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Middlebury continues public hearing on CHIP application for Stonecrop Meadows; staff to complete municipal cost review
Summary
The Select Board continued a required public hearing on a proposed town CHIP (project-based TIF) application to support Summit Development's Stonecrop Meadows, asking staff for a municipal-cost analysis and attorney review before a final vote; the hearing was continued to Aug. 11, 2026.
The Town of Middlebury Select Board on July 28 continued a public informational hearing on a proposed Community Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP) application that would dedicate a portion of future property-tax increments to finance infrastructure for Summit Development's Stonecrop Meadows.
Alex Armani Munn, executive director of the Addison County Economic Development Corporation, told the board the town and Summit have prepared a project-based tax-increment financing application and are requesting a resolution to adopt the application and dedicate a portion of the increment to infrastructure costs. "Once that resolution is approved," Armani Munn said, "then Summit Development, myself, and town staff work together to prepare that application for submittal to [state reviewers]." (Alex Armani Munn, speaker 13).
Why it matters: CHIP is a new Vermont program (project-based TIF) that can redirect a portion of future tax increments to pay debt for public infrastructure now, a financing approach developers and municipal staff said is key to unlocking Phase 2 of Stonecrop Meadows without shifting the full up-front cost onto buyers or the town.
Developers said the housing site included in the CHIP application would unlock roughly 74 additional homes and that municipal-owned infrastructure for the site—new road, sidewalks, buried sewer and a water-main rebuild—could cost tens of millions of dollars. Summit Development's representative said the municipal infrastructure component is roughly $22,250,000 and that the CHIP financing is the main viable path to finish the build-out while preserving affordability.
Board concerns and next steps: Select board members and residents pressed for a clearer municipal fiscal analysis before the town commits to increment dedication. Staff said the town is assembling municipal-cost estimates and that legal review by the town attorney is under way; the developer and ACDC offered to coordinate a second, detailed work session to test revenue and expense assumptions. The board voted to continue the public hearing to Aug. 11 to allow staff to complete an economic and legal review before any resolution to submit the application is approved.
What was decided: The board voted to continue the public hearing to Aug. 11, 2026 at 7:20 p.m., allowing the town manager and staff to provide a municipal-cost memorandum and to have a draft housing infrastructure agreement reviewed by counsel before a final decision.
Provenance: Topic began with the Select Board opening the CHIP hearing and staff/development presentations (transcript SEG 285–SEG 431) and concluded with the motion to continue and the voice vote to postpone the hearing (SEG 1778–SEG 1826).
