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House General and Housing debates CHIPS TIF tool’s location rules and affordability safeguards
Summary
Lawmakers heard testimony on S.127’s CHIPS project-based tax-increment financing device, focusing on whether location criteria and Act 250 permitting should determine eligibility and on proposals to require a portion of CHIPS-funded homes be affordable to low- and moderate-income Vermonters.
House General and Housing continued testimony on S.127 Wednesday as state housing officials and advocates discussed a project-based tax-increment financing device (CHIPS) designed to pay for infrastructure tied to housing development.
The bill, described by witnesses as a financing tool rather than a land-use mandate, drew the most attention on two fronts: whether the statute should include detailed location criteria tied to tiers and Act 250 permitting, and whether the program should require or incentivize a specific share of affordable homes in CHIPS-funded developments.
Alex Farrell, commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Development, told the committee the bill should avoid trying to solve all land-use problems and focus on financing infrastructure. “Maybe don't try to solve every housing issue with this,” Farrell said, urging lawmakers to view CHIPS as one piece of a project’s funding stack and to rely on existing permitting and local zoning to address land-use concerns.
Farrell recommende…
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