State Policy

View our 2008 Legislative Wrap-Up

Vermont is widely known for protecting the environment, managing growth and development, and preserving historic downtowns.  A summary of smart growth policies and laws demonstrates this commitment.  Indeed, the state has taken bold action in banning billboards, adopting Act 250 and Act 200, and establishing the Vermont Downtown Program.  Smart Growth Vermont was a leader in developing and strengthening this successful program. 

We were also a leader in workiing for the enactment of Act 183, the state's growth center law.  Act 183 was enacted in response to the growing concern that scattered, unplanned development threatens the fabric of our communities.  Building on the Downtown Program, which was created with the support of Smart Growth Vermont, the new Growth Centers Program levels the playing field, making it easier and more predictable for developers to build in and around our downtowns and villages.  It encourages communities, through financial and regulatory incentives, to plan for compact, mixed-use growth centers. 

Vermont has rested on its environmental laurels for far too long.  State government continues to make decisions that undermine the statutory planning and development goals and smart growth principles adopted to sustain these initiatives.  To harness the innovation and creativity that will shape the state’s future in the coming years, Vermont needs strong, committed leadership.  

Smart Growth Vermont has established a record of achievement and reputation for balanced research and creative solutions.  We have built on that record by documenting how state policy decisions affect land use, working to ensure that major development projects do not undermine local economies and communities, and continuing to assist the Legislature in developing good public policy on such issues as growth centers, farmland protection, and coordination of state agencies on matters related to major development projects.

2008 Legislative Session - Issues Overview

Smart Growth Vermont has worked with our legislative partners to support legislation to:

  • Further strengthen the Downtown and Village Center Program through expanded tax incentives;
  • Support the Growth Center Program through additional incentives, including those intended to create new housing opportunities;
  • Ensure that housing legislation reinforces Vermont’s traditional settlement patterns, and that efforts to reduce regulatory oversight in smart growth locations are balanced with appropriate protection in rural areas; and
  • Support increased funding for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Fund to its full statutory formula, and revise the property transfer tax to reduce the amount paid by Vermonters purchasing affordable homes and off-setting that lost revenue through an increase in the transfer fee charged to purchasers of expensive vacation homes.
  • The Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative used its 2007 State of Vermont Smart Growth Progress Report to educate lawmakers about the state's progress in implementing its own smart growth policies on housing, conservation, transportation and land use and development regulation. The Report's most troubling finding was that the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources is consistently ignoring its own wastewater funding rule. Adopted in 2002, this rule was intended to prevent state revolving loan fund dollars from supporting construction of wastewater facilities serving sprawl locations. We will work with Collaborative members to address some of the concerns raised in the report to ensure that state spending reinforces the long-standing state goals of promoting smart growth and discouraging sprawl.

2007 Legislative Session Wrap-up

During the 2007 legislative session, Smart Growth Vermont, along with our legislative partner, Preservation Trust of Vermont (PTV), and members of the Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative, was successful with several initiatives. These included:

Technical Correction Bill on Growth Centers and New Town Centers
S.148 made technical corrections to an inconsistency between designated growth centers and designated new town centers. Communities lacking a traditional downtown will now be able to take advantage of the growth centers program by designating a "new town center" to serve as the central business district for that area.

Downtown Tax Credits
Working closely with the Preservation Trust of Vermont, we were successful in advocating for an increase in the amount of tax credits available to owners of buildings in designated downtowns and village centers. Included as part of the annual budget, tax credits for upgrading building facades and making code improvements in designated downtowns and village centers were increased from $1.5 million to $1.6 million. Considering how tight last year’s state budget was, this increase indicates strong legislative support for this cost effective program that provides many benefits for Vermont's downtowns.

Vermont Housing and Conservation Fund
The Vermont Housing and Conservation Fund, which uses a percentage of the statewide property tax to develop affordable housing and permanently protect farmland and natural areas, is the among the state’s most successful smart growth programs.  Unfortunately, the program has not been funded at its full statutory formula for many years.  While we were not able to achieve full funding last year, the Legislature did increase funding by 4.5%.  

Sprawl Housing Measure Rejected
Smart Growth Vermont recognizes the need for a greater diversity in the housing choices available to working Vermonters, and strongly supports incentives to promote housing in smart growth locations, such as designated growth centers.  A legislative proposal referred to as "New Neighborhoods" was introduced with this stated purpose.  The details of the bill, however, would have exempted scattered, low-density subdivisions far from existing town centers from state regulatory review.  We opposed this bill, which was ultimately rejected by the leadership in the House and Senate. We are committed to working with housing organizations, local and regional planners, environmental organizations and other stakeholders to craft an alternative to New Neighborhoods that will strengthen, not undermine, Vermont’s traditional settlement pattern of compact villages surrounded by rural countryside.

State Government Resources

Governor James Douglas' Website
Agency of Transportation
Agency of Natural Resources
Natural Resources Board
Vermont Housing and Conservation Board
Department of Housing and Community Affairs
Vermont Legislature