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Fairhaven town manager tells Vermont committee SPARK could unlock stalled housing projects
Summary
Fairhaven Town Manager Joseph Gunter told lawmakers Feb. 11 that without a program like SPARK the town cannot attract developers for large housing projects and that municipal capacity and finances limit local ability to build infrastructure needed for housing.
Joseph Gunter, town manager of Fairhaven, told the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Feb. 11 that his 3,000-person town has multiple housing needs and lost at least one large proposed development because the municipality could not offer financial incentives or undertake major infrastructure work.
Gunter said a private developer with plans for about 100 acres and housing-ready designs abandoned the proposal when the town could not assist with road, water and sewer upgrades. “My community is 3,000 people. We don’t have $4,000,000 to drop on roads and lights and expanding that waterline,” Gunter said.
The town manager described Fairhaven’s efforts to address housing…
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