Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                          H.652
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                                       H.652
 Introduced by Representative Bongartz of Manchester
 Referred to Committee on
 Date:
 Subject: Conservation and development; land use; housing; municipal zoning
 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to make multiple
 changes to provisions from 2023 Acts and Resolves No. 47, the HOME Act.
    An act relating to updates to the HOME Act
 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
 Sec. 1. 2023 Acts and Resolves No. 47, Sec. 1 is amended to read:
    Sec. 1. 24 V.S.A. § 4414 is amended to read:
 § 4414. ZONING; PERMISSIBLE TYPES OF REGULATIONS
                                        ***
         (4) Parking and loading facilities. A municipality may adopt provisions
 setting forth standards for permitted and required facilities for off-street
 parking and loading, which may vary by district and by uses within each
 district. In any district that is served by municipal sewer and water
 infrastructure that allows residential uses, a municipality shall not require more
 than one parking space per dwelling unit. However, a municipality may
 require 1.5 parking spaces for duplexes and multiunit dwellings in areas not VT LEG #373143 v.2
     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                        H.652
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 served by sewer and water, and in areas that are located more than one-quarter
 mile away from public parking. The number of parking spaces shall be
 rounded up to the nearest whole number when calculating the total number of
 spaces. These bylaws may also include provisions covering the location, size,
 design, access, landscaping, and screening of those facilities. In determining
 the number of parking spaces for nonresidential uses and size of parking
 spaces required under these regulations, the appropriate municipal panel may
 take into account the existence or availability of employer “transit pass” and
 rideshare programs, public transit routes, and public parking spaces in the
 vicinity of the development.
                                       ***
 Sec. 2. 24 V.S.A. § 4412 is amended to read:
 § 4412. REQUIRED PROVISIONS AND PROHIBITED EFFECTS
    Notwithstanding any existing bylaw, the following land development
 provisions shall apply in every municipality:
       (1) Equal treatment of housing and required provisions for affordable
 housing.
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            (D) Bylaws shall designate appropriate districts and reasonable
 regulations for multiunit or multifamily dwellings. No bylaw shall have the
 effect of excluding these multiunit or multifamily dwellings from the VT LEG #373143 v.2
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 municipality. For the purposes of this chapter, short-term rentals as defined in
 18 V.S.A. § 4301(a)(14) are not considered dwellings or residential
 development. In any district that allows year-round residential development,
 duplexes shall be an allowed a permitted use with the same dimensional
 standards as that are no more restrictive than is required for a single-unit
 dwelling, including no additional land or lot area than would be required for a
 single-unit dwelling. In any district that is served by municipal sewer and
 water infrastructure that allows residential development, multiunit dwellings
 with four or fewer units shall be a permitted use requiring no additional land or
 lot area than would be required for a single-unit dwelling, unless that district
 specifically requires multiunit structures to have more than four dwelling units.
                                        ***
       (12) In any area served by municipal sewer and water infrastructure that
 allows residential development, bylaws shall establish lot and building
 dimensional standards that allow five or more dwelling units per acre for each
 allowed residential use, and density a minimum lot size of one fifth of an acre.
 Density and minimum lot size standards for duplexes and multiunit dwellings
 shall not be more restrictive than those required for single-family dwellings.
                                        ***
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 Sec. 3. 24 V.S.A. § 4303 is amended to read:
 § 4303. DEFINITIONS
    The following definitions shall apply throughout this chapter unless the
 context otherwise requires:
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       (42)(A) An area “served by municipal sewer and water infrastructure”
 means:
             (i) an area where residential connections and expansions are
 available to municipal water and direct and indirect discharge wastewater
 systems and not prohibited by:
                  (I) State regulations or permits;
                  (II) identified capacity constraints; or
                  (III) municipally adopted service and capacity agreements; or
                  (IV) physical or other constraints that prevent a feasible
 connection; or
             (ii) an area established by the municipality by ordinance or bylaw
 where residential connections and expansions are available to municipal water
 and direct and indirect discharge wastewater systems and which may exclude:
                  (I) flood hazard or inundation areas as established by statute,
 river corridors or fluvial erosion areas as established by statute, shorelands,
 areas within a zoning district or overlay district the purpose of which is natural VT LEG #373143 v.2
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 resource protection, and wherever year-round residential development is not
 allowed;
                 (II) areas with identified service limits established by State
 regulations or permits, identified capacity constraints, or municipally adopted
 service and capacity agreements;
                 (III) areas served by sewer and water to address an identified
 community-scale public health hazard or environmental hazard;
                 (IV) areas serving a mobile home park that is not within an area
 planned for year-round residential growth;
                 (V) areas serving an industrial site or park;
                 (VI) areas where service lines are located to serve the areas
 described in subdivisions (III)–(V) of this subdivision (ii), but no connections
 or expansions are permitted; or
                 (VII) areas that, through an approved Planned Unit
 Development under section 4417 of this title or Transfer of Development
 Rights under section 4423 of this title, prohibit year-round residential
 development.
            (B) Municipally adopted areas served by municipal sewer and water
 infrastructure that limit sewer and water connections and expansions shall not
 result in the unequal treatment of housing by discriminating against a year-
 round residential use or housing type otherwise allowed in this chapter.
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 Sec. 4. 24 V.S.A. § 4465 is amended to read:
 § 4465. APPEALS OF DECISIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
                                       ***
    (d) An appropriate municipal panel hearing and deciding appeals taken
 under this section shall issue a determination within 60 days after receiving the
 appeal.
 Sec. 5. 24 V.S.A. § 4382 is amended to read:
 § 4382. THE PLAN FOR A MUNICIPALITY
    (a) A plan for a municipality shall be consistent with the goals established
 in section 4302 of this title and compatible with approved plans of other
 municipalities in the region and with the regional plan and shall include the
 following:
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       (10) A housing element that shall include a recommended program for
 public and private actions to address housing needs as identified by the
 regional planning commission pursuant to subdivision 4348a(a)(9) of this title.
 The program should shall use data on year-round and seasonal dwellings and
 include specific actions to address the housing needs of persons with low
 income and persons with moderate income and account for permitted
 residential development as described in section 4412 of this title.
                                       ***
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     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                          H.652
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 Sec. 6. 24 V.S.A. § 4442 is amended to read:
 § 4442. ADOPTION OF BYLAWS AND RELATED REGULATORY
          TOOLS; AMENDMENT OR REPEAL
                                        ***
    (c) Routine adoption. A bylaw, bylaw amendment, or bylaw repeal shall
 be adopted by a majority of the members of the legislative body at a meeting
 that is held after the final public hearing and shall be effective 21 days after
 adoption unless, by action of the legislative body, the bylaw, bylaw
 amendment, or bylaw repeal is warned for adoption by the municipality by
 Australian ballot at a special or regular meeting of the municipality.
                                        ***
 Sec. 7. 2023 Acts and Resolves No. 47, Sec. 16a is amended to read:
    Sec. 16a. ACT 250 EXEMPTION REQUIREMENTS
    In order to qualify for the exemptions established in 10 V.S.A. § 6001
 (3)(A)(xi) and (3)(D)(viii)(III), a person shall request a jurisdictional opinion
 under 10 V.S.A. § 6007 on or before June 30, 2026 2028. The jurisdictional
 opinion shall require the project to substantially complete construction on or
 before June 30, 2029 2031 in order to remain exempt.
 Sec. 8. 10 V.S.A. § 699 is amended to read:
 § 699. VERMONT RENTAL HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
    (a) Creation of Program.
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     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                         H.652
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       (1) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall
 design and implement the Vermont Rental Housing Improvement Program,
 through which the Department shall award funding to statewide or regional
 nonprofit housing organizations, or both, to provide competitive grants and
 forgivable loans to private landlords for the rehabilitation, including
 weatherization and accessibility improvements, of eligible rental housing units.
       (2) The Department shall develop statewide standards for the Program,
 including factors that partner organizations shall use to evaluate applications
 and award grants and forgivable loans.
       (3) A landlord shall not offer a unit created through the Program as a
 short-term rental, as defined in 18 V.S.A. § 4301, for the period a grant or loan
 agreement is in effect.
       (4) The Department may utilize a reasonable percentage of
 appropriations made to the Department for the Program to administer the
 Program.
       (5) The Department may cooperate with and subgrant funds to State
 agencies and political subdivisions and public and private organizations in
 order to carry out the purposes of this subsection.
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    (e) Program requirements applicable to grants and five-year forgivable
 loans. For a grant or five-year forgivable loan awarded through the Program,
 the following requirements apply for a minimum period of five years:
         (1) A landlord shall coordinate with nonprofit housing partners and local
 coordinated entry organizations to identify potential tenants.
         (2)(A) Except as provided in subdivision (2)(B) of this subsection (e), a
 landlord shall lease the unit to a household that is exiting homelessness or
 actively working with an immigrant or refugee resettlement program.
            (B) If, upon petition of the landlord, the Department or the housing
 organization that issued the grant determines that a household exiting
 homelessness is not available to lease the unit, then the landlord shall lease the
 unit:
               (i) to a household with an income equal to or less than 80 percent
 of area median income; or
               (ii) if such a household is unavailable, to another household with
 the approval of the Department or housing organization.
         (3)(A) A landlord shall accept any housing vouchers that are available to
 pay all, or a portion of, the tenant’s rent and utilities.
            (B) If no housing voucher or federal or State subsidy is available, the
 total cost of rent for the unit, including utilities not covered by rent payments,
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     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                          H.652
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 shall not exceed the applicable fair market rent established by the Department
 of Housing and Urban Development.
          (4)(A) A landlord may convert a grant to a forgivable loan upon
 approval of the Department and the housing organization that approved the
 grant.
            (B) A landlord who converts a grant to a forgivable loan shall receive
 a 10-percent prorated credit for loan forgiveness for each year in which the
 landlord participates in the grant program.
    (f) Requirements applicable to 10-year forgivable loans. For a 10-year
 forgivable loan awarded through the Program, the following requirements
 apply for a minimum period of 10 years:
          (1)(A) A landlord shall accept any housing vouchers that are available to
 pay all, or a portion of, the tenant’s rent and utilities.
            (B) If no housing voucher or federal or State subsidy is available, the
 cost of rent for the unit, including utilities not covered by rent payments, shall
 not exceed the applicable fair market rent established by the Department of
 Housing and Urban Development.
          (2) The Department shall forgive 10 percent of the amount of a
 forgivable loan for each year a landlord participates in the loan program.
                                          ***
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 Sec. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE
   This act shall take effect on July 1, 2024.
                                                    VT LEG #373143 v.2
Statutes affected: 
As Introduced: 24-4414, 24-4412, 24-4303, 24-4465, 24-4382, 24-4442, 10-699