Advocacy Update – Week 5 – 2026

Mapping Act 250 Changes  

This week, legislative activity regarding Act 250 focused on the complex and controversial implementation of Act 181, the 2024 reform law that shifted jurisdiction from project size to a location-based “tiered” system. 

• While the law aims to promote housing in town centers and protect sensitive ecosystems, it has sparked significant friction between state planners and rural advocates who see tighter restrictions on 60% or more of the state as a land grab. 
• Additionally, critics from more urban areas of the state have noted that the 2% to 5% of the state greenlit for development is woefully inadequate to meet the state’s housing needs and statutory goals. 

Catch up quick: Act 181 transitioned the state to place–based jurisdiction, shifting from how big a project is to where it is located, which means the state is currently undergoing a first-of-its-kind mapping process to categorize all Vermont land into three tiers, which will determine how Act 250 applies:

• Tier 1 Growth Areas: Designed to ease homebuilding, this tier is split into Tier 1A, which is fully exempt for towns with sophisticated zoning, and Tier 1B, which is exempt for projects of 50 units or fewer. 
  • Regional planners expect only about 2% to 2.5% of the state’s land to eventually fall into this category, though for Chittenden County, this could be as high as 11% of the land.
• Tier 2 Status Quo for Rural Areas … with a Significant Addition: Encompasses the majority of the state, where the existing Act 250 structure continues with the addition of the “road rule” under which constructing a private road over 800 feet long, or a combination of roads and driveways longer than 2,000 feet, triggers Act 250 jurisdiction in Tier 2 areas.
• Tier 3 “Critical Natural Resources”: Areas like headwater streams, rare natural communities, and habitat connectors where Act 250 review will be automatic for most construction.

Zoom out: This does not include what is in separately passed legislation, and this author jokingly calls “Tier 4”; 

• Act 121, passed in 2024, authorizes the Department of Environmental Conservation to establish statewide permitting requirements for development within mapped river corridors, which will cover about 209,000 acres of Vermont land affecting an estimated 45,000 parcel owners. 

Implementation Tensions: Members of the Rural Caucus have expressed frustration, worrying that this new regulatory regime could freeze economic growth in small towns. Legislators argued that the “sequencing” of the law is flawed, as regulatory triggers (like the road rule) are scheduled to take effect before the regional maps that define the tiers are finalized.

Legislative Action: H.730 

In response to these concerns, H.730 was introduced by Representative Laura Sibilia and a large coalition of rural lawmakers to slow down implementation. Key provisions of the bill include:

• Delayed Rulemaking: Moving the final Tier 3 rulemaking deadline from 2026 to February 1, 2027.
• Property Owner Notice: Requiring the Land Use Review Board (LURB) to mail written notice to every property owner in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 area at least 30 days before public meetings.
• Tax Valuation Adjustments: Requiring municipal assessors to account for any impact on fair market value caused by Act 250 development requirements when appraising parcels.

S.305: Additionally, Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale introduced S.305 to clarify the law’s intent, noting in a recent meeting that current density rules may unintentionally encourage large, expensive housing instead of the clustered affordable or senior housing the legislature intended.

Between the lines: we’ve discussed in past updates the potential perils of locking up more land in regulation and the effects this will have on the state’s tax base, which is showing signs of distress with delinquencies. 

Read more about Act 181 implementation via VPR