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Council and downtown business representatives begin discussing vacancy tax and economic strategies as sales decline
Summary
Councilors and business stakeholders discussed downtown vacancy, potential revenue options such as a vacancy tax, and the need for an economic development strategy tied to housing and flood recovery; councilors encouraged working with Montpelier Alive and local merchants and to prioritize economic development in upcoming strategic planning.
Councilors devoted an extended portion of the meeting to downtown economic challenges, vacancy in commercial and mixed-use buildings, and possible revenue or policy responses. Councilor Adrienne described a quick survey of commercial vacancies and suggested the city explore strategies that include converting vacant commercial space to housing, incentives for rehabbing properties, and new revenue options beyond budget cuts. She raised a “vacancy tax” as one idea, noting Burlington’s recent adoption of a vacancy fee intended to incentivize re-occupancy and reporting by owners.
Councilors reported outreach with Montpelier Alive and other downtown merchant groups; several councilors and staff encouraged dialog with building owners — individually or in group meetings — to learn why spaces remain empty and whether the city can support conversions or targeted incentives. Councilors noted that housing supply, flood-related building damage, and the loss of shoppers all interact and that a longer-term economic development approach (including housing) will be necessary.
Councilor Jim volunteered to attend an initial Montpelier Alive meeting to hear merchants’ concerns and report back; staff and other councilors recommended using the city plan and strategic-planning process to set priorities and assign staff resources. The council discussed limited internal resources for dedicated economic-development work and acknowledged the need to fund or staff economic-development functions in future budgets.
Some councilors suggested exploring a vacancy tax carefully — acknowledging the risks of penalizing owners who have been unable to find tenants for legitimate reasons — and recommended targeted conversations before any policy change.
Ending: Council agreed to engage with downtown business groups, to use the strategic-planning process to set economic development priorities, and to explore the vacancy tax and other options more fully with data and input from property owners and merchants before any policy adoption.
