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VHFA outlines year-plus study on off-site manufactured housing; requests $250,000 appropriation and flexible scope
Summary
The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) told the committee that a meaningful state plan for off-site manufactured housing requires time and funding; VHFA proposed a broadly scoped study supported by $250,000, with periodic progress reports rather than a fully fleshed plan by November.
Maura Collins, executive director of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), told the House General and Housing Committee that the agency can lead a statewide study of off-site manufactured housing but that the work will take longer and be costlier than some members hoped.
Collins summarized the scope the agency would need to cover: types of off-site construction (from modular single-family units to multifamily panelized buildings), homeowner vs. rental models, siting and parcel availability, utility hookups and installation costs, workforce availability and training, in-state manufacturing capacity and possible bulk-purchase models, energy-code and building-code compatibility (including coordination with the Building Energy Code Working Group), financing pathways (whether homeownership or rental, interaction with Freddie/Fannie products), project selection and geographic distribution, and resident-selection and fair-housing policies.
She said answering those questions will require engagement with manufacturers, regional planning commissions (RPCs), developers and other states with operational programs. "I cannot get you a report by November if it's gonna be something that you're gonna consider a major state investment," Collins said, adding VHFA could provide progress reports at regular intervals. VHFA proposed a budget of $250,000 to support a combination of in-house staff coordination, external consultants, stakeholder engagement and limited reimbursements for community outreach.
Collins said the study can be narrowed if the committee gives specific parameters (for example: homeownership only, rental only, limit to single-family units, or prioritize in‑state manufacturers). She also favored including "but not limited to" language in the list of study tasks so VHFA could cover necessary items that the committee might not have foreseen. Collins encouraged the committee to expect iterative progress rather than a finished program by the winter deadline given the scope and interdependency with other ongoing studies.
Committee members expressed support for the study but asked VHFA to produce interim progress reports and to coordinate with other state efforts. Members also asked VHFA whether the agency was comfortable accepting loans as well as grants for other programs; VHFA said it would coordinate in-house and with partner agencies if the committee chose to allow loans. The committee did not vote but signaled support for VHFA to lead the work with the requested appropriation.
