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.