Researchers urge treating farmland conservation and affordable housing as linked goals

A team of researchers told a legislative committee that Vermont should treat agricultural land conservation and affordable housing as interconnected priorities rather than competing ones.

"Rather than operating within a framework of ag land conservation versus affordable housing development, it is actually more accurate and constructive to consider them in tandem," said Jennifer Morgan Davey, one of the presenters.

The presenters summarized Vermont's current-use and Act 250 frameworks, described proposed changes under Act 181, and compared state approaches in Maine and New York. They said state policy debates center on how to avoid development sprawl while creating more housing that farmworkers and other low-income residents can afford.

Why it matters: presenters said Vermont faces simultaneous pressures from rising home prices and loss of farmland. They noted a steep decline in the share of renters able to afford a median-priced Vermont home (presenters cited figures dropping from 32% in 2021 to 6% in 2023) and said the state has set targets to build additional housing (presenters referenced a target of 41,000 new homes; date in the transcript was unclear). At the same time, presenters said the…