Act 250, energy and housing bills do nothing to help poor and young Vermonters
By Guy Page
A former representative and state senator returned to the State House Thursday to say the current Legislature is hurting poor and young Vermonters and only helping developers and special interests.
John Rodgers of Glover is a co-organizer of the ‘Tap Trees, Not Vermonters’ rally Thursday, May 9 at the Vermont State House. In this one-minute video (above), he sought to capture the frustration of working and young Vermonters seeking housing and affordable living in Vermont but feeling left out by the Legislature.
The Legislature this week passed H.687, a revised version of Act 250, the state’s landuse and development law. It enhances construction of small, multi-family housing buildings in urban areas, but makes building a home on a small lot in the country subject to severe restrictions. Rodgers:
“The Legislature wasted time on an Act 250 bill which makes it easier for wealthy developers to develop in downtowns that are dumping raw sewage into our waterways, while making it harder to develop and subdivide in rural communities, where most young Vermonters want to live.”
The Legislature this week also passed H.289, the Renewable Energy Standards bill that would add $1 billion in rate hikes over the next decade to further the build-out of mostly instate renewable power and infrastructure. Gov. Scott’s far less expensive plan to get to zero power emissions statewide by accessing available out-of-state hydro and nuclear power was dismissed. Rodgers:
“The Legislature wasted time on an energy bill that was written by energy developers and will profit energy developers and utilities, at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars a year on working Vermonters. This energy bill does nothing to address climate change, it only rewards energy developers who contribute to the legislators who are forwarding the bill.
“This is a regressive bill. It will punish working class and poor Vermonters to make millionaires even richer.”
Rodgers then returned to his criticism of H.687:
“The Legislature wasted time on a housing bill that makes it easier for developers to build large buildings filled with tiny apartments that would be called affordable. The people who live in these apartments would be able to afford rent, but will never be able to save up money to buy their own homes.
“True progress on housing will only happen when we make Vermont a more affordable place to live, so that young people can have a house on a small piece of land connected to nature, so that they can grow a garden and raise a few animals. This will allow people to create equity and create intergenerational wealth that renters will never have.”
A large, diverse group of Vermonters attended the rally, which was characterized by VTDigger as Republican, even though Rodgers is a Democrat; the other lead co-organizer, James Ehlers, is a Democrat/Progressive; and only one GOP lawmaker was seen in the crowd – Rep. Mark Higley of Lowell, the sponsor of the bill to repeal the Global Warming Solutions Act – a fact pointed out by speaker Alison Despathy.
The other lawmaker seen there by VDC was Rep. Dennis LaBounty, a Caledonia County Democrat. Many GOP legislators were advised of the gathering in the Cedar Creek Room, but opted to not attend.
If anything, the tenor of the comments by Rodgers and others was less politically partisan, and more ‘class-oriented’ – specifically, rural, lower-income Vermonters feeling underrepresented by a supermajority they say takes its cue from the wealthy renewable power industry and other powerful lobby groups in the State House.
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Categories: State House Spotlight
“True progress on housing will only happen when we make Vermont a more affordable place to live, so that young people can have a house on a small piece of land connected to nature, so that they can grow a garden and raise a few animals. This will allow people to create equity and create intergenerational wealth that renters will never have.”
Legislators do not care whether you have these things. For the sake of the environment, they will have you living in pods while they continue their tyrannical lawmaking from an energy-inefficient, well-heated dome.
Our Marxist legislators worship His creation [i.e. the Environment] rather than Him as Creator. They see themselves as rulers of other men, rather than wanting or accepting to be.ruled by the one true God. Vermont’s Democrat and Progressive legislators are little more than atheistic nihilists at this point.
pods, you mean tiny homes where you have to go outside to change our mind? Great for starting a family. Great experimentation in cabin fever. But hey, when the United Nations says you have to move, they’ll just move your home for you.
Tiny homes were not a home grown idea, this is all from the top down. Can’t finance, Depreciates. Zoning doesn’t allow. the list is long and sorted…..yet it’s a “great idea”
To make Vermont affordable, how about legislation to reduce regulations by 10%, reduce government staffing by 10%, and requiring automatic approval of proposals if government doesn’t act with in 90 days.
Time costs money and every government delay reduces action in Vermont while increasing costs.
Also, maybe a cost benefit analysis should be required of every new regulation proposal before it is voted.
Just thoughts.
It is an axiom of Vermont Legislative sessions: when all is said and done, far more is said than done.
And in a “Groupthink Legislature” such as we have, few things happen that are not pre-planned by the leadership.
Time for a sea change.
The cuts are too lenient. Let’s slash regulations by at least 60%. Less regulations means more growth, plus more taxes in the state coffers without additional taxation.
As far as staffing goes, anyone with assistant before their name should be dropped into the regular workforce, with regular workforce pay. These staffing adjustments would affect all agencies.
Thank you John Rodgers and other organizers of “Tap trees, not Vermonters” for pointing out, loud and clear, that the recent Act 250 amendments and the so-called Clean Energy legislation provides a scheme to allow big city developers in Chittenden county accomodations for expanding housing but restricts housing construction in our rural communities, and even worse the energy legislation forcibly takes money, via a complicated scheme, from middle and low income residents purchasing a necessity, fuel oil, and transfers those monies to wealthy renewable energy developers who already enjoy substantial tax credits. Reverse Robin Hood thanks to the super majority Progressive/Regressive Democrats.
Good for John Rodgers!! This Legislature has enacted a slew of regressive policies that take money from poor people to fund wasteful, inequitable boondoggles. Free lunches for millionaires (so poor kids don’t feel ashamed!); EV, heat pump, and solar panels subsidies that drive up taxes and electric rates. No Progressive at all — reverse Robin Hood. They own it all now!
John Rodgers was a moderate democrat who was quickly replaced by the borg when he stepped out of line.
He’s probably more Republican than our Governor.
Too bad others couldn’t have supported him, affordability would be something the VTGOP could make progress on. But then the borg, aka the new world order doesn’t want that so it won’t happen.
Cynthia Browning was quickly primaried and thrown out of the party also, for making too much sense and not pimpin’ water for the borg.
Have to say, they do keep tight ranks, they cancel anyone that doesn’t’ comply, so much for representing their constituents. It also exposed their fascist tendencies, which is something again the VTGOP could work to their benefit….but they don’t.
The Borg is big and powerful, no question.
Deception, Division and Destruction is their game plan, that doesn’t vary. Hint, hint that’s another Achillies heel.
Lots of people have no idea what the Borg is. If they weren’t fans of Star Trek, the next Generation they have no idea of what you speak of. The Borg is synonymous with a mob of enemies who are each controlled by one thought handed down to them by their leader. No individual thoughts are allowed. They can only see through one eye and the other is covered by an eye piece that receives visuals from the leader. They have numbers instead of names, like pronouns and rankings within their hive. The Borg is synonymous with the VT progressive cult.
I should have added that the eye piece worn by the borg and by progressives is on the right eye which blocks the view of anything coming from the right. Normal people see through both eyes, progressives only see through the left eye. When the right eye is blocked you cannot have 20/20 vision and it will impair your judgement allowing the person to only make left turns and decisions in life.
If you recall I was chastised by many people because we had a campaign for John Rogers to become governor…
He wasn’t the perfect guy but he was the perfect guy at the time..
We would not have the gun laws in the state of Vermont that were forced on our throats under Governor Scott after he promised never to sign any gun laws in the state of Vermont.
We would be living in a different Vermont had everyone got together and elected this senator since he had the knowledge of how our government ran and had many many wonderful ideas to reduce the cost to the American taxpayer..
Although I don’t agree with some of of his ideas…John has always been a stand-up guy for the hard working law-abiding gun owning Vermonters..
Even though he’s no longer a senator he’s still up there fighting for every one of us…
Thank you John Rodgers.
To steal a Moto from the Green Mtn. Boys, Close up the column and put Mr. Rodgers ahead! It is very refreshing to hear a leader expressing what so many Vermonters are thinking and feeling. Maybe he can be convinced to run for one of the top two state wide offices. Let Rodgers rangers ride again!
Actually, it was Gen. John Sedgewick who is quoted as saying that in regard to the 2nd VT Brigade on the first day of battle at Gettysburg. But I get your meaning. Trust real Vermonters to do the job and do it right.
the green mountain boys have been replaced by the pink valley fairy/// the government in vermont is god///