CCRPC advances ECOS plan edits for Act 181 compliance; Board may act on submission in October

Taylor Newton, Planning Program Director, updated the committee on staff work to align CCRPC’s ECOS plan with Act 181. Newton said land‑use staff have shifted focus from the Future Land Use map to editing plan text, with special attention to the Land Use and Housing sections to ensure compliance with the statute.

Newton outlined a schedule: the Long Range Planning Committee will review all plan changes since August 2024, hold a late‑August session to review environmental benefits and burdens and housing targets (including Burlington’s FLU map), and meet again in September; the Board is expected to receive a full formatted draft in September and staff hope the Board will approve submitting the plan to the Land Use Review Board (LURB) at the October meeting.

Charlie Baker said CCRPC staff had met with the Vermont Natural Resources Council, which expressed interest in participating in CCRPC’s plan adoption process and LURB’s pre‑application review. Newton noted that while municipalities have shown buy‑in for the current map, the State may require map changes as part of LURB review.

Committee members also discussed community engagement materials; Baker clarified that Act 181 requires an environmental benefits and burdens analysis but the statute is not prescriptive about its content, creating uncertainty that staff are trying to resolve through advisory committee review and external partner input.