Vermont council unveils CHIP guidelines to deploy $2 billion for housing infrastructure

Jessica Hartleben, executive director of the Vermont Economic Progress Council, told the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on Jan. 7 that the council has finalized guidelines and is preparing to launch the Community and Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP), a statewide tax-increment financing tool aimed at unlocking housing by investing in infrastructure. "$2,000,000,000 is going to be invested between now and December 2035," Hartleben said, and she said the program’s targeted launch date is January 2026.

The guidelines set out who can apply, the program’s finance rules and municipal responsibilities, and a schedule for applications and oversight. CHIP will pay for infrastructure — roads, septic, site preparation, transportation improvements and certain soft costs — that ‘‘serve a public good’’ and ‘‘directly support the development of an eligible housing development,’’ Hartleben said. She noted a pre-interest application form is already live and that the full application…