Municipal leaders press Legislature for infrastructure financing, tax-increment tools and tighter permit-appeal rules to unlock housing

Members of the House Committee on General and Housing heard Feb. 6 from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns that local governments need new financing tools and clearer appeal standards before the state’s land-use reforms will produce the housing lawmakers intended.

Josh Hanford, director of intergovernmental affairs for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, and Samantha Sheehan, the league’s municipal policy specialist, told the committee most of the state’s new housing capacity under Act 181 is tied to municipal water and wastewater and that “building new water and sewer is expensive. Extending, it's expensive. Maintaining, it's expensive,” Sheehan said.

Why it matters: Act 181 and related changes direct more housing to areas with public water and sewer. VLCT officials said many communities either lack that infrastructure or cannot afford the line, pump or connection upgrades needed to serve denser development — and that leaves promising housing proposals stalled.

VLCT outlined two broad ways to help towns pay for the public infrastructure projects that make new housing feasible: a state-enabled tax-increment style program or the…