The state has set vital housing targets while lawmakers built a regulatory framework that may make those targets unreachable. The math has never been reconciled — and half the maps don't yet exist.
The Compass continues to promote a one sided view about the Act 181 ”road rule problem”. How about a post about the financial and environmental costs of their construction and recognition that clustering in rural areas near existing roads or drives can be done and still provide a wonderful and much more affordable rural experience. The issue is that responsibly constructed roads, depending on the slopes and soils, can be very expensive to plow, sand, grade and repair. Towns are required to provide emergency fire, police and rescue services, and private drives and roads must be constructed and maintained so they don’t jeopardize a towns personnel and expensive equipment, nor should it be put at risk from getting damaged or stuck and thus unavailable to the rest of the towns residences for their emergencies. As well, homes generally need fuel and UPS etc. deliveries which won’t be done on poor roads. A long driveway is expensive, starting with the fabric base, proper gravel layers, ditches, detention ponds, pulloffs if the road is long and narrow, and a turn around at the end for firetrucks etc. Storm water controls, in this era of more extreme flooding, must be included and culverts and bridges have to be larger to avoid expensive wash outs from these floods. Many private roads and drives were washed out in our recent floods, with many homes ending up stranded because of unaffordable reconstruction of their access. The compass posts thus far are biased, unattributed, and if these posts are not fairly balanced then readers should be informed that they are opinion pieces, generated with AI, not a presentation of the whole picture.
Peter — appreciate the engagement. Worth noting that this piece includes on-the-record responses from VHFA, VLCT, DHCD, and legislative sources I contacted directly, along with the actual housing production math from state planning documents. If specific figures are off, I’m genuinely interested in a correction. Clustering near existing infrastructure is a real technique and a legitimate story — but that’s a separate question from whether Vermont’s current Tier framework makes it accessible at the scale the state’s own targets require. Those are both worth examining, and I intend to. Thanks, Tom Davis. Publsher (Human)
........."The Compass continues to promote a one sided view about the Act 181 ”road rule problem”. ".......Wrong. Compass Vermont is informing Vermonters what's going on in this state, and in particular, Montpelier. Outside and inside Money has been and continues to influence policy in this state. And it's not going in the right direction...
........"Vermont needs between 27,867 and 41,185 new homes by 2030. ".......What a Joke... We need a through cleaning out in Montpelier...
The Compass continues to promote a one sided view about the Act 181 ”road rule problem”. How about a post about the financial and environmental costs of their construction and recognition that clustering in rural areas near existing roads or drives can be done and still provide a wonderful and much more affordable rural experience. The issue is that responsibly constructed roads, depending on the slopes and soils, can be very expensive to plow, sand, grade and repair. Towns are required to provide emergency fire, police and rescue services, and private drives and roads must be constructed and maintained so they don’t jeopardize a towns personnel and expensive equipment, nor should it be put at risk from getting damaged or stuck and thus unavailable to the rest of the towns residences for their emergencies. As well, homes generally need fuel and UPS etc. deliveries which won’t be done on poor roads. A long driveway is expensive, starting with the fabric base, proper gravel layers, ditches, detention ponds, pulloffs if the road is long and narrow, and a turn around at the end for firetrucks etc. Storm water controls, in this era of more extreme flooding, must be included and culverts and bridges have to be larger to avoid expensive wash outs from these floods. Many private roads and drives were washed out in our recent floods, with many homes ending up stranded because of unaffordable reconstruction of their access. The compass posts thus far are biased, unattributed, and if these posts are not fairly balanced then readers should be informed that they are opinion pieces, generated with AI, not a presentation of the whole picture.
Peter — appreciate the engagement. Worth noting that this piece includes on-the-record responses from VHFA, VLCT, DHCD, and legislative sources I contacted directly, along with the actual housing production math from state planning documents. If specific figures are off, I’m genuinely interested in a correction. Clustering near existing infrastructure is a real technique and a legitimate story — but that’s a separate question from whether Vermont’s current Tier framework makes it accessible at the scale the state’s own targets require. Those are both worth examining, and I intend to. Thanks, Tom Davis. Publsher (Human)
........."The Compass continues to promote a one sided view about the Act 181 ”road rule problem”. ".......Wrong. Compass Vermont is informing Vermonters what's going on in this state, and in particular, Montpelier. Outside and inside Money has been and continues to influence policy in this state. And it's not going in the right direction...