Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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                                     H.683
 Introduced by Representative Bongartz of Manchester
 Referred to Committee on
 Date:
 Subject: Conservation and development; land use; Historic downtown
           development; State designated areas
 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to update the
 State Designated Areas Program by streamlining the designations and
 changing the application process.
    An act relating to modernizing the State Designated Areas Program
 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
 Sec. 1. REPEAL
    24 V.S.A. chapter 76A is repealed.
 Sec. 2. 24 V.S.A. chapter 139 is added to read:
              CHAPTER 139. DESIGNATED AREAS PROGRAM
 § 5801. DEFINITIONS
    As used in this chapter:
         (1) “Department” means the Vermont Department of Housing and
 Community Development.
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       (2) “Designated Neighborhood” means an area designated under section
 5805 of this title.
       (3) “Development-Ready Area” means a geographic area designated
 under this chapter that overlays a Downtown and Village Commercial Core or
 Designated Neighborhood. It creates an area that can be applied to cores and
 neighborhoods in whole or part, within a regionally mapped planned growth
 area. The purpose of the Development-Ready Area is to extend State
 regulatory and nonregulatory benefits, including possible Act 250 exemption,
 delegation, jurisdictional ease, or presumptions of compliance to recognize
 local conditions and capacity in areas planned for smart growth development
 and redevelopment.
       (4) “Downtown” means the traditional central business district of a
 community that has served as the focus of socioeconomic interaction in the
 community, characterized by a cohesive core of commercial and mixed-use
 buildings, some of which may contain mixed-use spaces, often interspersed
 with civic, religious, residential, and industrial buildings and public spaces,
 typically arranged along a main street and intersecting side streets that are
 within walking distance for residents who live within and surrounding the core
 and that are served by public infrastructure such as sidewalks and public
 transit. Downtowns are typically larger in scale than village centers and are VT LEG #373269 v.3
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 characterized by a development pattern that is consistent with smart growth
 principles.
       (5) “Downtown and village commercial core” or “commercial core”
 means a district designated by the Vermont Downtown and Village Board
 under this title. It refers to the core of a traditional settlement, typically
 composed of a cohesive mix of residential, civic, religious, commercial, and
 mixed-use buildings arranged along a main street and intersecting streets that
 are within walking distance for residents who live within and surrounding the
 core. Industrial uses may be found within or immediately adjacent to these
 centers.
       (6) “Infill” means the use of vacant land or property or the
 redevelopment of existing buildings within a built-up area for further
 construction or land development.
       (7) “Local downtown organization” means either a nonprofit
 corporation or a board, council, or commission created by the legislative body
 of the municipality whose primary purpose is to administer and implement the
 community reinvestment agreement and other matters regarding the
 revitalization of the downtown.
       (8) “Planned Growth Area” means an area mapped by the regional
 planning commission on the regional maps, that may encompass a vital core VT LEG #373269 v.3
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 area that has the potential to be designated as either a Commercial Core or
 Designated Neighborhood, or both.
       (9) “Smart growth principles” means growth that:
             (A) maintains the historic development pattern of compact village
 and urban centers separated by rural countryside;
             (B) develops compact mixed-use centers at a scale appropriate for the
 community and the region;
             (C) enables choice in modes of transportation;
             (D) protects the State’s important environmental, natural, and historic
 features, including natural areas, water quality, scenic resources, and historic
 sites and districts;
             (E) serves to strengthen agricultural and forest industries and
 minimizes conflicts of development with these industries;
             (F) balances growth with the availability of economic and efficient
 public utilities and services;
             (G) supports a diversity of viable businesses in downtowns and
 villages;
             (H) provides for housing that meets the needs of a diversity of social
 and income groups in each community; and
             (I) reflects a settlement pattern that, at full build-out, is not
 characterized by:
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              (i) scattered development located outside compact urban and
 village centers that is excessively land consumptive and inefficient;
              (ii) development that limits transportation options, especially for
 pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and people with disabilities;
              (iii) the fragmentation of farmland and forestland;
              (iv) development that does not make efficient use of land, energy,
 roads, utilities, and other supporting infrastructure or that requires the
 extension of infrastructure across undeveloped lands outside compact, villages,
 downtowns, or urban centers; and
              (v) development that does not contribute to a pattern of strip linear
 development along well-traveled roads and highways that lacks depth, as
 measured from the highway.
       (10) “Sprawl repair” means the redevelopment of developed lands in a
 pattern that is consistent with smart growth principles and is walkable to an
 existing core and served by water and sewer infrastructure.
       (11) “State Board” means the State Designated Area Board established
 in section 5802 of this title.
 § 5802. VERMONT DOWNTOWN AND VILLAGE BOARD
    (a) A “Vermont Downtown and Village Board,” also referred to as the
 “State Board,” is created to administer the provisions of this chapter. The State
 Board shall be composed of the following members:
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      (1) The Secretary of Commerce and Community Development or
 designee.
      (2) The Secretary of Transportation or designee.
      (3) The Secretary of Natural Resources or designee.
      (4) The Commissioner of Public Safety or designee.
      (5) The State Historic Preservation Officer or designee.
      (6) The Director of Racial Equity or designee.
      (7) A person appointed by the Governor from a list of three names
 submitted by the Vermont Natural Resources Council and the Preservation
 Trust of Vermont.
      (8) A person appointed by the Governor from a list of three names
 submitted by the Association of Chamber Executives.
      (9) Three public members representative of local government, one of
 whom shall be designated by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, and
 two of whom shall be appointed by the Governor.
      (10) A member of the Vermont Planners Association (VPA) designated
 by the Association.
      (11) The Chair of the Natural Resources Board or a representative of the
 Natural Resources Board designated by the Chair.
      (12) A representative of a regional planning commission designated by
 the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies (VAPDA)
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 and an alternate representative designated by VAPDA to enable all
 applications to be considered by a representative from a regional planning
 commission other than the one of which the applicant municipality is a
 member. The alternate designated by VAPDA may vote only when the
 designated representative does not vote.
    (b) The State Board shall annually elect a chair and vice chair from among
 its membership at the first meeting in the new fiscal year.
    (c) The Department shall provide legal, staff, and administrative support to
 the State Board, shall produce guidelines to direct municipalities seeking to
 obtain designation under this chapter and for other purposes established by this
 chapter, and shall pay per diem compensation for board members pursuant to
 32 V.S.A. § 1010(b).
    (d) The State Board shall meet at least quarterly.
    (e) The Board shall have authority to adopt rules of procedure to use for
 appeal of its decisions and rules on handling conflicts of interest.
    (f) In addition to any other duties confirmed by law, the Board shall have
 the following duties:
       (1) serving as the funding and benefits coordination body for the
 Designated Areas Program;
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       (2) reviewing and approving regional land use maps reviewed by the
 regional planning commission for Commercial Core and Designated
 Neighborhood recognition;
       (3) ability to condition designation approvals, modify maps presented
 and the boundaries of designated areas, and continue hearings when in need of
 additional information;
       (4) ability to suspend or remove a designation; and
       (5) tax credit review and approval under the 32 V.S.A. § 5930aa et seq.
 § 5803. MAPPING BY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSIONS
    (a) The regional planning commission, as part of the regional plan’s future
 land use maps, shall map areas of their member of municipalities that have the
 potential to be designated as Commercial Cores and Designated
 Neighborhoods in consultation with the municipalities. These areas shall be
 known as Planned Growth Areas and may encompass regionally mapped vital
 core areas. Proposed Development-Ready Areas may be mapped by a
 municipality in consultation with the regional planning commission pursuant
 to section 5806 of this title. The Vermont Association of Planning and
 Development Agencies (VAPDA) shall develop a standard methodology for
 the mapping of these areas which shall integrate consistent elements in the
 municipal and regional plan.
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    (b) On or before July 1, 2027, the VAPDA shall develop standard
 methodology for the mapping of the designated areas that shall integrate
 consistent elements in the plan for a municipality. The methodology shall
 recommend a streamlined procedure for minor amendments by the State to the
 boundaries of the designated areas.
    (c) A regional map shall be reviewed by a designated panel composed of
 representative from at least three adjoining regional planning commissions,
 and nothing in this section shall prevent any regional planning commission
 from issuing independent comments. The VAPDA shall develop a preadoption
 process by which to review the maps and issue findings on conformance with
 this chapter and chapter 117 of this title.
    (d) After review by the other regional planning commissions, the regional
 map shall be submitted to the State Board for review and approval.
    (e) A municipality may apply to the regional planning commission to
 request the mapping of areas that would qualify to be designated as
 Development-Ready Areas. The VAPDA shall develop a process by which to
 map Development-Ready Areas.
 § 5804. DESIGNATION OF DOWNTOWN AND VILLAGE
          COMMERICIAL CORE
    (a) Designation established. A regional planning commission may apply to
 the State Board for designation of all commercial cores within that region as
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 Downtown and Village Commercial Cores, also known as the Commercial
 Core, by submitting the adopted regional map reviewed by adjoining regions.
 The proposed map shall include historic downtowns and villages with
 community economic activity and civic assets like municipal offices, libraries,
 post offices, and sidewalks. It shall encompass an area that extends access to
 benefits that sustain and revitalize existing buildings and maintains the basis of
 the program’s original focus on strong downtowns and villages by promoting
 development patterns and historic preservation practices vital to Vermont’s
 economy, cultural landscape, equity of opportunity, and climate resilience.
       (1) A preapplication meeting shall be held with Department staff to
 review the program requirements and review the regional maps and adjoining
 regional planning commission reviews. The meeting shall be held in the
 region unless another location is agreed to by the region.
       (2) An application by a region shall contain the regional planning map
 that outlines the Core Areas for the municipalities throughout the region. The
 application shall also include evidence that the municipalities have been
 notified of the regional planning commission’s intent to apply, evidence that
 notice of its application has published in a local newspaper of general
 circulation within the region, and information showing that the district meets
 the standards for designation established in subsection (f) of this section.
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    (b) Exclusions. The area designated by the region for the Commercial
 Core shall not include the following categories defined in regional maps:
          (A) leap-frog development that is disconnected from a Core and that
 lacks a pedestrian connection to the Core via a complete street;
          (B) Transitional Areas;
          (C) unplanned expansions not served by infrastructure;
          (D) Resource-Based Recreation Areas;
          (E) Enterprise Areas not part of Planned Growth Area; and
          (F) Rural: farms, forest, conservation areas.
    (c) Approval. At the first meeting of the State Board held after 45 days of
 receipt of a completed application, the State Board shall designate Commercial
 Core if the State Board finds in its written decision that the regional planning
 commission has met the requirements of at least one step on the benefits ladder
 described in subsection (f) of this section.
    (d) Data Center. The Department shall maintain an online Municipal
 Planning Data Center indicating the status of each designation within a
 municipality to be updated at least once per year using information provided
 by the regional planning commissions.
    (e) Transition. All designated village centers, new town centers, or
 downtowns existing as of July 1, 2024 will remain vested with the current
 benefits until July 1, 2029 or upon approval of the regional maps, whichever VT LEG #373269 v.3
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 comes first. All existing designations in effect on July 1, 2024 will expire on
 July 1, 2029 if the regional planning commission does not gain approval under
 this chapter. All benefits for designated village centers, downtowns, and new
 town centers that are removed under this chapter shall remain vested with prior
 designations existing as of July 1, 2024 until July 1, 2032.
    (f) Benefits Steps. A Commercial Core may receive a