Two Ways To Incentivize More Housing in Vermont
Notes from my testimony to the Vermont Senate Committee on Economic Development and Housing.
Hey — Jonah here. This is Brick + Mortar where I share insight into the acquisition, financing, design, construction, and operations of my real estate development projects at Village Ventures.
First, a few updates at 501 Main.
Incentivizing Small-Scale Development
Two weeks ago, I was invited to testify in front of the Vermont Senate Committee on Economic Development and Housing.
There are several, progressive housing bills being drafted that tackle local zoning, state policy, and affordable housing funding. All in an effort to make it easier for both large and small developers to build more housing.
I focused on two issues:
Act 250: A Vermont-specific land use and development regulation which requires developers to step through expensive and time-consuming hoops under certain circumstances. One of the triggers being if you develop 10+ units within a 5-mile radius in 5 years (e.g. now that I’ve developed 8 net new units in Fairlee at 501 Main, building even a duplex anywhere within 5 miles will trigger Act 250 for me).
Solution: Relax Act 250 regulations in priority areas (i.e. village centers and downtowns) for priority projects (i.e. housing). Remove the 10-5-5 rule.
Funding sources: Lack of financing (debt and grant) options for small-scale development. I cited my experience trying to find funding for 61 N Pleasant (even with VHCB proving to be a viable option, the number of available funding sources is insufficient).
Solution: Create new affordable housing programs (or loosen restrictions on existing ones) that support smaller projects fitting the scale of our Vermont towns.
Here is a recap that I shared with the committee following the hearing.
There is a lot of chatter about housing policy at the state level. I’m excited to see where the legislation lands.
Until next time.
— Jonah 🧱
Thanks for submitting testimony on this important issue. The law needs to be re-thought and updated at the very least.
Exciting....