February is Black History Month. Our nation has a long history of racist housing practices which prevented many Black Americans and other minorities from becoming homeowners and effectively restricted them to living in certain neighborhoods. The impact of these practices is felt to this day, with many cities still largely segregated along the lines originally drawn by redlining.
Planning
Zoning for Great Neighborhoods webinar on January 26 & 28
The Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), AARP-VT, and the Congress for New Urbanism will host a series of free webinars on zoning changes for community development on Tuesday, January 26 from 1:00 to 2:00 and Thursday, January 28 from 1:00 to 2:30.
Vermont Legislature and Governor expand options for accessory dwelling units
Vermont sealed the approval of legislation this week to ease the challenges faced by residents seeking to add an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to existing residential properties.
ADUs are small houses or apartments that exist on the same property lot as a single-family residence. This once-popular home type is re-emerging as an affordable and flexible housing option that can help meet the growing needs of older adults and young families.
Webinar on local housing committees on August 21
Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO)'s Fair Housing Project will host a free webinar on local housing committees on Friday, August 21 from 12:30 p.m to 2:30 p.m.
VHFA awards state tax credits for affordable homeownership development
Last week the VHFA Board of Commissioners awarded state housing tax credits for five affordable homeownership development projects. In total, VHFA allocates $1,075,000 in state housing tax credits each year, $425,000 of which was awarded last week for affordable homeownership development. Once sold to investors, those credits will yield approximately $1.9 million in equity for construction.
The ABCs of ADUs: An Informational Webinar
AARP Vermont and HomeShare VT are co-sponsoring a free informational webinar with housing experts and Burlington Planning & Zoning staff on Thursday, June 4th from 12- 1PM.
The webinar will address the benefits of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), share architectural design ideas, the latest zoning regulations passed by City Council, and the steps required to get an ADU permitted and built in the city of Burlington.
ADUs are small houses or apartments that exist on the same property lot as a single-family residence. This once-popular home type is re-emerging as an affordable and flexible housing option that meets the needs of demographics such as older adults and young families.
Don’t forget to complete the 2020 Census!
Haven’t gotten around to completing the 2020 Census yet? If you did not receive materials in the mail with instructions to complete the 2020 Census, you can follow the link below, which provides comprehensive instructions to complete the process:
On March 12th, the United States Census Bureau began issuing questionnaires in the mail to homes across the United States for residents to complete the 2020 Census. The very next day, Governor Phil Scott declared a state of emergency in Vermont due to the coronavirus pandemic and as of May 12th, only 49.7% of Vermont households have responded to the questionnaire, compared to a nationwide rate of 58.6%.
Help identify high impact strategies for promoting Vermont’s recovery
The Local Support and Community Action Team of the State of Vermont Economic Mitigation and Recovery Task Force needs your help prioritizing high impact ideas and actions identified by diverse stakeholders for COVID-19 recovery. The task force was established by Governor Scott to help mitigate the short-term economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and develop strategies for long-term business and community recovery.
Please share your views in this quick survey on or before Tuesday, May 12th.
Assessing the pandemic’s impact on Vermont communities
Statewide reports of rising unemployment and residents in nursing homes especially vulnerable to COVID-19 can cause more questions than answers for Vermont’s communities. How many of our residents are unemployed? How many live in “group quarters” and are especially at risk of contagious disease like COVID-19? How many of our neighbors experience homelessness or have such high housing costs relative to their incomes that their housing stability is at risk if their income falls?
This week VHFA released a new dashboard of pandemic impact indicators to help local and state decision makers get answers to questions on community, county and state level effects of COVID-19.
Location matters for housing affordability
This commentary by VHFA Executive Director Maura Collins appeared recently in VTDigger
Housing affordability can’t be judged just on how much it costs to rent or buy a home. Although those indicators are important, the total costs of housing, both for households and the community, depend heavily on where the home is located.