By Paul Bean
Governor Phil Scott’s housing plan includes expanding Act 250 exemptions into more towns and creating a small town housing financing program he calls ‘SPARC.’
His plan is a response to Vermont’s unprecedented lack of housing, which has reached new heights due to (among other causes) a workforce shortage and decades of slow growth laws and regulations promulgated by the Legislature.
“We need about 7,200 more homes [this year] just to catch up and about 40,000 more over the next 5 years,” Scott said at a Tuesday press conference.
“It’s no secret that in every corner of the state the lack of decent affordable housing is a major concern,” Scott said. “It’s impacting for Vermonters looking to move into an apartment or buy a home and prevents us from growing our workforce.”
“This lack of housing affects us in many other ways,” said Scott explaining that our housing crisis does not only affect the price of housing, but the ripple effects are numerous. “It means fewer kids in our schools, fewer homes added to the Grand List, which makes our schools even more unaffordable and it puts pressure on our Human Services budget and contributes to our public safety challenges.”
One of Scott’s objectives is to revamp Act 250 in places where existing infrastructure would make it easier to build more, and build faster.
“I want to be clear we’re not asking to get rid of Act 250 and land use regulation altogether, because I think we all agree we don’t want houses to litter our mountain sides or development that replaces our farmland,” said Governor Scott.
“What we’re asking for is to make it easier and faster to develop in the places where it makes sense where there’s existing infrastructure or the ability to add to what’s already there. So first we need to make it easier to build new homes or renovate existing homes that a family could live in with a little work.”
“Paired with the housing targets the state is going to be releasing the first version of its Housing Development in Vermont dashboard,” said Housing Commissioner Alex Farrell in reference to “detailed and specific data” for every region in Vermont with goals for years 2030 and 2050….That data sets an average annual production on the upper boundary of just over 8,000 units Statewide.”
The Housing Development in Vermont Dashboard “will enable regions and towns to track progress towards their housing goals and see where the greatest with the greatest degree of precision where these units are being built and what type of homes they are,” explained commissioner Farrell. “We’re working with the regional planning commissions to break these down to the municipal level so that every member of the public and the town can understand that these targets are very attainable with the right local policy decisions. This data in part will be informing and be reflected in our housing bill in the inaugural address.”
Commissioner Farrell referenced the four major goals outlined by Governor Scott in his inaugural address summarized below:
- Strengthen the foundation for growth by introducing new tools for financing and funding infrastructure to support homebuilding.
- Revitalize ‘underserved’ communities, with initiatives targeting rural downtowns, villages, and mobile home parks that have long been neglected.
- Reshape the housing market by expanding opportunities for small-scale developers, making it easier for more Vermonters to get involved.
- Eliminate procedural obstacles in areas like appeals, permitting, and regulatory processes. While this aspect will likely take center stage in discussions, each part of the housing bill is designed to work together thoughtfully and supportively.
One of the new tools mentioned by Farrell is called SPARC, an acronym for ‘Strategic Projects for Advancing Rural Communities.’ This will be a mechanism for financing infrastructure especially beneficial in communities that are smaller and struggle with the capacity to leverage other tools right now for financing infrastructure.
Another major objective within their housing plan is to raise the standard for bringing appeals of housing developments and to reduce the likelihood of “frivolous appeals, particularly when a project aligns with the stated local and state land use regulations,” Farrell said.
“We’re going to be looking at timelines for appeals to be heard in the courts to expedite the resolution of these appeals when they are brought,” said Farrell. “We’re going to work to rebalance appeals to hold appellant accountable for legal fees incurred by home builders up to a certain extent in the process of defending an appeal. Currently all the risk is on a home builder. The folks that are trying to build home-store communities with very little or no risk on appellants. We need to rebalance that.”
One of the major criticisms of Act 250 addressed by Commissioner Farrell is “The 20-person Appeal,” a provision under Vermont’s Act 250 that allows a group of 20 or more people to appeal a permit decision related to a development project.
In other words, if a project receives a permit but at least 20 individuals or organizations believe the project will negatively affect their interests, they can collectively file an appeal. “You don’t have to be a neighbor or have any other standing,” Said commissioner Ferrell. “You can just sign a petition and appeal a project. The current 20 person standard in Vermont is far out of line with national standards and is largely just used as a tool to prevent home building and mostly harming those who are most in need of housing here in Vermont.”