The City of Burlington has been exploring the possibility of establishing a multimodal transportation facility in the City’s South End for over twenty years. The Burlington South End Multimodal Center Feasibility Study examined the feasibility of a transit center and potential housing at 68 Sears Lane in Burlington, investigated site layout options that tie together the planned uses on both parcels, developed conceptual construction cost estimates, identified potential funding streams for the project, and facilitated stakeholder outreach.

It’s not often that carsharing is seen as a potential solution for concerns about increasing housing cost burdens. Hidden vehicle and parking costs can contribute to an overall higher cost of living--housing and transportation. This report highlights the role that transportation and parking costs play in housing affordability and describes the role of CarShare VT in changes to Burlington’s development ordinances and new directions for the organization.

This report includes a variety of recommendations for the Town of Essex Zoning Regulations to eliminate barriers to affordable housing. Some of these recommendations are broad in scope while others are simple housekeeping changes. The broader recommendations go beyond a text edit in the zoning regulations and, while complex, may produce a more beneficial result than the minor housekeeping recommendations. The broader recommendations should be considered within the context of a housing needs assessment, and perhaps by a housing committee if and when established. This report should also help as a guide when implementing changes from the Town Center visioning work.

This Fair Housing and Equity Assessment examines the impact of state, local, and regional policies, procedures, and practices on the availability of fair and affordable housing for all people in the county. It also analyzes the impact of private-sector policies and rules. The goal is to identify actions, decisions, policies or omissions that have the effect of restricting housing choice based on one’s membership in a protected class as defined by the federal Fair Housing Act (as amended) or Vermont state statute.

Chittenden County’s housing stock is dominated by older owner occupied homes. Its largely white population is becoming older, its households are becoming smaller, and the small number of non-white residents is growing. These demographic shifts, coupled with a rising demand for rental housing, new options for improving home energy efficiency and a growing urgency to address housing and transportation cost burdens among residents create a unique opportunity for the region. Planning today can help this become a region in which housing is fair, and residential buildings and neighborhoods are located and designed with the health of occupants and the sustainability of the greater community in mind.

Fair housing laws are intended to ensure that people have equal access to housing that meets their needs. These laws prevent housing discrimination and enable the people who experience it to seek redress for the wrong done to them. Fair housing laws also protect all property owners and residents from being victimized by destructive discriminatory practices (such as steering potential residents to certain neighborhoods) that all-too-often diminish property values and destroy communities.

Presentation on recommendations of the Housing Targets Task Force.

In 2001, the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission invited housing experts and business and community leaders to serve on the Chittenden County Housing Task Force (2001 Task Force) to identify strategies to address this crisis. It was found that the major cause of the County housing crisis is the failure of the supply of housing to keep pace with the housing demand resulting from the County expanding economy. This group also recommended that CCRPC assemble representatives of its 19 municipalities in order to build greater regional collaboration in addressing housing shortages.

To initiate the Regional Build-out Analysis project, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) staff and an RBA Steering Committee prepared: (1) a draft methodology, (2) a preliminary landscape suitability analysis in which partial and prohibitive constraints (wetlands, prime agricultural soils, steep slopes, etc.) are applied to determine a buildable land area, and (3) a zoning analysis in which local zoning and other land use regulations determine the residential and non-residential development potential of the buildable land area.

Fair housing laws are intended to prevent discrimination in how housing is sold, rented, appraised, financed, and advertised. These laws protect everyone. They protect people of all races and religions, people with disabilities, the elderly, and families with children. These laws also protect all homeowners and residents from being victimized by destructive practices such as steering potential residents to only certain communities, neighborhoods, or developments. Fair housing laws mainly regulate the actions of property owners, landlords, lenders, realtors, and appraisers. However, municipalities also must comply. Municipal responsibilities are derived from a complex and changing body of law. This paper is intended to brief municipal officials with only the basics of these responsibilities.