Upcoming Events

Building Resilience in Rural Communities

January 27, 2025 | 12-1:30 pm | Virtual

Join VCRD for a webinar in the “Building Resilience in Rural Communities” speaker series on Monday, January 27 at noon (virtual). RSVP today at bit.ly/VTSPEAKERSERIES3 ! The first two events in that series are also available for viewing: “Navigating Vermont's Risks and Building Resilience with Rural Communities” and “Flood Insurance and Housing.” https://rebuildbydesign.org/building-resilience-in-rural.../

Water Connects: Dialogues on Applied Water Research Across Sectors

You can register via Zoom here Please see the attached flyer or visit this link

Session 1: Flood Hazard Mitigation

Panel: Stephanie Smith, Vermont Emergency Management; Hans Estrin, UVM Extension; Shayne Jaquith, The Nature Conservancy

Moderator: Eric Roy, UVM

Monday, January 27th from 3:30 - 4:30 PM 

Farrell Hall Room 006, 210 Colchester Avenue

Session 2: Water Quality 

Panel: Matthew Vaughn, Lake Champlain Basin Program; Shayne Geiger, Town of Shelburne; Karen Bates, VT Department of Environmental Conservation

Moderator: Anne Jefferson, UVM

Monday, February 10th from 3:30 - 4:30 PM 

Farrell Hall Room 006, 210 Colchester Avenue

 **The series will be recorded and available here after each session.

Community News

New Regional Housing Targets and Housing Data Dashboard 

The Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), in collaboration with the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies (VAPDA) and the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), is announcing the release of new regional targets for housing production across the state and a new tool that allows DHCD to track progress towards those regional housing goals in near real time.

The Statewide and Regional Housing Targets report was required as part of the HOME Act of 2023 and ACT 181 of 2024. DHCD and VAPDA coordinated to produce the housing production targets and VHFA was contracted to support the development of the targets. The report examined the depths of Vermont’s housing shortage and developed a methodology to create regional housing targets for 2030 and 2050 that will enable the state to stabilize housing prices, normalize vacancy rates, help grow its current workforce, and attract new residents. The regional areas are based on Vermont’s eleven Regional Planning Commission boundaries.

The new Regional Housing Target assessment finds:

• By 2030, for Vermont to address its demographic challenge it needs to add 41,000 new rental and owner-occupied residences. That’s translates to 8,200 housing units per year for the next five years.
• By 2050, the projected need is 172,000 new homes. That translates to an average of 7,000 new homes annually over the next 25 years.
• In 2023, building permits were issued for 2,456 homes statewide. That’s an improvement over the historic low of 1,300 permits set in 2011, but well below the peak of 4,800 in 1988.

As a part of ACT 181, DHCD will be required to report to the legislature on progress being made towards these targets annually. No such tool for measuring housing development in the state existed, so DHCD partnered with the Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI) to create a new data dashboard. The Housing Development Dashboard utilizes data from a variety of sources, including E911 sites across the state to determine where new housing units are being developed. 

RFPs & Grant Information

Municipal Planning Grants Open January 27th

Vermont’s economy, climate, and development needs are changing at a rapid pace. Municipal Planning Grants help Vermont’s cities, towns and villages adapt to change and prepare for the future. This flexible State funding for planning and resilience can pay for a variety of eligible projects, such as:

• A new or updated municipal plan;

• New or updated bylaws that that implement Act 47 of 2023 (HOME Act) and Act 181 of 2024 (Resilience, Biodiversity & Land Use Act), including zoning & subdivision bylaws;

• Climate resilience and flood recovery projects;

• Projects related to housing development;

• New or updated capital programs and budgets for infrastructure maintenance and improvements;

• Physical improvement plans or other planning for a State Designation in coordination with Department of Housing & Community Development program staff; and

• Projects that support communities for all ages that align with Age Strong Vermont: A Roadmap for an Age-friendly State.

Individual towns may apply for up to $30,000, and multi-town applications (a consortium) may apply for up to $45,000. A local cash match of 10% of the total project costs is required, except for zoning/subdivision bylaw projects in municipalities without zoning/subdivision bylaws. Reaching out to stakeholders to discuss local needs, opportunities, and priorities for this competitive funding early in the process is encouraged.

Please review the Program Description for eligibility requirements and the Application Guide for application questions. A wide variety of municipalities access this funding, including the Vermont’s smallest towns.

Application Schedule for FY2025 Grants:

• Regional Planning Commission confirmation of municipal planning process (to be eligible to apply for projects other than a municipal plan): December 31, 2024

• Online application opens for use: January 27, 2025

• Webinar on the use of new GEARS, January 28, 2025 - register here

• Application Deadline: March 31, 2025@ 6:00 pm

• Award Decisions: April 30, 2025

• Project completion: April 30, 2027 (2-year grant term to complete a project)

If you have any questions about the Municipal Planning Grants or wish to talk through project ideas, please do not hesitate to contact Jacob Hemmerick, Jacob.Hemmerick@vermont.gov at 802-828-5249 or Jenni Lavoie, jennifer.lavoie@vermont.gov at 802-828-1948 at DHCD, for support with applications please contact Eli Toohey, toohey@cvregion.com (802)917-2740 at CVRPC.

2025 NBRC Funding Opportunities

A new round of Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) funding will be available for community and economic development projects statewide. The required pre-application for all prospective applicants is due on February 28. Applications (by invitation) are due on April 11. Additional program materials and details are available at nbrc.gov. 

Upcoming Webinars for Prospective Applicants 

• NBRC Program Overview  - Wednesday, January 29 | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
• Catalyst Program Overview - Wednesday, February 5 | 12:30 – 2:00 PM
• Forest Economy Program Overview - Wednesday, February 5 | 10:00 – 11:00 AM
• Timber for Transit Program Overview - Wednesday, February 5 | 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM  

AARP Community Challenge Grants

AARP Vermont invites local eligible non-profit organizations and governments across the state to apply for the 2025 AARP Community Challenge grant program, now through March 5, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. AARP Community Challenge grants fund quick-action projects that help communities become more livable by improving public places, transportation, housing, digital connections, and more. This year, the AARP Community Challenge is accepting applications across three different grant opportunities:

• Capacity-building microgrants are paired with additional resources, such as one-on-one coaching from national nonprofit organizations, webinars, cohort learning opportunities and more for improving walkability, bikeability; implementing safe, accessible home modifications; and disaster preparedness training.
• Demonstration grants fund projects that encourage replication of exemplary local efforts. This year’s focus is on improving pedestrian safety with funding support from Toyota Motor North America; expanding high-speed internet access and adoption with funding support from Microsoft; reconnecting communities divided by infrastructure; and implementing housing choice design competitions.
• Flagship grants support projects that improve public places; transportation; housing; digital connections; and community resilience.

AARP Vermont will offer grant writing assistance to eligible applicants. The request form for grant writing assistance and more information can be found at aarp.org/vt.