by the Lake Champlain Chamber
The House passed H.687 this week on a vote of 89-51. The Act 250 bill, as the sponsor describes it, “while not a housing bill per se,” had been held up by House leadership under criticism for not doing enough about Vermonters’ number one issue leading into this session, housing. The bill now heads to the Senate.
As described by the bill’s architect, H.687 does four main things;
- Changes in Governance and Appeals: The bill creates a professional board, the Environmental Review Board, to oversee the administration and operation of Act 250, which was defended as “the heart of the bill.”
- The ERB would hear appeals of jurisdictional opinions and district commission decisions instead of the environmental court, which, notably, is just a return to the Board structure of 20 years ago.
- Changes in Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction would no longer be determined by the size of a project and instead by location.
- This is done by establishing tiers of jurisdiction, with Tier 1 areas possessing the most relaxed regulation, tier 2 areas representing the new Act 250 changes, and Tier 3 areas designed to protect critical natural resources.
- Future Land Use Mapping: the bill establishes categories with common definitions for Regional Commission future land use maps. These maps will underpin the tier system outlined above.
- This mapping isn’t expected to be created for some time, and the implementation of the tiers is not expected until mid-2026.
- Designated Areas Program: the bill condenses the Designation Area program into only two categories: Centers and Neighborhoods.
- Notably, the House Ways and Means Committee amendment took aim to undercut the benefits of tax increment financing as a benefit of the designation program.
There are a number of other issues related to housing circulating the Legislature this year;
- S.311 is consistently framed in juxtaposition with H.687 for its starting paradigm as a housing bill, not just a biodiversity protection bill, which aims to make changes to Act 250 to promote housing.
- S.213 is a bill aimed at development in river corridors. It has been the subject of some concern as it further limits where development can happen. While there is an understanding of its need, the overlapping context of legislation saying where not to develop is adding up fast.
- H.829 passed the House and includes various appropriations to housing programs in fiscal year 2025 and in fiscal year 2026 as part of a stated General Assembly intent for more housing investments between fiscal year 2026 and 2034.
- H.639 is a bill that is focused on flood protection, however, it incorporates accountability
- Then there is the budget, where debate has been fierce as the House cut funding for the state’s most efficient housing rehabilitation program, VHIP, to $1 million from $6 million which would render the program inoperable halfway through the fiscal year.
- Additionally, multiple pieces of legislation look to increase the property transfer tax, which, from an economic perspective, taxing the sale of housing in a tight housing market is a bad idea when you want to incentivize market activity.
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Categories: Housing, Legislation
Thank God Jesus made escape from this prison possible.
Our towns, that everybody wants to expand, were more often built with NO ZONING. When we had to rebuild our state, we did an emergency measure, so no permits were required. When poppy Bush went to Rio, he signed our country up to be controlled by the United Nations, via zoning and regulations, also known as Agenda 21, now Agenda 2030 and locally as “Smart Growth”.
Smart Growth and Smart Phones are propaganda terms, they are both used to control, monitor and influence the citizens to do things that are not in their own interests or the countries interest.
https://rumble.com/embed/v2y8gd6/?pub=4
short version there are others.
Maybe this will get through….
Vermont is not in control….
https://youtu.be/o0pa42x4V5I?si=0GyhvcDxeSlVvLZ3
We are pawns of the United Nations and those pimps who work for them.
Be wary of bills that increase housing. And I say this as someone who doesn’t live in Vermont but may want to if things improve. That new housing may not go to Vermonters – look at what happened in Maine recently.
They were trying to build “work force” housing in Warren Vermont, at the ski area. It was really for migrant housing, dormitory style for all the people they ship from south america to work on the mountain every year.
So the Sugarbush Valley get’s screwed over 3x, 1st they don’t allow reasonable homes for average people to own. 2nd They hire out of country workers 3rd they try and build “work force” housing…while the rest of us live in our Subarus through the winter…
Something is not right in Montpelier.
Agenda 21, brought to you by NGO’s Non-Profits and connected uniparty members.
Wouldn’t it be prudent to attach an expiration amendment to Act 250? The legislators look for consensus among their constituents and lacking that the law expires.
no treaty can be passed as the united nations are not a country/// how well did that //// project for a new american century work out/// never forget the bush family/// no treaty was passed by the senate///
do you think they really care or need it? Clearly they are doing as they please, meanwhile we just go along…..thinking if we only can get a majorty of rinos into vt office everything will be fine….
They want to remove Act 250 review from the Environmental Court because he judges in the ECt are applying the rules of law fairly and giving results that ardent enviros oppose. They want the decisions to be made solely by the Environmental Board that is completely composed of Enviros.
The proposed amendments to Act 250 are designed so that the only new housing will be in urban centers. The rest of the amendments being proposed will make new housing in rural areas more difficult.
Montpelier and the lavish spending that pays all these useless idiots will tumble and fall like the tower of Babel/Gravity. Will be interesting to watch the rodents run for cover when there isn’t a paycheck anymore. I hope that there will be enough of the working class left to rebuild what was once a great state. Calling Cal Coolidge.
repeal act 250/// shut down the bureaucratic commie complex//// massive firings///