Even without R1 zoning, rules can be put in place about designs and make them incorporate into the existing character of a town. A three or four story in town apartment building put on somewhere that might have been a decrepit factory or turning on old lumber mill on the water into condos is a lot smarter than just putting up hundreds of track homes.

A lot of this is going to come down to your local townships some pretty sure that stuff still needs to be approved by your housing departments and that would be determined at the county and the local level. There's still avenues to preserve and protect communities in the general vibe that makes Vermont so attractive.