Locals are opposed to the plans which would see populations quadruple

Features would include foam-flushing toilets that monitor the health of users, and underground 'podways' for electric cars

While Hall is Mormon, the town would be open to all religions, he says

A Mormon businessman is planning to build a futuristic multi-million dollar city in the middle of rural Vermont based on 180-year-old plans drawn up by his religion's founder.

David Hall, 69, plans to construct a 20,000-home city around a monument to Joseph Smith, founder of the Church Of Jesus Christ Of The Latter Day Saints, near the town of Lebanon, central Vermont.

The layout of his proposed 5,000-acre metropolis would be based on plans Smith drew up in 1833 for the city of Zion, which he originally planned to construct in Missouri.

Hall says the 'sustainable' city will produce zero waste, will be economically self-sufficient, generate all its own power and food, and provide a model for cities of the future.

David Hall, 69, a Mormon entrepreneur and businessman, is planning to build a multi-million dollar futuristic city in Vermont based on designs drawn up in 1833 by Joseph Smith, the founder of his religion

Hall claims the city, which would cover three square miles around the monument marking Smith's birthplace in Vermont, would house 20,000 people and be totally self-sufficient

While it is based on plans laid down by the Mormon leader, Hall says the community will not be religiously exclusive, saying similar developments in the past have shown the concept to be a failure.

Hall, whose father invented the synthetic diamond and who made his own fortune in drilling, has sunk $100million into the project, and plans to spend $100million more in the coming decades.

Hall's vision, which he lays out on the website for his construction company NewVistas, came to light recently after land purchases totaling 900 acres were traced to him.

Hall, whose father invented the synthetic diamond and made his fortune in drilling technology, has been working on the project since the 1970s

dailyUV.com blogger, Nicole Antal, was the first to interview Hall, mapping out $3.6 millions dollars worth of land already purchased for the project.

While Hall admits that it is unlikely ground will be broken on the project for another 50 years, almost certainly after the 69-year-old has died, locals have already begun a campaign to stop him.

Huge construction projects are almost unheard of in this part of the country, and people worry that a huge influx of new residents would change their lives beyond recognition.

Indeed, if all 20,000 residences in Hall's proposed city are taken by newcomers, it will quadruple the population of four nearby towns, and raise Vermont's total population by three per cent.

Randy Leavitt, from the town of South Royalton which is one of the four small communities near the proposed building site, started Facebook group 'Stop the "NewVista" Project',

He said: 'I feel like this is a bomb that's going to land on us and destroy what we have built up over the last 200 years here.'

Hall responded: 'I already know that the local people don't want this. What I'm counting on is that over time people will come to like it as they understand it.'

The footprint of Hall's design, which would tessellate with others to allow the city to grow, is based on designs for the city of Zion drawn up by Smith, which he intended to build in Missouri

Hall's city would include toilets that flush with foam and monitor people's health, underground roads for electric pod cars to drive along, and intelligent glass that control heat and light in buildings

As part of the project, which Hall plans to pass on to his daughter after he dies, the businessman plans to build tens of thousands of three-story homes, each with their own residential, commercial, industrial and greenhouse space.

Fronted by public streets and backed by their own patios and gardens, the houses would also be connected by an underground 'podway' for electric vehicles to run along.

By including commercial and industrial space in each home, Hall hopes to reduce the need for people to take transport to work, reducing fossil fuel emissions.

Other revolutionary ideas include foam-flushing toilets that drain into a central digester to dispose of waste, with in-built sensor to monitor waste and give people information about their health.

Another idea is multi-purpose glass windows that control how much heat and light is let into a building, all controlled by a phone app.

Hall's proposed houses would include residential, commercial, industrial and greenhouse space (left), connected to an underground roadway (right)

Hall has already purchased 900 acres around the Joseph Smith monument in Vermont and plans on buying another 4,000 acres before going to work on the settlement

Hall, who has been working quietly on the project since the 1970s, plans to build some test homes in his home city of Provo, Utah, in the coming years before moving into them with his family to prove the concept can become a success.

Within a decade or so he hopes to have 80 apartments built, within 15 years, he hopes to create similar developments throughout the United States, and have one full community going in 20 years.

Hall currently employs around 150 engineers, researchers, developers and scientists who are working to make his dream a reality.

As the project scales up, he is building a number of research and manufacturing sites on 100 acres in Mt. Vista, Utah, including his new headquarters, and anticipates hiring up to 2,000 employees.