{"id":19229,"date":"2024-06-06T16:15:18","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T16:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/?p=19229"},"modified":"2024-06-10T16:41:24","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T16:41:24","slug":"santa-fe-realtors-promote-diverse-housing-options-in-housing-strapped-region-2-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-2-4-2-2-3-2-4-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-2-3-2-2-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/homepage\/success-story\/nvr-sg0624","title":{"rendered":"With Help from the REALTOR\u00ae Party, Northwest Vermont REALTOR\u00ae Association Promotes Reforms to the Dated Land Use Policy Stifling Housing Production"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Heavily forested and known for its bucolic agricultural economy, the state of Vermont has the word \u2018green\u2019 right in its name.\u00a0 But while its landscape is an environmentalist\u2019s dream, its housing stock is another matter \u2013 among the oldest in the country and in very short supply, while the state\u2019s prevailing land use legislation, dating from the 1970s, severely restricts new development.\u00a0 To catalyze a shift in the dated regulation, the Northwest Vermont REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> Association (NVRA) conducted polling to assess voter understanding of its impact on the state\u2019s severe housing challenges and used the resulting data to inform a robust consumer advocacy campaign. \u00a0REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> Party programs helped make both efforts possible.<\/p>\n

NVRA CEO Troi Bachmann explains that Act 250, which has governed Vermont\u2019s land use for the past half-century, has been holding developers to a strict 10-5-5 limit:\u00a0 no more than ten new units within five miles of other new construction every five years.\u00a0 Exemptions are only permitted by a governmental review board, adding time and expense to the process, and anyone in the state can submit an appeal to stall the proceedings.\u00a0 \u201cEnvironmental protection has always been a priority of these rules, and that\u2019s admirable,\u201d says Bachmann, \u201cbut the state\u2019s current lack of housing is acute.\u00a0 The rental vacancy rate in Burlington is just 1%, and the average home price in Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties is in the $500K range.\u00a0 Vermont has an aging population and a dwindling workforce, and there\u2019s very little available for the next generation, or for newcomers to the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

The severity of the housing crisis prompted NVRA to investigate housing preferences and perceptions among voters in its jurisdiction, and particularly how well they understood how Act 250 relates to current housing availability and accessibility.\u00a0 \u201cThanks to the REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> Party\u2019s State and Local Growth Polling program<\/a>, we were able to gauge how aware people are that these rules affect what you\u2019d want to build; that, in turn, told us how much we would have to explain in an advocacy campaign,\u201d reports Bachmann, noting that the polling did, in fact, reveal a significant disconnect in voter understanding.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cWith this polling insight in hand, our board of directors and Government Affairs Committee were determined to act on it,\u201d she says.\u00a0 Using a Consumer Advocacy Outreach Grant<\/a>, also from the REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> Party, NVRA launched a month-long direct-to-consumer education campaign it called \u201cUnlock Housing Affordability Options for a Thriving Environment,\u201d featuring a dedicated website, printed mailers, text messaging, and digital ads on social media and news outlets. \u00a0Its goal was to convey that Northwest Vermont needs more housing options; that effective solutions could include revision of Act 250\u2019s 10-5-5 rule, infill development, and adaptive reuse; and that REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> are committed to policies that support homeownership and housing options for all.<\/p>\n

The campaign also emphasized that building affordable housing will bolster local economies, and that smart and sustainable growth will prevent uncontrolled sprawl into the state\u2019s cherished green spaces.<\/p>\n

The effort stimulated member engagement and increased awareness of the issues among the public and, notably, among legislators, who are now on the receiving end of more direct advocacy from NVRA.\u00a0 \u201cThe coalition working for housing policy reforms is moving the needle in a positive direction,\u201d says Bachmann, who is pleased to report that some interim exemptions have now been made within Act 250. \u00a0\u201cThe Consumer Advocacy tool is a great way to engage with people we wouldn\u2019t otherwise be able to reach, in our effort to create a more housing-friendly regulatory environment.\u00a0 Paired with the insights we gained from the polling program, it\u2019s a powerful force!\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about how the Northwest Vermont Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> is working to increase affordable and accessible housing, contact CEO Troi Bachmann at troi@nwvtrealtor.org<\/a>\u00a0or 802.862.6407.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"REALTOR\u00ae Party polling helped the Northwest Vermont REALTOR\u00ae Association understand the disconnect between local perceptions about housing supply and affordability, and the impact of Act 250, the state\u2019s longstanding land use regulation. With a Consumer Advocacy Outreach Grant, the association developed a campaign to clarify the issues: Unlock Housing Affordability Options for a Thriving Environment.","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,33,296],"tags":[355,501,344,1768],"class_list":["post-19229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-us","category-success-stories","category-success-story","tag-land-use","tag-land-use-initiative","tag-smart-growth","tag-vermont"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}