Vermont Forum on Sprawl S.142 Benefits Communities, Promotes Housing
and Provides Greater Regulatory Certainty By creating a comprehensive growth centers program that builds on the existing downtown statute and associated revisions to Act 250, S.142 will: Strengthen local planning by focusing on the existing local planning process to support growth centers planning; directing regional planning commissions to provide support services; and providing preferential access to state grant programs that fund those activities. Make good use of limited state resources by directing investment to those areas that are planned to accommodate a significant share of the state’s anticipated growth and development, ensuring that the state gets the biggest “bang for its bucks” in terms of housing density and commercial and industrial development. Enhance Vermont’s economic climate by maintaining Vermont’s rural landscape and growing economically vital town centers. While economic development for most of the 20th century focused on attracting large industrial facilities and building massive highway projects, economic development in the 21st century is about maintaining livable communities, nurturing technology and the “creative economy,” and maximizing energy efficiency. Growth centers, built in accordance with smart growth principles, will further these goals. Promote new housing opportunities for working Vermonters by granting regulatory relief to new residential neighborhoods that are located in planned community centers. The lack of affordable housing has been identified by Governor James Douglas as Vermont’s greatest economic development issue. The lack of land with available infrastructure and adequate zoning densities is one of the greatest obstacles to housing providers. Provide greater regulatory certainty in designated growth centers by allowing municipalities to address various Act 250 review criteria prior to the submission of individual applications, thereby creating areas of the state where, through careful municipal planning, development decisions are left at the local level. Address recurring conflicts over how Act 250 criterion regarding the protection of primary agricultural soils should be administered, and relax the standard for development of primary agricultural soils within designated growth centers. Help local municipalities build infrastructure (e.g., expand wastewater capacity, mitigate traffic congestion, create public parking or enhance public transportation) by making growth centers eligible for tax increment financing.
S.142 Strengthens Vermont’s Downtowns, Supports Local Planning &
Encourages Compact Development Senate bill 142 (S.142 – “an Act relating to creation of designated growth centers and downtown tax credit program”) was approved by the Vermont Legislature on non-partisan votes. Commonly referred to as the downtown and growth centers bill, S-142, has the following objectives: Expand, and streamline the existing tax credit program for historic building renovation and life safety improvements of historic structures in designated downtowns and designated village centers. Build upon the successful Vermont Downtown Program by creating a new process for designating locally planned “growth centers.” The proposed growth centers program: Allows for voluntary participation, as is the case with the downtown and village center program; Includes a state definition of “growth center” based upon defining characteristics identified by state agencies and planning organizations over the past 20 years, and is intended to foster compact, mixed-use development that emanates out from traditional downtowns and village centers and, in some instances, from designated “new town centers; Supports locally initiated planning that is based upon three key local tools: a municipal plan, local bylaws that implement the plan, and a locally approved capital budget and program; Encourages growth centers that are planned to accommodate a significant share of a municipality’s projected growth over a 20-year period. To help municipalities plan for this growth, regional planning commissions are directed to provide growth projections and build-out assistance, and municipalities engaged in growth centers planning are given priority status when applying for municipal planning grants from the State.
Encourage more affordable housing by revising the thresholds that trigger Act 250 jurisdiction for mixed-use and mixed-income housing projects within designated growth centers. Eliminate the need for individual projects to demonstrate compliance with certain Act 250 criteria (e.g., conformance with the town and regional plans) before an application is even filed, creating more certainty in the regulatory process. At the discretion of a municipality, this bill can provide regulatory relief to landowners within designated growth centers by authorizing the Land Use Panel of the Vermont Natural Resources Board (formerly the Environmental Board) to grant findings of fact and conclusions of law for various Act 250 criteria. Address confusion and uncertainty involving primary agricultural soils mitigation in the Act 250 review process, and clearly authorize off-site soils mitigation and eliminate on-site soils preservation for projects located within growth centers. S.142 Significantly Improves the Financial Incentives
Offered by the Designated Downtown and Village Center Program These changes are particularly exciting news for smaller communities and for small businesses: Increases the global cap on the Downtown and Village Center Program tax credits from $1M to $1.5M. Extends to Designated Village Centers all the same valuable incentives currently available to Designated Downtown private property owners Consolidates all the incentives to reduce the amount of red tape confusion Provides innovative tax credit transaction options to make the incentives more user friendly for small businesses. Increases the individual tax credit limits for life safety and access improvements.
The Vermont Forum on Sprawl works for more housing options for all Vermonters, vibrant villages and downtowns, and productive farm and forest lands. For more information, please visit www.vtsprawl.org.
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