To the editor:
What will rural Vermont be like after implementing the new Act 250 requirements? On December 31, Act 250 permits will be required for any development, including single-family homes, in areas that meet certain criteria. These include habitat connectors, headwater streams and other areas that meet the act’s environmental criteria. As currently mapped, habitat connectors are the largest feature, containing over 300,000 acres along many rural roads.
On July 1, a new road rule comes into effect. Construction of a road greater than 800 feet, or a road and driveways greater than 2,000 feet will require Act 250 permits in all of Vermont outside of already developed areas.
These changes were included in Act 181 and the rules are in the process of being created or finalized now. (For details see Act250.vermont.gov.)
Act 250 was designed to regulate large developments. It is a complicated permitting process during which you must satisfy its 32 criteria and sub-criteria. I have been through this process during the 25 years I spent helping local groups and municipalities create projects.
Act 250 is the wrong tool for the job of implementing Act 181. You don’t have to take my word for it. During the rule-making process there was an attempt by the Land Use Review Board to reduce the 32 Act 250 criteria that would be required because some should not apply. The board’s attorney advised them that, according to statute, they do not have the authority to do that.
This should be fixed by the legislature. Each step in the Act 250 process can be time-consuming, difficult and expensive. What is needed instead is a simpler Act 181 permit designed to address its concerns. It is unfair to ask people to do work that is unnecessary, especially non-developers that just want to build a home, considering the need for more housing in Vermont.
The legislature is unlikely to make this important change unless their constituents demand it. Please contact them if you agree.
Norm Etkind
Woodbury
