Upcoming Events

Act 250 Tier 3 Rulemaking Public Engagement Sessions

The Vermont Land Use Review Board will host four public engagement sessions across the state to get public input on draft Act 250 Tier 3 area rules and mapping. All four meetings will be from 6 to 8 p.m. held in-person and remote. Remote connection information is available on the meeting agenda, online at act250.vermont.gov/tier-3-rulemaking-and-report.

Morrisville — Oct. 21, Morristown Tegu Building Meeting Room, 43 Portland St.

Rutland — Oct. 22, Regional Planning Commission Office, 16 Evelyn St. (2nd floor).

Newport — Oct. 28, City Gateway Center Meeting Room, 84 Fyfe Drive.

Windsor — Oct. 29, Select Board Meeting Room, 29 Union St.



While Act 250 jurisdiction is shrinking in downtown and village centers (Tier 1 areas), it is expanding in critical natural resource areas (Tier 3 areas). The Tier 3 rules and mapping will determine development requires an Act 250 permit in these critical natural resource areas.

Reimagining Rural Capacity Summit - November 13, 2025

Registration is now open for the Reimagining Rural Capacity Summit. A detailed agenda can be found on the registration page.

Join an inspiring and interactive day with Vermont community and economic development leaders, planners, resource providers, local officials, organizers, legislators, and funders. Help shape the future of statewide technical assistance.

• Hear findings from the Vermont Evaluation of Rural Technical Assistance (VERTA) and community support solutions from other states
• Co-design strategies and supports to help Vermont’s towns and rural communities get real projects done - from housing to transportation to village revitalization and more
• Help prioritize ideas for pilot programs, agency actions, and 2026 legislative actions and funding requests
• Free lunch and registration; mileage reimbursement available

https://tinyurl.com/verta-summit

CVRPC Clean Water Advisory Committee Meeting

Lake Champlain Sea Grant & The Nature Conservancy: Presentation, Q&A, Municipal Workshop

Date 13 November 2025 | Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

In person: CVRPC Office, 29 Main Street, Suite 4 Montpelier, VT 05602

Online: via Zoom link on Meeting Agenda

Registration required by 10/31/25

Can't make either session or want to learn more?

• Contact the Lake Champlain Sea Grant at Alison.Spasyk@uvm.edu to schedule a presentation in your community
• Schedule an individual municipal consultation with CVRPC staff for technical assistance

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Lincoln Frasca at frasca@cvregion.com   

Community News

Job Announcement: Office Manager

CVRPC is looking for a full-time office manager to join our team of dedicated professionals in a public service organization. The strongest candidates will have experience with public entities and business management processes such as employee benefits, insurance, contracts, grants, payables, receivables, record keeping systems, and public meeting coordination. Proficiency in Microsoft 365 suite and SharePoint required, and QuickBooks preferred. The salary range for this position is $49,000 to $67,000    dependent on qualifications. A review of applications will begin October 27, 2025. Further details and job description available at: https://centralvtplanning.org/news/job-postings/ 

Grants & Funding Opportunities

Vermont Biodiversity Protection Fund

The Nature Conservancy of Vermont is accepting applications through November 14. To learn more and apply, please visit our webpage here: www.nature.org/VBPF .

2025 is a pilot year for the Vermont Biodiversity Protection Fund, designed to award $1,000,000 in funding through two grant rounds. Through Round One, held earlier this year, The Nature Conservancy of Vermont funded seven projects, leveraging over $5 million, and protecting over 2,400 acres, 11 miles of stream, and 53 acres of wetland. We look forward to building upon this impact in Round Two.

With Round Two, TNC Vermont aims to award another $500,000 to support permanent land protection within TNC's Resilient and Connected Network (RCN). In addition to the RCN, we will use Vermont Conservation Design and the new Implementing Vermont Conservation Design report to guide our review and decisions. Applicants are invited to apply for any amount up to $100,000. We welcome all sizes of projects and requests, including small requests that address hard-to-fund items, close budget gaps, and support small, but ecologically significant projects. Requests larger than $100,000 will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please reach out to us to discuss such opportunities.

Projects should be located within Vermont’s Resilient and Connected Network, with priority given to projects located within TNC’s Focal Areas. Please view our Reference Map here: VT Biodiversity Protection Fund -Web Viewer

Municipal Planning Grants Due November 3rd

Vermont’s economy, climate, and development needs are changing quickly. Municipal Planning Grants offer funding support for Vermont’s cities, towns, and villages to adapt to change and lead their 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, historic preservation bylaws, 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.

I encourage you to reach out to stakeholders to discuss local needs, opportunities, and priorities for this competitive funding.

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 FY2026 Grants: 

• October 31, 2025: Deadline for RPC confirmation of municipal planning process
• September 1, 2025: Online application opens
• November 3, 2025: Application deadline, 6 p.m.
• Early December 2025: Award decisions
• Project completion: December 31, 2027 (2-year/24-month grant term to complete a project)