Vermont towns are increasingly unsure where statutory planning requirements end and agency-driven preferences begin. Pittsford’s recent Selectboard discussion highlights this statewide tension, especially around Enhanced Energy Plans and id
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Vermont’s housing debate is stuck on three incompatible goals: building far more homes, keeping them affordable, and maintaining strict environmental protections. Policymakers and advocates avoid acknowledging that the state can only achiev
A temporary expansion of ACA subsidies, extended twice since 2021, is now producing a steep policy cliff as the 2025 sunset approaches. Premiums rose faster under subsidy insulation, and the expiration exposes both the lost support and the
Vermont spent over $100,000 on a redistricting task force that never delivered the maps required by law. Despite clear directives in Act 73, the group rejected its mandate, accepted per-diem funds, and produced no statutory outcome—raising
Vermont spends over $30 million a year on emergency motel housing, but new federal homelessness rules could shift those costs to HUD-funded treatment and transitional programs. With hundreds of thousands of square feet in vacant state-owned
Vermont is pushing rent control, eviction limits, and new housing mandates without the basic data needed to understand the crisis. The Legislature’s own study admits it lacks core facts on homelessness, landlord costs, or rental economics —
Vermont’s land-use planning statute attempts to solve almost every development challenge at once, from housing and transportation to agriculture, energy, and even cultural enrichment. Its sweeping goals often contradict each other, leaving
The phrase “fair share” gets thrown around like a moral hammer, but the numbers tell a far more complicated story. From historic tithing to modern progressive taxation, what’s considered “fair” has shifted dramatically. When you strip away
Vermont’s carbon-credit and REC systems don’t reduce real carbon emissions—they just shift carbon claims between states and companies while driving up electric and heating costs. Fuel dealers aren’t the polluters, but they’re treated like t
One of Act 250’s original yes-votes spent the next five decades warning where Vermont’s land-use regime would lead: tighter permits, fewer homes, higher costs, weaker job growth. Today’s housing shortage and affordability crunch look less l
Vermont’s forests aren’t vanishing—they’re thriving. Yet a chorus of activist groups keeps pushing crisis narratives that turn private property into “shared heritage.” Backed by the legislature, they’ve converted rhetoric into regulation, l
