Lawmakers Hear Push for Supported-Housing Advisory Council, Warnings on Condo Financing in S.328

The House Committee on General and Housing heard competing evidence April 1 as lawmakers took testimony on S.328, a wide-ranging housing bill that would create a supported-housing advisory council, expand statutory treatment of common-interest communities and propose changes to municipal zoning and financing tools.

Kirst Murphy, executive director of the Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council, told the committee the Act 69 “Road Home” report includes a 13-point plan to expand permanent, affordable, service‑supported housing for roughly 3,400 people who receive developmental-disability services in Vermont. Murphy said the bill’s section 6 — which would establish an 11‑member advisory council — would help align housing and human‑services actors, push administrative reforms and oversee a needs assessment the committee has directed be completed by next November.

"We want to work ourselves out of a job on this council," Murphy said, describing the council’s goal to coordinate programs until a stable mix of housing options exists.

Murphy emphasized the data gaps that drive the proposal: she told lawmakers the distribution of living situations in the population served includes about 39% living with family members and about 39% in shared‑living arrangements, and that the developmental system has not historically…