Vermont Senate OKs S.328 to Turbocharge Affordable Housing

MONTPELIER — The Vermont Senate approved S.328 on an unspecified recent date, a sweeping housing bill that mandates municipal development plans include housing targets and analysis while extending tax credits for the Down Payment Assistance Program. The legislation caps allowable costs in certain programs and reforms zoning for common interest communities, mobile home parks and land use under Act 250, aiming to slash construction barriers in towns from Burlington to Brattleboro. Initially reported by VTDigger, the measure responds to rental vacancies hovering near zero and home prices outpacing working Vermonters' wages.

Key provisions build on prior reforms like the 2023 HOME Act (S.100), which allowed duplexes and triplexes in single-family zones and eased parking mandates in downtowns and village centers. S.328 complements these by tying into the Vermont Economic Development Authority and requiring reports on housing progress, directly addressing critics who blame Act 250's environmental reviews for delays and added costs over $500 per square foot for affordable units. Supporters, including the Vermont Natural Resources Council, hail the density boosts — up to five units per acre in sewered areas — as a climate-smart fix to sprawl.

The bill arrives amid ongoing Act 250 tweaks from 2024's Act 181, with senators now studying appeals of zoning decisions in growth zones to speed permits without gutting oversight. It echoes S.127 from 2025, which became Act 69 and pumped up to $70,000 per unit into the Vermont Rental Housing Improvement Program for accessible rentals serving the homeless, disabled and disaster-displaced. VHCB-backed guides urge towns toward zoning reform for walkable infill, underscoring local stakes in places like St. Albans and Rutland where shortages hit hardest.