By VDC staff

A Vermont citizens group is calling on the Legislature to give towns another year to review new regional land use plans, warning that the current December 31 deadline could force communities to accept plans before they understand the effects on property owners.

Rural Vermont Rising announced in a Monday, October 26 press release that it supports the Cabot Selectboard’s request to delay adoption of the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission’s proposed plan. The group wants lawmakers to extend the statewide deadline to December 31, 2027.

Under Act 181, regional planning commissions must adopt updated plans that include land use maps and municipal housing targets. State approval of the plans is tied to certain Act 250 housing exemptions, development designation benefits and grant eligibility.

“The Legislature created this deadline, and it should give towns the time to get it right,” said Colleen Geddis of Rural Vermont Rising.

The proposed Central Vermont plan is 408 pages long. According to Rural Vermont Rising, towns received about 30 days’ notice before the first public hearing, although the commission spent two years preparing the document. Cabot’s land use map was revised this summer following additional legislative changes in June.

“The Commission took 2 years to prepare this plan,” the Cabot Selectboard wrote in comments approved October 13. “Yet towns have the same short review period that applied when regional plans were a fraction of this length and far less consequential.”

Cabot has instructed its representatives to vote against the plan until the town completes its review.

The town is proposing that the commission adopt only the village growth areas and other elements necessary to meet immediate state requirements, leaving rural land classifications and final housing targets for further consideration in 2027.

Ken Denton, a Cabot resident, questioned how land classified as Rural Forestry and Agriculture might be regulated in the future.

“Landowners deserve to know what that designation could mean before it’s locked in, and this rushed timeline doesn’t give anyone that chance,” Denton said.

Brittany Butler, Cabot’s zoning administrator and a representative to the regional planning commission, raised concerns about whether rejecting a regional plan could jeopardize state grants, including funding needed after natural disasters.

The dispute follows legislative changes earlier this year that repealed Act 181’s Tier 3 conservation framework and a related road rule following objections from rural property owners.

Rural Vermont Rising also pointed to opposition surrounding the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission’s proposed plan, saying 27 of its 30 member towns raised objections. The group said the state Land Use Review Board questioned aspects of that plan in August, including possible effects on property rights.

“The regional planning commission designated land I farm as rural conservation without my input,” said Neil Ryan, a beef farmer in Corinth and Orange. “Walk the land before you map it, and give towns the time to check the work.”

Rep. Greg Burtt, R-Cabot, supports extending the deadline by one year.

“We mandated these plans, tied towns’ funding to them, then changed the law in June,” Burtt said. “Towns deserve another year to understand what this means for their land, and it’s on the Legislature to give it to them.”

The broader purpose of Act 181 is to update Vermont’s land use planning system, identify areas suitable for housing development and establish regional growth priorities. Rural Vermont Rising argues that those objectives could proceed while towns receive more time to examine rural land classifications.

The organization also advocates limiting regional planning commissions to technical assistance and support services rather than allowing them to establish land use policies affecting individual towns.

Regional plans are subject to review by the state Land Use Review Board. Residents seeking to challenge an adopted plan generally must file an objection within 15 days of its adoption.

Information about the approval and objection process is available through the Vermont Land Use Review Board.

Rural Vermont Rising describes itself as a nonpartisan coalition of landowners and residents that formed in opposition to portions of Act 181. The group says its online community includes more than 18,000 Vermonters.

The group’s October 26 statement did not include a response from the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission or state officials to the proposed deadline extension.

Information for this report was sourced from an October 26 statement by Rural Vermont Rising.