Vermont has a housing crisis.
Insufficient quantity and inadequate quality of housing stock; skyrocketing real estate prices; high rental prices driven higher in some markets by units being sold and flipped or turned into short-term rentals; increasing land, building materials, and labor costs that drive up development prices; permitting hurdles that both slow the construction process and drive up costs; and, incidentally, ever-increasing property taxes.
We have all heard stories, we have the data, the need is well documented. What role can local government play in facilitating housing development and redevelopment so all Vermonters, whether they have been here five minutes or five generations, can live, work, play, learn, and build community in the places they love?
Great question. It will look different in each community. Many are looking to change their outdated zoning regulations that actually present obstacles and barriers to new housing creation (of any kind). Others will explore the feasibility of using vacant and available town-owned land with an eye towards creating compact neighborhoods. Still others will use their local ARPA funds to seed creative ideas to help solve the housing dilemma, like land banking, programs to incentivize residents to develop accessory dwelling units, creating a housing trust fund, etc. While others will do the hard work of developing municipal water and wastewater systems, which are foundational to support not only the development of affordable housing but also all types of small businesses, even just a small village café in your community.
Need one-on-one help?
Grab 15 minutes with us for a "Consults on Call"* appointment! Whether your project is just in the idea phase, has started to gain momentum, has stalled completely or you just need help prioritizing projects before you get started, let us help you.
Our "Consults on Call" hours are Wednesdays, 1:00-2:00 pm and 7:00-8:00 pm. Simply click the "Book An Appointment" button, select the date and time that works best for you and complete the details. If you think you need more than 15 minutes, please email FFA@vlct.org to schedule a longer time slot.
*"Consults on Call" services are only available to VLCT's members and associate members. If you do not have an official role with a VLCT member organization (selectboard, city council, trustee, Town Manager or Administrator, town clerk, treasurer, planning commissioner, etc.) we will not be able to work with you - not because we don't want to but we have a small team and simply need to put our members first!
