Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use And Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CCRPC summarizes Act 181/ECOS outreach, housing targets and future land‑use map; schedule set for municipal review and LURB submission
Summary
CCRPC staff reported they received hundreds of public comments and held roughly 140 events for ECOS/Act 181 outreach and outlined a timetable through fall 2025 for municipal memos, LRPC review and an October submission to the Land Use Review Board.
Staff reported May 21 on implementation progress for Act 181 and the ECOS regional plan, summarizing extensive outreach, preliminary findings and a phased schedule for municipal review and formal regional plan submission.
The outreach: Taylor (Chandler Newton, Planning Program Director) told the board public comment on the ECOS plan’s future land use map and housing targets closed May 19. Staff summarized participation: the map viewer received 238 comments; 58 individuals interacted with the map viewer and submitted comments; staff received 29 emailed comments and 15 direct housing‑target forms. The team has held or attended roughly 140 events since September 2024, including focus groups with non‑English proficiency communities and a June 6 session planned with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board27s Land Access and Opportunity Board (LAOB) to hear from houseless individuals.
Key findings: staff said common themes include questions about alignment between municipal and regional plans, concerns in rural communities about sprawl and infrastructure limits (water and sewer), and a desire for the plan to align with climate and smart‑growth objectives (concentrated growth in transit corridors). Staff reported generally moderate acceptance of the proposed housing targets, though some requested higher targets in transit corridors and the cities. Municipal staff asked for additional technical and financial assistance to carry out infrastructure and planning work.
Map categories and public questions: board members raised recurring questions about the purpose of the non‑urban land‑use categories (for example, rural conservation, rural agriculture/forestry and similar categories). Staff explained that the current regional map is primarily descriptive and that the statutory criteria used to establish categories constrain how the plan addresses local concerns; staff acknowledged municipalities want clarity about how regional categories relate to municipal control and future policy or funding programs.
Schedule and next steps: staff will issue municipal memos summarizing engagement for each municipality on a rolling basis in June–July; the Long‑Range Planning Committee (LRPC) will consider three municipal memos at its June 10 meeting and the remainder at its July meeting(s). The board will review a revised draft map on July 16. Staff plans to submit the full ECOS plan to the Land Use Review Board (LURB) for its 60‑day pre‑public‑hearing review on or around Oct. 15; LURB review and state agency comments would be received in December with a goal of formal public hearings and adoption work in early 2026 and final adoption by June 2026.
Outreach and equity concerns: staff described targeted engagement with Arabic, Nepali, French and Swahili speaking communities and with houseless individuals; board members noted a recent housing event had low representation from people of color and urged more community‑based outreach where people already gather. Staff noted those connections and committed to continuing targeted outreach and to posting summary documents online.
Why it matters: Act 181 changes the regional planning process and attaches more weight to the regional plan in state review and funding programs (including designations and tiering). The ECOS plan and the future land‑use map will inform housing targets and where municipalities may seek Act 250 jurisdiction adjustments (tier 1A / 1B decisions) and funding opportunities tied to concentrated growth areas.
