§ 6034. Tier 1A area status
(a) Application and approval.
(1) Beginning on January 1, 2026, a municipality, by resolution of its legislative body,
may apply to the Land Use Review Board for Tier 1A status for the area of the municipality
that is suitable for dense development and meets the requirements of subsection (b)
of this section. A municipality may apply for multiple noncontiguous areas to be receive
Tier 1A area status. Applications may be submitted at different times.
(2) The Board shall issue an affirmative determination on finding that the municipality
meets the requirements of subsection (b) of this section within 45 days after the
application is received.
(b) Tier 1A area status requirements.
(1) To obtain a Tier 1A area status under this section, a municipality shall demonstrate
to the Board that it has each of the following:
(A) A municipal plan that is approved in accordance with 24 V.S.A. § 4350.
(B) The boundaries are consistent with downtown or village centers and planned growth
areas as defined 24 V.S.A. § 4348a(a)(12) in an approved regional plan future land use map with any minor amendments.
(C) The municipality has adopted flood hazard and river corridor bylaws, applicable to
the entire municipality, that are consistent with or stronger than the standards established
pursuant to subsection 755(b) of this title (flood hazard) and subsection 1428(b) of this title (river corridor) or the proposed Tier 1A area excludes the flood hazard areas and
river corridor.
(D) The municipality has adopted permanent zoning and subdivision bylaws that do not include
broad exemptions that exclude significant private or public land development from
requiring a municipal land use permit.
(E) The municipality has permanent land development regulations for the Tier 1A area that
further the smart growth principles of 24 V.S.A. chapter 76A, adequately regulate the physical form and scale of development, provide reasonable
provision for a portion of the areas with sewer and water to allow at least four stories,
and conform to the guidelines established by the Board.
(F) The Tier 1A area is compatible with the character of adjacent National Register Historic
Districts, National or State Register Historic Sites, and other significant cultural
and natural resources identified by local or State government.
(G) The municipality has identified and planned for the maintenance of significant natural
communities, rare, threatened, and endangered species located in the Tier 1A area
or excluded those areas from the Tier 1A area.
(H) Public water and wastewater systems or planned improvements have the capacity to support
additional development within the Tier 1A area.
(I) Municipal staff adequate to support coordinated comprehensive and capital planning,
development review, and zoning administration in the Tier 1A area.
(2) If any party entitled to notice under subdivision (c)(3)(A) of this section or any
resident of the municipality raises concerns about the municipality’s compliance with
the requirements, those concerns shall be addressed as part of the municipality’s
application.
(c) Process for issuing determinations of Tier 1A area status.
(1) A preapplication meeting shall be held with the Board staff, municipal staff, and
staff of the relevant regional planning commission (RPC) to review the requirements
of subsection (b) of this section. The meeting shall be held in person or electronically.
(2) An application by the municipality shall include the information and analysis required
by the Board’s guidelines on how to meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this
section.
(3) After receipt of a complete final application, the Land Use Review Board shall convene
a public hearing in the municipality to consider whether to issue a determination
of Tier 1A area status under this section.
(A) Notice.
(i) At least 35 days in advance of the Board’s meeting, the regional planning commission
shall post notice of the meeting on its website.
(ii) The municipality shall publish notice of the meeting 30 days and 15 days in advance
of the Board’s meeting in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality,
and deliver physically or electronically, with proof of receipt or by certified mail,
return receipt requested to the Agency of Natural Resources; the Division for Historic
Preservation; the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets; the Agency of Transportation;
the regional planning commission; the regional development corporations; and the entities
providing educational, police, and fire services to the municipality.
(iii) The notice shall also be posted by the municipality in or near the municipal clerk’s
office and in at least two other designated public places in the municipality, on
the websites of the municipality and the regional planning commission, and on any
relevant e-mail lists or social media that the municipality uses.
(iv) The municipality shall also certify in writing that the notice required by this subsection
(c) has been published, delivered, and posted within the specified time.
(v) Notice of an application for Tier 1A area status shall be delivered physically or
electronically with proof of receipt or sent by certified mail, return receipt requested,
to each of the following:
(I) the chair of the legislative body of each adjoining municipality;
(II) the executive director of each abutting regional planning commission;
(III) the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Community Investment Board
for a formal review and comment; and
(IV) business, conservation, low-income advocacy, and other community or interest groups
or organizations that have requested notice in writing prior to the date the hearing
is warned.
(B) No defect in the form or substance of any requirements of this subsection (c) shall
invalidate the action of the Board where reasonable efforts are made to provide adequate
posting and notice. However, the action shall be invalid when the defective posting
or notice was materially misleading in content. If an action is ruled to be invalid
by the Superior Court or by the Board itself, the municipality shall issue new posting
and notice, and the Board shall hold a new hearing and take a new action.
(4) The Board may recess the proceedings on any application pending submission of additional
information. The Board shall close the proceedings promptly after all parties have
submitted the requested information.
(5) The Board shall issue its determination in writing. The determination shall include
explicit findings on each of the requirements in subsection (b) of this section.
(d) Review of status.
(1) Initial determination of status may be made at any time. Thereafter, review of a status
shall occur every eight years with a check-in after four years.
(2) The Board, on its motion, may review compliance with the Tier 1A area requirements
at more frequent intervals.
(3) If at any time the Board determines that the Tier 1A area no longer meets the standards
for the status, it shall take one of the following actions:
(A) require corrective action within a reasonable time frame; or
(B) terminate the status. (Added 2023, No. 181 (Adj. Sess.), § 28, eff. June 17, 2024.)