Vermont House Passes S.325, Repealing the Road Rule and Tier 3 - Does It Go Far Enough to Help the Housing Crisis?
Five members filed written vote explanations after final passage. All five voted yes. All five said the bill doesn’t go far enough.
The Vermont House passed S.325 on a 141-0 vote Wednesday, sending the Act 181 reform bill back to the Senate with amendments repealing the Road Rule and Tier 3 — and rejecting, by a 60-83 margin, the one amendment that would have created the broadest new housing opportunity in the bill.
What the bill does
S.325 repeals Act 181’s Road Rule, which restricted development along Class 3 and 4 roads, and eliminates Tier 3 jurisdiction, which had subjected large tracts of undeveloped land to Act 250 review. Speaker Jill Krowinski, in a statement issued Thursday, said the passage directly responds to Vermonters’ property rights concerns while preserving Act 181’s environmental framework.
“Act 181’s core framework protecting headwaters, wildlife corridors, intact forests, and sensitive natural resources from unchecked sprawl remains intact,” Krowinski said.
The amendment record
Before reaching final passage Wednesday, the House considered four contested roll call amendments.
A proposal by Rep. Burditt of West Rutland to strengthen Tier 1A eligibility — requiring demonstrated municipal or regional planning commission planning capacity — failed 63-80.
A proposal by Rep. Burtt of Cabot to exempt accessory on-farm businesses from Act 250 permit requirements for storage, sales, and on-farm processing of qualifying agricultural products passed 77-66.
A proposal by Rep. Charlton of Chester to push three implementation deadlines from 2028 to 2030 failed 66-76.
A proposal by Rep. Dobrovich of Williamstown to exempt up to 50 units of mixed-income housing within village centers from Act 250 permit requirements through January 1, 2031 — with a municipal opt-out — failed 60-83.
“Only a starting point”
Five members filed written vote explanations after final passage. All five voted yes. All five said the bill doesn’t go far enough.
“In my region, projects don’t fail because demand is too high — they fail because the process is too difficult,” wrote Rep. Bailey of Hyde Park. “S.325 begins to reduce that friction... But for many communities like mine, this is only a starting point, not a solution.”
Rep. Luneau of St. Albans City wrote that Vermont’s current system is not producing enough housing and that S.325 “does not go far enough to address the barriers facing our rural communities.”
Rep. North of Ferrisburgh connected the housing shortfall to Vermont’s demographic trajectory: “If we are serious about reversing demographic decline, S.325 is just the beginning; we will need to go further.”
What happens next
S.325 originated in the Senate and now returns there with the House’s proposed amendments. The Senate must concur — or request a Committee of Conference — before the bill goes to the Governor.