by Guy Page
At his weekly press conference, Gov. Phil Scott embraced an Act 250 reform and housing bill introduced today with tri-partisan sponsorship.
H719 would eliminate most Act 250 jurisdiction in urban areas and relax current Act 250 restrictions in almost any area of Vermont with adequate wastewater and zoning.
Scott said he hopes the “broad coalition of House and Senate members” sponsoring the bill won’t get held up in committees of jurisdiction. It is sponsored by Reps. Lisa Hango (R-Berkshire), Katherine Sims (D-Craftsbury), Taylor Small (I-Winooski), and Ashley Bartley (R-Georgia) and more than 30 others across the political spectrum.
The bill also has the backing of the Senate’s housing committee chair, Kesha Ram (D-Chittenden). “We hope to vote the bill out by early February,” Ram said. “We need an Act 250 that gets communities out of floodplain and landslide zones.”
“We can’t believe in climate change without believing in support for climate refugees” – including our own neighbors, Ram said.
Scott, Administration leaders, and lawmakers said the bill would prompt homebuilding and renovation in downtowns and across Vermont. “Easier, faster and cheaper” housing development is the watchword of H719, Sen. Randy Brock said.
H719 also would:
- Promote “infill” – adding unit density to existing urban residential areas
- Convert hotels into permanent housing
- Provide tax incentives for building homes in blighted areas.