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Senate Institutions hears call to fully fund VHCB programs; projects, delays and costs highlighted
Summary
Presenters representing the Vermont Housing and Conservation Coalition urged the Senate Institutions committee to fully fund the statutory share of VHCB programs and described several housing and conservation projects — including a 25‑unit Putney development, a Brattleboro reuse and a multi‑phase chalet redevelopment — noting appeals and delays drove up costs.
Senate Institutions on Feb. 13 heard appeals from implementers of Vermont Housing & Conservation Board programs to restore and sustain full statutory funding for housing and conservation projects across the state.
Marion Majer, of the Wyndham and Windsor Housing Trust and representing the Vermont Housing and Conservation Coalition, asked lawmakers to "fully fund BHCP's statutory share," and walked the committee through recent projects that, she said, illustrate how VHCB funds leverage other sources to create permanent housing and conserved land. "These funds create resources that are available not only for a few years, but for our community members to access even decades after we've made that initial investment," Majer said.
Majer described Alice Covey Drive in Putney, a 25‑unit permanently affordable development with community garden space and two apartment buildings now under construction. She said the project received permits in 2022 but then faced two sets of appeals that went to environmental court and required jurisdictional opinions; those appeals, Majer told the committee, delayed construction and increased costs because of prolonged timelines and legal expenses.
Majer also described Holton Home in Brattleboro, a historic structure planned for redevelopment with up to five units set aside for people with developmental disabilities and their shared‑living providers, and a completed modular shared‑equity single‑family home at 316 South Street in Springfield built for a family displaced by flooding.
A larger redevelopment — a chalet site purchased in 2020 on an emergency COVID timeline — was presented as a phased project that begins with a 31‑unit multifamily building and includes single‑family shared‑equity homeownership opportunities, additional multifamily units and preserved historic structures. Majer said the project was named a priority in a Southeast Vermont economic strategy and has received a congressional funding allocation, as reported in the presentation.
Committee members pressed presenters on the effects of appeals and delays. Majer acknowledged the appeals and described them as "a doubleheader" of processes, which required legal representation and increased costs. A senator on the dais said Vermont had previously tried to reduce the burden of appeals where localities clearly supported a project, but constitutional requirements for appeals remain a constraint.
Majer emphasized the intertwined missions of housing and conservation, saying the VHCB structure allows the two to be planned together — conserving farmland, trails and streams while creating permanently affordable housing "that is a safeguard against gentrification." She closed by thanking the committee for past support and urging continued full funding of the VHCB statutory share.
The committee did not take a vote during this presentation; members requested further information on per‑unit costs and the precise funding mix for several projects.
What happens next: presenters asked for continued statutory funding; committee members said they will follow up on cost figures and funding sources at a later appropriation or budget review step.
