Bradford Area Housing
|
Bradford |
Subcommittee of planning commission |
2021 |
Yes (more than 3 years ago |
No |
Monique E. Priestly
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Collaborating with different partners and property owners to crowdsourcing properties to repurpose, sell, develop just like land bank.
- Created a system for clear communication and meeting scheduling using doodle for scheduling, Google group email for committee updates and YouTube channel to share meetings with the general public and Google drive for document sharing.
- Organized Housing forum: Needs, trends and opportunities-to gather ideas and analyze and implement with housing and other area through creating working groups in different areas.
|
Brattleboro Area Housing Coalition
|
Brattleboro |
One of 12 Continua of Care (CoCs) in the state that together comprise the HUD Balance of State CoC |
1994 |
In progress |
Yes |
VT Agency of Human Services Field Services Director Brattleboro & Springfield Districts Sue Graff |
Key activities & best practices |
- Established two warming shelters in the region before COVID.
- Brattleboro town removed density cap in residential housing.
- Brattleboro town reduced development review process.
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Create bridges between housing/homelessness service providers and housing partners, such as regional planning, economic development, and public/private landlords. |
Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing
|
Brattleboro |
Volunteer-run Nonprofit |
|
|
|
Website |
Key activities & best practices |
|
City of Burlington Community Economic Development - Housing
|
Burlington |
City Department |
|
|
|
Website |
Key activities & best practices |
|
Bi-Town Housing Committee
|
Dover & Wilmington |
Subcommittee of Bi-Town Economic Development Committee for Dover & Wilmington |
2018 |
Yes |
No |
Website
Chairperson: Gretchen Havreluk
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Working with homeowners who have vacant units to use rental-rehab-program
- Promoting ADUs for expanding workforce and senior housing.
- In 2019, hired Camoin 360 to complete a housing analysis with an implementation plan.
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Collaborate with each other and partners - employers, health, school, etc. |
Chester Housing Commission
|
Chester |
7-member volunteer committee established by select board |
2023 |
Covered under
Keys to the Valley |
No |
Website |
|
|
Essex/Essex Junction Housing Commission
|
Essex |
Appointed standing commission |
2020 |
Yes |
No |
Website
Chair: Katie Ballard
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Meeting other housing groups, learning about different aspects of zoning and planning.
- Planning outreach campaign to the community, including opportunities for landlords, business owners, renters and those living or working in Essex.
- Housing Needs Assessment completed.
- Created different working groups for different activities, such as story sharing conversations and Outreach, Housing Trust Fund, Zoning issues
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Reach out and not to reinvent the wheel. |
Hinesburg Affordable Housing Committee
|
Hinesburg |
Standing Committee that advises Select Board, DRB, and Planning Commission |
2006 |
Yes (more than 3 years ago) |
No |
Website
Carl Bohlen
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Accessory Apartment ADU video, Inclusionary Zoning, energy audit and retrofits at several mobile homes in Mountain View MHP, participated in Sunny Acres MHP becoming a coop.
- Did Housing Needs Assessment in 2017, encouraged Select Board to seek VCDP funding for Kelley’s Field improvements, providing input to DRB on several large scale housing developments public to promote ADU.
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Gauge interest from the municipal governing body and if supportive, work with planning and zoning to get the idea started. Appoint committee members with housing interest and other skills such as finance, real estate, legal etc. Meet with the housing organizations at local, regional and state level to learn the lay of the housing land. |
Jericho Affordable Housing Committee
|
Jericho |
Selectboard |
2020 |
No |
No |
Website
SJ Dube
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Conducted ADU survey in 2021 to know owners and renters perspective
- Plans to conduct public forum and outreach to landowners and developers about affordable housing opportunities.
|
Mad River Housing Coalition
|
Mad River |
Housing coalition |
|
|
|
Website |
Key activities & best practices |
- Ongoing land banking, Affordable land initiative.
- Incentivizes homeowner’s construction of ADUs through grant and free professional services throughout permitting, design and development. In exchange ADUs remain affordable for 5 years.
- Developed a guide booklet to creating and renting ADUs.
|
Manchester Working Group (Profile)
|
Manchester |
Working group |
2018 |
No |
No |
Website
Working Group Chair: Janet Hurley
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Flexibility in the design, height and density of affordable housing projects
- Encourages senior and workforce developers through density bonus
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Use the Municipal Planning Grant Program through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and collaborate with Regional Planning Commissions. |
Montpelier Housing Task Force (Profile)
|
Montpelier |
Task force |
1999 |
Yes (more than 3 years ago) |
Yes |
Website
Task Force Chair: Polly Nichol
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Formed in 1999 and has spearheaded a number of projects and award winning programs including creating a Housing Trust Fund, a first time home buyer program, a homeshare program, and most recently a program to help create accessory apartments.
- Worked with the Planning Commission to revise the zoning bylaws to remove barriers to housing development and also coordinate with the Housing Trust Fund Committee to support affordable housing development with funds from the Housing Trust Fund.
- Has been a part of developing 124 subsidized housing units to increase the City’s total to 382. In total these subsidized housing units pay $322,000 per year in property taxes.
- Housing trust fund has a number of revolving loans. Since it has been active for more than 20 years, some of these same dollars have been used many times over.
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Get started and keep with it. Fill your board with experts. Many of our programs are successful because we can have a spirited debate about the best tool for the problem. It’s not about "doing something"; it’s about "doing the right thing". Having experts in the field to guide your decision making will help to make sure your efforts are effective. |
Norwich Affordable Housing Committee
|
Norwich |
Planning commission |
|
|
|
Website |
Key activities & best practices |
- Creating affordable and energy efficient housing revolving fund.
- Use of Town owned and donated lands for affordable housing construction.
- Increase rental housing stock through ADUs and making density bonus.
- Promote “missing middle housing”-duplexes, triplexes, quadraplexes.
|
Pomfret Homes
|
Pomfret |
Ad-hoc resident group |
2020/2021 |
No |
No |
Ann Raynolds
Anne Bower
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Planning to outsource ADU to a nonprofit that can help homeowners with design, finance, permitting, contractor, tenant selection, etc. with loans that could partially forgive of the homeowner follows certain conditions that rental unit be affordable.
- The idea is that the nonprofit (like Woodstock Comm. Trust) does the grunt work, helping the home owner with initial design, finances, permitting, compliance, getting a contractor, and tenant selection, sort of “holding the hand” of the home owner.
- Best financing system is a loan (not grant) which is secured by the house itself; this loan could be partly forgiven if the home owner follows certain conditions.
|
Putney Affordable Housing Committee
|
Putney |
Select board |
|
|
|
Website |
Key activities & best practices |
- Plans to construct workforce housing.
- Home sharing as an option. Related resource: HomeShare VT.
|
Randolph Area Housing Taskforce
|
Randolph |
Taskforce |
|
No |
No |
Website |
Key activities & best practices |
- Research for Randolph’s Bethany church emergency apartments.
|
Town of Richmond Housing Committee
|
Richmond |
Subcommittee of Planning Commission |
2020 |
In process |
No |
Website
Ravi Venkataraman
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Received FY21 Municipal Planning Grant to study housing needs and revised zoning regulations to meet housing needs; completed a draft housing needs assessment.
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Reach out to Vermont Housing Finance Agency and to closely work with planning commission. |
Shelburne Housing Committee (Profile)
|
Shelburne |
Subcommittee of Planning Commission |
2016 |
No |
No |
Website
Committee Chair: Pam Brangan
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Developed Housing Booklet, Housing map, revised zoning regulations regarding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) and ADU approval process to assist residents through the process at local and state level.
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Focus on the fundamentals and don’t worry about having everything… There’s no substitute for having places in your community where you can have relatively high density residential development. |
Springfield Area Housing Coalition
|
Springfield |
Windham North/Windsor South Continuum of Care - One of 12 Continuum of Care (CoCs) in the state that together comprise the HUD Balance of State CoC |
1994 |
Yes (more than 3 years ago) |
Yes |
VT Agency of Human Services Field Services Director Brattleboro & Springfield Districts Sue Graff |
Key activities & best practices |
- Engaging diverse partners in the coalition, including faith-based, service providers, state agencies, regional commission, economic development, housing developers.
- Exploring the purchase of a vacant motel to house people experiencing homelessness.
- Working with planning commissions on regulatory tools.
|
South Burlington Affordable Housing Committee
|
South Burlington |
Advisory group |
2016 |
Yes |
Yes |
Website
Chair: Chris Trombly
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Inclusionary zoning in transit district and expanding to city-wide in 2021.
- Working on recommendations that the city focus on equity and diversity as well as affordability.
- Planning to use Trust Fund for inclusionary zoning.
- Re-purposing land and commercial house for residential.
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Diversify committee membership with different stakeholders to include different perspective. |
Senior and Affordable Housing Committee of Thetford
|
Thetford |
Standing Committee |
2006 |
|
No |
Website
Sarah Martel
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Hosted a Community Housing Forum: “Housing: Not What, but Who”, engaging community members with information, personal narratives and inspiring successful housing solutions.
|
Keys to the Valley (Tri-Commission)
|
Upper Valley Regional Planning Commissions of NH and VT |
Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission (NH), Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional and Mount Ascutney Regional Commissions of VT |
|
|
|
Website |
Key activities & best practices |
- Housing tours, streamlining permit process, eliminating zoning barriers
- Keys To The Valley Toolbox: Strategies and policies to promote safe and affordable housing using six goals that are broken down into key action areas.
|
Williston Housing Committee |
Williston |
Advisory committee to Planning Commission |
2023 |
Yes
April 2023
|
|
Website
Staff Liaison: Melinda Scott
|
Winooski Housing Commission (Profile)
|
Winooski |
Advisory policy commission to City Council |
2017 |
Yes (more than 3 years ago) |
Yes |
Website
Staff Liaison: Jazmine Hurley
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Established housing goals for the Winooski Master Plan, identified gaps in available housing in Winooski and set targets to fill those gaps.
- Established a Housing Trust Fund. -Held a housing policy summit hosting housing experts to discuss housing policy options for the community.
- Annually reviews gentrification monitoring report and the landlord registry rental pricing survey.
- Made recommendations to the Planning Commission for policy changes to promote creation of affordable housing.
- Providing interpreted homeownership and down payment outreach education to promote Champlain Housing Trust, AALV and VHFA activities.
- Advocating on how to use Section 8 voucher for homeownership.
- Advocating on reducing parking lot and density for multifamily unit projects.
|
Advice for other housing committees |
Use data-driven approach in identifying and solving housing problems. |
Woodstock Economic Development Housing Working group
|
Woodstock |
Economic development housing working group |
2020 |
Yes |
No |
Website
Jon Spector
|
Key activities & best practices |
- Incentivizing landlords to move from short term to long term rentals
- Promoting Home Share, Mobile Home Parks
- Incentivize landlords to create and make ADUs affordable for 5 years.
- Promoting employer provided housing.
- Parking lot reduction.
|