Champlain Housing Trust describes VHCB‑funded farmworker housing repair and replacement program

Julie Curtin, director of homeownership at Champlain Housing Trust (CHT), told the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee CHT administers a statewide VHCB‑funded farmworker housing repair and replacement program launched in 2022 and executed with partners including UVM Extension, Efficiency Vermont, and the Milk with Dignity Standards Council.

Curtin said the repair program issues loans from $3,000 to $30,000 to improve existing on‑farm housing. Repairs are structured as principal reductions that decline 10% per year over 10 years; there is no interest and no payments due while the housing remains designated for farmworker use. CHT can fund up to two dwelling units per farm in the repair program, she said.

Curtin described a replacement track, used when existing units cannot reasonably be repaired; projects include factory‑manufactured zero‑energy modular homes with solar panels. For replacement projects CHT provides development‑level capital and coordinates a capital stack that has included ARPA funds, charitable dollars (Milk with Dignity Standards Council), regular lending, and other state or federal sources. Curtin said CHT has completed three replacement projects with several more in production.

Curtin told the committee VHCB investment to date in CHT’s program is about $2,600,000 for repairs and roughly $1,100,000 for replacements. She said CHT has completed almost 50 repair projects (almost 70 total completed projects counting multiple units at some farms), and that about 175 farmworkers have benefited from improved housing through the program.

Members asked how CHT sizes annual requests to VHCB given uncertainty in VHCB funding and federal matches. Curtin said CHT sizes asks based on the pipeline and noted the VHCB award history: an initial $500,000 in 2022 followed by additional awards through 2023. Witnesses and committee members also discussed larger federal funding opportunities; Curtin said CHT applied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this fall for a $14,000,000 grant that would expand replacement work to an additional 50 repairs and 14 replacements if awarded.

Committee members asked whether the CHT loan program is restricted to conserved farms and whether it could be used for other workforce housing. Curtin said the program serves farms statewide, both conserved and unconserved; the program is strictly for farmworker housing improvements and loans are tied to use restrictions requiring the units remain farmworker housing. Curtin said CHT does coordinate with land trusts and VHCB on projects that affect conserved parcels or require approvals related to septic or easement constraints.

Curtin and other witnesses urged full funding of VHCB as proposed in the governor’s budget so the repair and replacement program can continue and scale. She noted that replacement projects often require intensive project management and multiple funding sources because farms cannot carry large debt loads.

No formal actions were taken; testimony and questions will inform upcoming budget deliberations and possible grant decisions.