Regional planning commissions brief General & Housing Committee on role in housing, infrastructure and flood recovery

Representatives of Vermontregional planning commissions told the state House General & Housing Committee on Wednesday that RPCs are "political subdivisions of the state" and play a central role in implementing the 2024 housing law, supporting municipal planning and helping towns respond to floods and other emergencies.

The presenters said RPCs coordinate regional planning, provide grant-writing and technical assistance to towns, run brownfields assessment programs and work with state agencies on transportation, water-quality and emergency-management projects. They also described the RPCs' funding model and an accelerated schedule for updating regional plans under Act 181.

The committee heard from Charlie Baker, executive director of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission; Catherine Demetrick, executive director of the Northwest Regional Planning Commission; and Christian Meyer, director of the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission. Baker told the committee, "We are political subdivisions of the state. We are government agencies," to emphasize that RPCs are neither state agencies nor nonprofits but a distinct form of local government that serves municipalities.

Why this matters: Act 181 (the 2024 housing and Act 250-related legislation) changes how land-use exemptions and regional plans interact with permitting. Presenters said RPCs have provided guidance to align town, regional and state plans and are on a timeline to update all 11 regional plans by the statutory deadline at the end of 2026. "We are on schedule and on track to follow through with what the legislation calls for us to do," a presenter told the committee.

Scope of RPC work and scale RPCs said they cover the entire state through 11 commissions, employ roughly 135 staff statewide and work with more than 180 municipalities. Presenters described core services including transportation planning (VTrans-funded grants), basin and water-quality planning (Agency of Natural Resources grants), brownfields assessment funded in part by EPA grants, and emergency-planning agreements with Vermont Emergency Management.

Funding and municipal dues Presenters emphasized that RPCs do not receive general tax revenue; nearly all revenue is contract- or grant-based. They said municipal dues account for a small share of RPC budgets (presenters estimated roughly 5%–7%), but those dues are important because they leverage state and federal grants. One presenter said operating budgets for individual RPCs are generally in the low millions of dollars: "My operating budget is about $3,300,000," one director said; another said his operating budget is about $3,000,000 and municipal dues for that RPC were "approaching $75,000." Presenters also described larger pass-through funds for projects such as brownfields cleanup and federally funded infrastructure.

Act 181 and regional planning maps RPC staff briefed the committee on work they have done to produce consistent regional planning maps required under Act 181. Presenters said they have provided guidance to RPCs and to the Natural Resources Board (the land-use review board under the new law) to align maps and reduce disputes in downstream permitting. They reported that all 11 regional plans are on a schedule to be updated by the end of 2026, with some regions submitting plans earlier and others expected to finish in 2025and 2026.

Local bylaws and zoning Presenters gave the committee statewide figures on municipal planning: they reported approximately 240 municipalities have a municipal plan, about 207 have zoning bylaws, roughly 37 have floodplain bylaws in addition to zoning, and 17 municipalities have no bylaws. Committee members asked why some towns lack zoning; presenters attributed that primarily to local philosophical preferences against zoning and limited municipal staff capacity to administer permitting.

Brownfields, housing and economic development RPCs described brownfields assessment programs that provide property-level environmental assessments at no cost to owners, and said several RPCs operate revolving loan funds for cleanup. Presenters gave an example from the Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA) in the Northeast Kingdom where brownfields work is expected to enable 30to35 new housing units. They also described how RPCs work with regional development corporations and municipal leaders on downtown designation, tax-credit applications and revolving funds to support redevelopment.

Emergency management and flood recovery RPCs described their role in emergency response as a data and coordination conduit between towns and Vermont Emergency Management. Presenters described rapid post-flood outreach to towns to identify immediate needs and damage, field visits with municipal officials to document damages for FEMA reimbursement, and longer-term work on hazard mitigation, buyouts and zoning changes to move village areas out of floodplains. Presenters said emergency planning work is performed under agreements with Vermont Emergency Management rather than by statute.

Committee questions and follow-up Committee members asked about municipal dues formulas, whether dues are flat or scaled by population (presenters said most RPCs use a formula tied to size), and about funding mechanisms for infrastructure such as TIF and special assessments; members were told Joint Fiscal Office analysts and staff are available to discuss financing options. Presenters offered to return for deeper briefings on housing and other RPC programs.

No formal committee action was taken during the briefing. Presenters asked committee members to consider three informal policy suggestions they had heard from communities: (1) simplify and expand financing for foundational infrastructure that supports housing, (2) consider adjustments to the appeal process in newly designated growth areas, and (3) review other state permitting to ensure protections achieve their goals without unduly blocking needed housing development. Presenters emphasized these were suggestions for the committee's consideration, not official RPC positions.

Taper: The committee received contact information and encouragement to use RPC staff as a resource for state policy work and local implementation. Committee members were scheduled to continue business the following day with a security briefing and additional testimony.