The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 24 : Municipal and County Government

Chapter 053 : Indebtedness

Subchapter 007 : COMMUNITY AND HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM

• § 1910. Housing infrastructure project application; Vermont Economic Progress Council

  (a) Application. A municipality, upon approval of its legislative body, may apply to the Vermont Economic Progress Council to use tax increment financing for a housing infrastructure project.

  (b) But-for test. The Vermont Economic Progress Council shall review each application other than those for which the housing development is an affordable housing development to determine whether the infrastructure improvements proposed to serve the housing development site and the proposed housing development would not have occurred as proposed in the application or would have occurred in a significantly different and less desirable manner than as proposed in the application but for the proposed utilization of the incremental tax revenues.

  (c) Process requirements. The Vermont Economic Progress Council shall review a municipality’s housing infrastructure project application to determine whether the municipality has:

  (1) created a housing infrastructure project and housing development site pursuant to section 1908 of this subchapter;

  (2) executed a housing infrastructure agreement for the housing infrastructure project that adheres to the standards of section 1909 of this subchapter with a developer and, if the municipality is not financing the housing infrastructure project itself, a sponsor; and

  (3) approved or pledged to use incremental municipal tax revenues for the housing infrastructure project in the proportion provided for municipal tax revenues in section 1910c of this subchapter.

  (d) Project criteria. The Vermont Economic Progress Council shall review a municipality’s housing infrastructure project application to determine whether:

  (1) at least 60 percent of the floor area of the projected housing development is dedicated to housing; or

  (2) the projected housing development meaningfully addresses the purpose of section 1907 of this subchapter.

  (e) Affordability criterion. The Vermont Economic Progress Council shall review a municipality’s housing infrastructure project application to determine whether the projected housing development is an affordable housing development or a moderate-income housing development for purposes of the increased education property tax increment retention percentage under section 1910c of this subchapter.

  (f) Tax increment financing plan. The Vermont Economic Progress Council shall approve a municipality’s tax increment financing plan prior to a sponsor’s incurrence of debt for the housing infrastructure project, including, if the sponsor is a municipality, prior to a public vote to pledge the credit of the municipality under section 1910a of this subchapter. The tax increment financing plan shall include:

  (1) a statement of costs and sources of revenue;

  (2) estimates of assessed values within the housing development site;

  (3) the portion of those assessed values to be applied to the housing infrastructure project;

  (4) the resulting tax increments in each year of the financial plan and the lifetime education property tax increment retention;

  (5) the amount of bonded indebtedness or other financing to be incurred;

  (6) other sources of financing and anticipated revenues; and

  (7) the duration of the financial plan.

  (g) Approval. The Vermont Economic Progress Council shall approve or deny an application submitted pursuant to this section not later than 90 days following the site visit conducted as part of the application’s review. The Vermont Economic Progress Council shall only approve tax increment financing for applications:

  (1) that meet the process requirements, either of the project criteria of this section, and, for an application for which the housing development is not an affordable housing development, the but-for test;

  (2) for which the Council has approved the tax increment financing plan; and

  (3) that are submitted on or before December 31, 2035.

  (h) Limit. The Vermont Economic Progress Council shall not annually approve more than $200,000,000.00 in aggregate lifetime education property tax increment retention. (Added 2025, No. 69, § 20, eff. July 1, 2025.)