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VTrans outlines how Act 181 changes may reduce Act 145 fee assessments, urges RPC engagement
Summary
VTrans described roles in Act 250 reviews, explained the Act 145 transportation impact fee formula and deductions, reported historical collections, and warned that Act 181 exemptions could limit VTrans’s ability to assess fees; VTrans plans a Transportation Support Study due to the legislature by December 2025.
Chris Clow, VTrans, briefed the Transportation Advisory Committee on March 5, 2025, about VTrans’s role in Act 250 reviews and the implications of recent changes under Acts 145 and 181.
Clow explained that VTrans participates in Act 250 by holding weekly internal meetings, soliciting input from regional planning commissions and host municipalities, reviewing applications for transportation impacts, and entering appearances at district commission hearings when appropriate. He reported that in 2024 VTrans reviewed 256 Act 250 applications, entered an appearance in 42 cases, and that 12 projects had Act 145 transportation impact fees assessed.
Clow described the Act 145 fee mechanism (enacted in 2014) as a way for developers to pay a “fair share” toward transportation capital projects; fees are triggered by Act 250 applications and are calculated based on total project cost divided by total vehicular peak-hour capacity, with adjustments and deductions for traffic allocations from existing permits, net change in trips, location in a designated center, transportation demand management measures, and developer-built improvements. He said that in the ten years since Act 145’s passage, $1.6 million has been collected, 156 projects have been assessed through Act 145, 34 projects received a designated-center deduction, and 62 projects received TDM deductions.
Clow warned that Act 181 creates new exemptions that could reduce VTrans’s ability to assess Act 145 fees and could revive concerns that large developments leave smaller subsequent projects to shoulder disproportionate costs. He said VTrans must prepare an Act 181 Transportation Support Study for the legislature by December 2025 to examine Act 145 and alternative fee-collection methods. When asked about how RPCs can engage with the study, Charlie Baker, CCRPC executive director, asked how and when regional input would be solicited; Amy Bell, VTrans, said she will request two RPCs to serve on the working group.
Committee members also asked about the geographic distribution of Act 145 collections; Clow estimated about 80% of Act 145 fees collected have come from Chittenden County, an estimate stated during the presentation.
The session did not produce a formal decision on fee policy; VTrans will pursue the Transportation Support Study and has signaled an intent to include RPC engagement.
