Day: November 16, 2023

The business and development communities are encouraged to provide feedback on the drafts of several milestone reports on land use policy. The Vermont Chamber is here to save you time by breaking down the key details and directing you on how to provide feedback. Reach out to Megan Sullivan to join a virtual meeting on Tuesday, November 21 at 11:00 AM and learn everything you need to know. The meeting will cover two draft reports by the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies (VAPDA) and the soon-to-be-released draft report on necessary updates to Act 250.

Comments on the VAPDA’s Regional Planning Report and the Act 250 Municipal Delegation Report are being accepted until December 1. Two more draft reports, the Natural Resource Board’s Necessary Updates to Act 250 and Designation 2050 Evaluation and Reimagining Vermont’s Designation Program for the Next 25 Years, will be released in the coming weeks. Comments will be reviewed and integrated into the final reports in time for the legislative session.

During the upcoming session, the Vermont Chamber will be advocating for bold strategic solutions that work to meet the need for 80,000 new units of housing by 2035. Specifically, we need to invest in more solutions for middle-income Vermonters through appropriations and tax policy. Exemptions, more predictable and consistent processes, and redesigning state designation programs will support and incentivize resilient smart growth in larger geographic areas.

State officials testified to the Joint Fiscal Committee on the magnitude of the statewide housing supply shortage, stating that “we cannot buy our way out of this crisis.” Legislative leaders agreed that it will require a coordinated approach and bold strategic solutions to bolster efforts that are already underway. The conversation set the stage for the upcoming legislative session when the Vermont Chamber will be a champion for policy solutions that will work to meet the need for 80,000 new units of housing by 2035.

The testimony confirmed that most communities are not producing enough units to meet current demand, despite $400 million of investment since March of 2020. Last session, the Vermont Chamber routinely advocated that money alone cannot solve this problem, and we will continue to elevate this throughout the upcoming session.