Manufactured‑housing project in Orleans deemed financially nonviable after Act 250 opposition, developer says

Sean Straffen, owner of New Kingdom Properties LLC, told the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee that his plan to build multiple new manufactured homes in Orleans, Vermont, was abandoned after local opposition and an anticipated Act 250 legal challenge made the project financially nonviable.

Straffen said the concept was to build a cluster of single‑family, Energy Star–rated manufactured homes on municipal water and sewer to create affordable ownership opportunities in the Northeast Kingdom. "We could probably do this project for under $150,000 per unit," Straffen said, describing 3‑bedroom, 2‑bath homes he bought through Skyline Homes and the company’s HUD certification to install and inspect manufactured housing.

The project Straffen described would have placed 51 units on about 20.8 acres, with estimated infrastructure costs of roughly $3 million. Straffen said town bylaws — which he described as allowing only one unit per acre in the industrial zone as written — and the prospect of an Act 250 appeal changed the economics. "When the bylaws were applied, it brought it down to about 20 houses and pushed the finished cost to about $266,000 per unit," Straffen said.

Senator Keisha Rumsdale said the naming of an experienced land‑use law firm and the invocation of Act 250 created a chilling effect on the project. "That is a very chilling thing we hear about a lot ... the pedigree of the person who will be fighting you in court to stop your project," Rumsdale said, describing how the legal threat halted fundraising and financing.

Straffen said the property in question had municipal infrastructure and had been listed by NVDA. He told senators he had discussed the site with David Snedeker of the Northeast Vermont Development Association and that Northern Borders grant funding had been explored to offset infrastructure costs. Straffen said a public town meeting drew roughly 70 attendees, with about 50 ultimately opposed; a petition followed the meeting.

Committee members asked about technical feasibility. Straffen and senators said engineers had reviewed the site and that utilities and sewage capacity could be engineered to serve higher density. The committee also discussed zoning: Straffen said the land had been permitted historically for manufactured housing and had been used for industrial zoning in the past. Senator Tom Chittenden noted the parcel had once been zoned for industrial use and that 15% of the property sat inside the state’s village development center map.

Straffen told the committee that his group pulled the offer when the potential legal costs and zoning limits made the financing unsustainable. He said funders including Vermont Community Loan Fund and the Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) had been engaged and that nearly all financing was in place before the opposition and legal threat made the final 10% of capital impossible to secure.

Several senators framed the episode as an example of a broader problem they want to address through legislation. Committee members discussed proposals that would limit the ability of appeals to stop construction once municipal permits and A/R (Act 250) permit reviews are issued, or otherwise clarify timing so that projects may proceed while appeals run. Senator Rumsdale described pending bill language to reduce the "chilling effect" of naming legal challengers and to expand exemptions for housing on former industrial sites.

Straffen said he will continue to pursue manufactured housing work elsewhere and offered to consult with the committee on manufactured‑housing matters going forward.

The committee did not take any formal votes during the testimony; senators said they plan to follow up with drafted statutory changes and additional hearings as they refine proposals to limit appeal‑related delays and to create clearer exemptions for housing on former industrial sites.