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Senate passes several bills amid contentious housing and land-use amendments
Summary
The Vermont Senate on March 26 passed multiple measures — including S.3.23 (agriculture fixes), S.3.28 (housing and common-interest communities) and S.3.25 (study of model bylaws with interim Act 250 exemptions) — and decided recorded and voice votes on several floor amendments.
The Vermont Senate completed several votes on March 26, advancing a package of bills that included agricultural technical fixes, housing-related amendments and procedural measures.
On third reading, the Senate passed S.3.23, a miscellaneous agricultural bill, after a floor amendment from the senator representing Chittenden Central was withdrawn following committee concerns. The body passed the measure by voice vote.
The chamber also amended and passed S.3.28, an act dealing with housing and common-interest communities. Floor changes clarified how municipal water and sewer service areas are defined (including fire districts) and added directives to update a farmworker/on‑farm housing report. Committee reports said the last update was 2021, and committees recommended the amendments before passage.
S.3.25, an act authorizing study of model bylaws and interim Act 250 exemptions for village-center housing, was the session’s most contested item. Senators adopted substitute language that allows up to 50 ‘‘priority housing’’ units to be exempt from Act 250 in village centers (and parcels within a quarter-mile) until 2030. Proponents said the change would enable mixed-use and affordable projects in places without permanent zoning. Critics warned the amendment could weaken incentives for towns to adopt municipal planning and zoning. A related amendment from the senator from Addison seeking a one-year extension to allow more public input was defeated in a division vote (13 in favor; 17 opposed). The Senate then passed S.3.25.
Several amendments were resolved on the floor; where recorded tallies were requested the Clerk conducted divisions and recorded counts in the journal. No final roll-call tallies for all bills were supplied in the floor transcript; outcomes above reflect the body’s announced results at the time of adjournment.
The Senate adjourned to reconvene on March 27 at 11:30 a.m.
Votes and procedural outcomes at a glance: S.3.23 — passed (third reading, voice vote). S.3.28 — amended and passed (voice vote). S.3.25 — amended as substituted and passed; Addison extension amendment failed by division (13–17).
