The Village Districts Act, passed by the CT General Assembly in 1998, is a tool to help municipalities project and preserve their community character and historic development patterns. Towns and cities can designate “village districts” as a way of preserving neighborhoods, village centers, and business districts that have distinctive community character, notable landscape features, and historic structures. The purpose of the Village District Overlay (VDO) is to protect those attributes while encouraging a mixed use, walkable District that is attractive to residents, employees, and visitors.