VHCB and Champlain Housing Trust outline farmworker housing progress as lawmakers weigh S.328 language
Loading...
Summary
Polly Major of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and Julie Curtin of Champlain Housing Trust told lawmakers the on‑farm farmworker housing program has reached dozens of projects, described loan and replacement terms, and urged S.328 language that would require a program progress report rather than a new needs assessment.
Polly Major, director of policy and special projects for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, told a legislative committee the board’s on‑farm farmworker housing program was created after a 2021 needs assessment to address a discrete, high‑need population of workers living in or beside farms.
"The program that we established was focused, specifically on farm worker housing as a really high need and unique population," Major said, describing the board’s recommendation and the resulting request for proposals that led to Champlain Housing Trust running the program.
The program emerged from a VHCB‑commissioned synthesis of research and surveys released in 2021 that identified roughly 600 on‑farm dwellings in need of improvement and described systemic problems such as overcrowding, inadequate appliances, moisture and septic issues, and lead hazards. The assessment also estimated about 2,000 hired farmworkers live on or next to farms and roughly 6,500 work independently off‑farm.
Julie Curtin, director of homeownership at Champlain Housing Trust, summarized the program’s activity since it began accepting applications in February 2022. "We have 74 projects that will improve housing for 283 farm workers," Curtin said, and she added that 15 replacement projects affecting 78 workers are in the pipeline. Most applications come from farm owners, with referrals from UVM Extension, the Milk with Dignity Standards Council and Efficiency Vermont.
Curtin described the program’s repair and replacement financing. "We offer loans ranging from $3,000 to $30,000," she said, noting most projects request the $30,000 maximum and that the product is structured as a declining‑balance loan: forgiven by 10% each year the unit continues to house farm labor and the farm remains in agriculture. For very expensive replacement work, CHT can offer loans up to $120,000; Curtin said the forgivable portion remains $30,000 and the remainder is secured with a mortgage repayable on sale or if the use changes.
Major and Curtin also reviewed federal and regulatory constraints. Major said a USDA Rural Development program exists to finance on‑farm housing but is difficult to use in Vermont because it requires verification of legal status for all occupants and is best suited to larger, concentrated developments. Committee members raised questions about whether farmworker housing is exempt under Act 250; witnesses said housing is generally not exempt and noted local enforcement of rental standards often depends on voluntary town health officials.
On funding, Major said VHCB has used one‑time appropriations and Housing Conservation Trust Fund dollars to sustain the program and that prior surplus funds allowed larger annual investments. "We have been investing about $60 million to $90 million in housing each year; we're looking at maybe $30 million to $40 million this year," Major said, warning that reduced annual resources would force tradeoffs among priorities including shelter, recovery housing, rental housing and farmworker housing.
Lawmakers and witnesses discussed program mechanics — eligibility limited to housing for farm employees (not owner‑occupied homes), an annual self‑certification process for occupancy counts and planned on‑site inspections during the forgiveness period — and technical barriers such as septic capacity and bank lending constraints in conserved land contexts. Curtin emphasized energy standards for replacements, noting many new modular homes include solar panels and heat pumps.
Committee discussion turned to the wording of an S.328 amendment that directs VHCB to provide a report. Major said she recommended language clarifying VHCB should "report on the progress made toward meeting the goals identified in the farmworker needs assessment," describe the program VHCB established, evaluate its impact, and identify barriers that merit further study — rather than commissioning a new needs assessment.
The committee paused for lunch with plans for additional testimony later in the day; VHCB and CHT said they would provide a program update under the clarified reporting language.
