House caucus updates H.687: Act 250 governance, regional mapping and interim housing exemptions

The Vermont House Caucus of the Whole met May 7 to receive multi‑committee updates on H.687, a comprehensive land‑use and housing package reshaping Act 250 governance and creating a regionally mapped tier system for development exemptions. Representative Bongards, reporting for the House Environment & Energy committee, said the bill stitches together three studies from S.100 — a Natural Resources Board review of Act 250, regional commission mapping proposals, and a downtown designation program review — and uses that work as the basis for the House amendment.

The most consequential governance choice the committee made, Bongards said, was to accept the Senate’s approach on appeals: decisions that would have been appealed to a reconstituted Natural Resources Board will instead remain with the Environmental Court. "After really thinking about it and a lot of discussion on our end, we decided to go along with the Senate on that and leave the decisions... in appeals with the Environmental Court," Bongards said, adding that the committee accepted the change reluctantly because a board‑level appeals process could have been faster and provided more iterative guidance to applicants.

The amendment retains the House’s mapping framework: regional commissions will work with towns to create consistent land‑use maps that feed a tiered system distinguishing growth centers, village centers and critical natural resource areas. Bongards said regional commissions have told the committee they can complete mapping in roughly 18 months, and that the newly reconstituted Natural Resources Board will be appointed and begin rulemaking earlier than originally planned — with the board’s start date moved up to take effect Jan. 1, 2025.

To speed housing in designated areas, the Senate had added interim exemptions that increase project size thresholds in some categories; the committee’s amendment keeps similar interim provisions. Under the framework discussed, tier 1a and 1b towns have different levels of Act 250 exemption, with exemptions for certain housing projects up to 50 units in some settings and interim allowances up to about 75 units in designated downtowns or neighborhood development areas, subject to sewer, water and planning requirements. The committee emphasized that exemptions will be tied to infrastructure and local planning, and that towns applying for 1a status will be reviewed by the new board once maps are finalized.

Committee members pressed for clarifications on local permitting, including a discussion of class‑4 roads and whether municipal authority to require permits remains; presenters confirmed that towns retain existing permitting authority and that town‑led improvements do not automatically trigger an Act 250 review unless specific thresholds are exceeded.

Next steps: committee reporters said the House amendment is posted (version 4.1 referenced in committee materials) and that staff will circulate a full fiscal memo covering the combined committee amendments. The caucus raised questions about buffer zones, rebuilding after flood damage, and the practical timeline for towns seeking designation changes; members were encouraged to contact committee reporters with follow‑up questions.