House committee weighs tighter CHIP housing tests, 60% housing floor-area target and residency limits

The Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on April 29 debated several changes to the state’s proposed CHIP (Housing Capital and Infrastructure Program) legislation in S.127, including adding a requirement that municipalities or the state review board explicitly determine whether a proposed housing infrastructure project “furthers the purposes” of Section 19 07; setting a suggested 60% minimum of floor area dedicated to housing; and narrowing or removing a provision that units be offered exclusively as primary residences “throughout the life of the housing development site.”

Committee members and legislative counsel said the proposed edits would give reviewers a clearer standard to check whether a project advances the bill’s goal to encourage development of primary residences affordable to low- and moderate-income households. John Grayhaus, legislative counsel to the committee, outlined two insertion points under discussion: require a municipality to include a determination in the housing development plan under Section 19 08, or add an independent project criterion in the FEPC/board application review under Section 19 10 so the board itself must make the finding.

Why it matters: the changes would affect when and how projects qualifying for public infrastructure support are screened for housing intent, and they could change which projects reach the CHIP board for final review. Maura Collins, executive director of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, told the committee she “strongly want[s] to be on the record as saying that it should be at least 60% of the floor area of the development that benefits from…