The state of Vermont needs housing. It’s an issue that has been a focus for Governor Phil Scott. As legislation is considered this session that could ease the housing crisis his weekly briefing today centered on a bill to revise a half-century-old statewide zoning law.
Act 250 is Vermont’s land and development review law. It was passed in 1970 to control development and protect the state’s environment. But 50 years later Republican Governor Phil Scott says the statewide zoning law has led to the current housing crisis in the state.
“They were written at a time when Vermont was growing too fast and their goal was to stop building. Well, they were successful given the majority of Vermont’s housing stock was built before 1960. But it’s now 2023 so it’s time we make meaningful smart changes to address the problems Vermonters are facing today.”
The intent of Senate Bill 100 is to increase affordable housing by addressing land use, municipal zoning and Act 250. Governor Scott says as originally passed by the Senate Economic Development Committee it struck an important balance. But the Republican says it has been weakened in subsequent committee review.
“If the legislature continues to ignore Act 250 reforms I don’t believe they can say they’re serious about solving our housing crisis. Importantly the changes made by Senate Natural Resources remove pieces of the bill that would help lower income families and rural communities.
Vermont League of Cities and Towns Executive Director Ted Brady says the current draft ignores the biggest obstacle to housing development across the state: Act 250.
“We’re proposing that S.100 needs to restore the original version that came out of Senate Economic Development that had some of these provisions. One, we need to eliminate Act 250 jurisdiction in designated areas. We want to facilitate growth where we want growth. Two, we need to increase the number of units that can be built before Act 250 is triggered. I don’t think most Vermonters know that there’s this thing called the 5-5-10 rule which means you can’t build 10 houses in 5 years within 5 miles of each other. Why? Senate Economic Development suggested a modest increase to 24 units. And finally we need to delegate Act 250 review to municipalities with robust planning and zoning capabilities.”
Vermont Housing Finance Agency Executive Director Maura Collins said when the legislative session began she was optimistic that meaningful progress would be made on making housing more accessible and affordable.
“This was a Smart Growth bill and as a key provision it changed Act 250 to allow for up to 25 homes to be built before needing a state permit, which was an increase from the current limit of ten. And as the bill is winding its way through the process it’s evolving and its broad statewide impact is now being limited to only a few select communities. It’s looking more and more like the legislature wants to concentrate dense affordable housing in our downtowns. It also leaves our smaller rural towns behind.”
Collins cited state tax department data that in 2022 Vermont saw the largest jump in home prices since data started being collected in the 1980’s. Half of new homes listed with realtors cost over $550,000.
