The bill would rebrand the board that sets rules for implementing Act 250
By Brooke Burns
The state’s racial equity office is concerned minority groups could be excluded by language in a new bill that tweaks Vermont’s key conservation law.
H.687 would rebrand the Vermont Natural Resources Board, which administers and sets rules for the implementation of Act 250, as the Environmental Review Board. A similarly named board was in place for a majority of the act’s existence, and it handled appeals of regional-level permit rulings. But legislators in 2004 scrapped it to send appeals to the courts instead.
The proposed board would once again hear appeals, along with handling the current board’s administrative duties and taking on several new tasks. The idea, backers say, is to streamline the process of applying for a permit. Rep. Amy Sheldon, D–Middlebury, introduced it Jan. 16 in the House Committee on Environment and Energy and said the bill builds on conservation efforts last year.
“This is a complement to it through the supporting of land-use policies that allow us to maintain an intact functional landscape,” Sheldon said, “and also protect our human communities with that landscape and help promote dense development in our downtown and village centers.”
Jay Greene, a policy analyst from the Vermont Office of Racial Equity, told committee lawmakers Feb. 23 that the office is happy the House is open to changing Act 250 because the office has found a number of racial equity problems relating to housing in the law’s existing language.
But Greene said the office found areas of concern in the proposed amendments before legislators.
The bill would require candidates for the new review board to have “a record and reputation for excellent character and integrity” — language that may discourage applicants who don’t fit the traditional background of Vermont’s political sphere and that favors white, well-connected people, Greene said. This, Greene said, despite the bill’s goal of designing the board to make Act 250 more citizen-friendly.
“We’re concerned that this could have the effect of excluding people who are not politically well-connected in the political sphere in Vermont, and the political sphere in Vermont is overwhelmingly very white,” Greene said in the meeting, adding later, “So if we’re thinking about who’s going to get recommended based on their reputation for excellent character, it’s concerning that that might end up excluding people who are not connected to the traditional kind of political landscapes here in Vermont.”
Greene also argued the $295 fee for appeals to the board included in the bill could pose an economic hardship. That fee would be charged on top of the initial application fee already paid by the person filing the appeal.
“Would it be possible to include a provision about emergency — or circumstances where a person can have this fee waived or something like that?” Greene asked lawmakers at the meeting.
Greene said the office was encouraged by a provision in the bill that would allow for housing units, within or attached to single residences, that would provide affordable housing and supervision for relatives, older adults or persons who have a disability. But Greene thinks the provision can go farther.
“Why not expand the availability of accessory dwelling units for any kind of long-term renter, regardless of family or disability status?” Greene asked. “Just because this seems like a low hanging fruit kind of opportunity to expand affordable housing — in areas with existing infrastructure for it.”
In addition to hearing appeals and administering the Act 250 program, the proposed board would also review applications for planned growth area designations, review future land-use maps in regional plans and review maps that classify areas as rural and working lands.
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