Vermont, facing a significant housing crisis, requires between 79,000 and 172,000 new homes by 2050 to meet market demand, according to the Vermont Housing Needs Assessment. While additional reforms aimed at appeals and regulations remain a priority for Gov. Phil Scott and some lawmakers, a landmark infrastructure finance program is set to reshape small-town development across the state.The state legislature has passed a bill to create the Community Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP), focused on providing financial assistance for infrastructure improvements supporting new housing construction. The initiative allows municipalities to utilize future local property tax revenue growth to fund projects and repay the costs over time.”The housing shortage throughout Vermont won’t be resolved solely in bigger cities,” said Julie Hance, the town manager of Chester. The CHIP program is similar to TIF, which has been employed in larger cities like Winooski, Burlington, and St. Albans. CHIP is a version for smaller rural communities, enabling them to address their unique housing needs.Governor Scott praised the initiative. “This will be very helpful for smaller communities to take advantage of tools that larger cities have long benefited from,” he said.The program received bipartisan support throughout the statehouse. “It really makes accessible a financing tool used everywhere else here in the country and here in Vermont, but up until CHIP, it’s only been accessible to the big cities,” said Sen. Thomas Chittenden, D-Chittenden County.The town of Chester expressed enthusiasm for the program, calling it a “game changer.” Chester plans to leverage CHIP to fund essential projects like roads, sidewalks, and water systems to prepare for housing developments. The program will help the town build 80-100 housing units on town-owned land and explore additional projects otherwise unattainable.“Chester could not do that on its own, with a CHIP program, it makes towns our size in the running to have housing developed in our towns,” Hance said. “It’s going to take every town across the state to develop infrastructure and housing to solve the problem,” Hance said. “Montpelier’s initiative makes that achievable.”The bill, expected to be signed into law by Gov. Scott in the coming days, is poised to empower rural towns like Chester to grow, expand, and help address Vermont’s pressing housing challenges.
Vermont, facing a significant housing crisis, requires between 79,000 and 172,000 new homes by 2050 to meet market demand, according to the Vermont Housing Needs Assessment.
While additional reforms aimed at appeals and regulations remain a priority for Gov. Phil Scott and some lawmakers, a landmark infrastructure finance program is set to reshape small-town development across the state.
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The state legislature has passed a bill to create the Community Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP), focused on providing financial assistance for infrastructure improvements supporting new housing construction. The initiative allows municipalities to utilize future local property tax revenue growth to fund projects and repay the costs over time.
“The housing shortage throughout Vermont won’t be resolved solely in bigger cities,” said Julie Hance, the town manager of Chester.
The CHIP program is similar to TIF, which has been employed in larger cities like Winooski, Burlington, and St. Albans. CHIP is a version for smaller rural communities, enabling them to address their unique housing needs.
Governor Scott praised the initiative. “This will be very helpful for smaller communities to take advantage of tools that larger cities have long benefited from,” he said.
The program received bipartisan support throughout the statehouse.
“It really makes accessible a financing tool used everywhere else here in the country and here in Vermont, but up until CHIP, it’s only been accessible to the big cities,” said Sen. Thomas Chittenden, D-Chittenden County.
The town of Chester expressed enthusiasm for the program, calling it a “game changer.” Chester plans to leverage CHIP to fund essential projects like roads, sidewalks, and water systems to prepare for housing developments. The program will help the town build 80-100 housing units on town-owned land and explore additional projects otherwise unattainable.
“Chester could not do that on its own, with a CHIP program, it makes towns our size in the running to have housing developed in our towns,” Hance said. “It’s going to take every town across the state to develop infrastructure and housing to solve the problem,” Hance said. “Montpelier’s initiative makes that achievable.”
The bill, expected to be signed into law by Gov. Scott in the coming days, is poised to empower rural towns like Chester to grow, expand, and help address Vermont’s pressing housing challenges.
