vermont was established in 1933, so there wasn’t a modern roadmap. Westbury also didn’t have money for lawyers or other professional support for guidance. 

And the Town of Colchester was skeptical about Westbury’s plans. Colchester officials pushed back for several reasons, including that they didn’t think becoming a village would help Westbury financially like the residents thought it would. 

Still, in 2023, the majority of Westbury’s registered voters signed petitions to become an incorporated village within the town.  

In August 2023, Pezzo presented the stack of more than 200 petitions at a Colchester Selectboard meeting, wrapped in a turquoise ribbon. She said it was her understanding that, under Vermont statutes, once the selectboard received the petitions, it would establish Westbury as a village.

A month later, the selectboard wished the residents “goodwill in their endeavor,” and the Village of Westbury became official.

“We’re not looking for a handout. We’re looking for having control of our own lives and having the best possible place to live with integrity and pride.” – Gayle Pezzo

Residents of the new village are still also residents of Colchester. They pay taxes to Colchester and use services like the town’s fire and police departments.

Currently, Westbury residents don’t pay any taxes to the village. In the future, though, Westbury residents could propose and vote on a budget that includes a tax to pay for whatever they’re asking the village to accomplish.

A year into life as a village, many Westbury residents say they haven’t seen big changes. 

Harris Quesnel, a member of the village board, said leaders are still working on getting the municipal utility rates they’ve wanted since the beginning. 

“That’s the problem we’re having right now, is being on par with all the other villages,” Quesnel said. “We’re trying to get the same equity.”

On Dec. 17, village leaders were slated to speak at a Champlain Water District board meeting. They planned to ask for the same wholesale water rate other municipalities get.

Joe Duncan, who leads the Champlain Water District, said he understands and supports what Westbury is trying to do. But Champlain Water District’s policy, updated this past June, is to only offer the wholesale rate to water distributors that serve larger towns and cities.

Pezzo said that while this work can be challenging and slow-moving, it’s worth it. It’s all about fairness, equity and resilience — getting out and trying things in an effort to protect affordable housing, she said.

“We’re not looking for a handout,” she said. “We’re looking for having control of our own lives and having the best possible place to live with integrity and pride.”

Village board members say they welcome more participation and input from residents as Westbury enters its second year as a village.

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, in partnership with Vermont Public. Read the audio story transcript here