TAC approves federal urban area boundary adjustments and forwards them to the Board for submission to VTrans

Jason Charest, CCRPC Senior Transportation Planning Engineer, presented draft Federal Urban Area Boundary adjustments for Chittenden County and explained the federal process that follows the decennial census.

Charest said the adjusted boundaries smooth edges based on geographic features and are used for planning, functional classification and highway/traffic statistics. He noted the adjustments “do not affect funding tied to population, and the Federal Aid System remains the same.” The presentation also explained thresholds the Census and FHWA use to define urban and urbanized areas.

Members asked about specific implications. Amy Bell asked whether the Milton Urban Area would connect to the Burlington Urban Area; Jason said staff decided to connect them. Chris Yuen and others asked whether roadway funding implications would follow boundary changes; Jason and FHWA-affiliated Chris Jolly said they could not think of a recent example where the adjustment affected a municipality, but noted roads on a proposed boundary (some in Essex) that meet minor‑collector characteristics could become eligible for federal funds if their classification changes. Bruce Hoar asked about emergency relief funding for North Williston Road; Chris Jolly clarified emergency relief funds come from FHWA for roads on the Federal Aid System (not FEMA), and that North Williston Road is on the Federal Aid System as a major collector.

Bruce Hoar moved that the TAC approve the Federal Urban Area Boundary adjustments and send them to the Board for approval and submission to VTrans; Jon Rauscher seconded. The motion passed unanimously.