The Senate Economic Development Committee passed a Shumlin administration proposal to encourage growth in downtowns and limit urban sprawl. The legislation amends the state’s land use and development permitting process under Act 250.
The committee voted 4-1 Friday to approve H.823 with minor changes.
Committee Chair Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, voted against the bill. He opposed a provision that places new requirements on development in strip areas, such as Shelburne Road in Burlington or Putney Road in Brattleboro.
“This is going to make it even more difficult for businesses to site themselves unless they are in an existing designated area,” Mullin said. “Coming from Rutland County, any type of development would be good at this time.”
Developers and realtors testified Thursday that the bill would make it more difficult for businesses to find a place to locate.
The amendment to the Act 250 land use and development law encourages developers to fill in around existing structures rather than extend strip development. But developers say the definition of strip development – broad road frontage, single-story buildings, a dependence on highway connections, and limited walkability, for example – is unclear, and could give opponents of certain projects a case for litigation.
The committee amended this section to remove a reference to local planning, but developers say the amendment did not go far enough to address their chief concerns.
“We’re not completely satisfied with that change. We still think it’s going to create a lot of uncertainty and delay for the development community,” said Katie Taylor, a lobbyist representing the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Burlington Industrial Corp.
The administration and developers have been at odds over the provision. Developers wanted the section removed entirely. The administration says it creates more efficient land use policy.
“(For) those people that are doing infill, I want to make it really clear that they should be able to do it under existing settlement and they can do it in a way that reduces the elements of strip, like frontage roads,” Noelle MacKay, commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, said this week.
“It’s doable and it’s been done throughout the state, and we want to continue that and support that,” she said.
The bill also includes incentives for growth in the state’s designated downtowns. It reduces the number of housing projects requiring a permit, sets up an expedited review process all projects, removes permitting fees and a sets up faster sewer permitting process.
