NRPC Newsletter

Northwest Regional Planning Commission

Newsletter - June, 2023

NRPC Brownfields Program Recapitalized with EPA & State Grants

The NRPC Brownfields Program recently received $1,000,000 to recapitalize its cleanup RLF and $350,000 to recapitalize its assessment program from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Under the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002, as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2018, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through competitive grant programs. The RLF grant was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). NRPC’s Assessment program will also receive up to $90,000 from the State of Vermont Brownfields Revitalization Fund.

5 Northwest Towns Receive Municipal Planning Grants

Congratulations to Grand Isle, Highgate, Montgomery, Richford and St. Albans Town on their FY23 Municipal Planning Grant Awards! Municipal Planning Grants support local planning and community revitalization initiatives that ready projects for implementation, build strong communities and improve Vermont’s quality of life. Grants are awarded annually and administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Since 1998, the program has provided over $14 million to 237 cities and towns. This year, $598,997 was awarded to 29 municipalities including 1 consortium.

Housing Built over Last 20 Years Doesn’t Meet Our Changing Population’s Needs

Did you know that most of the housing built in the last 20 years has not met the needs of many people in our region?

Our 2022 Housing Needs Assessment shows that the number of people in our households continues to decline (2.47 people in Franklin County and 2.30 in Grand Isle County). It also showed a rise in the proportion of non-family households and single person households.

During the same period however, 79% of the homes built were single units that do not match the needs for these smaller and non-family households. They face the additional challenge of finding a home because of low quantities of multi-unit housing in the region.

NRPC is working through implementation of our Regional Plan and the Housing For All initiative to support the creation of homes that meet their needs and those of our changing population. Share your comments on our draft Regional Plan here. We are also happy to meet with your planning commission, development review board, or selectboard to share more about this work. Contact Barry Lampke for more information.

Municipal Energy Resilience Program

The Municipal Energy Resilience Program (MERP) is a new grant program funded by Vermont Building and General Services (BGS) and administered by regional planning commissions to help communities become more energy resilient.

Passed on June 2^nd, 2022, Act 172 (As Enacted link) authorized MERP $45 million to support dependable and sustainable connections to critical municipal services for all Vermonters. Buildings owned by cities, towns, fire districts, incorporated villages, and all other governmental incorporated units except for school districts are eligible for the program. No local match is required for this funding.

The Municipal Energy Resilience Program (MERP) will provide staff support, application and technical assistance, and funding to help communities become more energy resilient, reduce energy use and operating costs, and curb greenhouse gas emissions by promoting renewable energy, battery storage, electric vehicle charging, weatherization, thermal improvements, fuel switching, and enhanced building comfort in municipal buildings and facilities.

NRPC New Employeee!

Maddie Yandow is the new Project Manager. She will work on transportation and environmental projects including those through the Clean Water Service Provider. She will prepare and administer project proposals, grant applications, work plans, budgets and contracts. Also, she will collect and manage data and prepare reports. Maddie has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science and minored in Geospatial Technologies from the University of Vermont. Previously she worked in the stormwater consulting world, scoping, inspecting, and permitting for regulatory stormwater practices.

Department of Housing and Community Development Survey

You are invited to take the Department of Housing and Community Development’s 2023 Vermont Planning Survey.

This survey is an opportunity to share your community planning priorities and tell us about your experience with the Municipal Planning Grant and Bylaw Modernization Grant programs. Your responses will help the Department shape the FY24 grants and other initiatives.

You can access the survey here.

The survey will be open for two weeks. Responses will not be associated with individuals in reporting.

Thanks for your feedback!

Successful Stream Cleanup of Stevens Brook

The Franklin County Stormwater Collaborative, an outreach program run by the Northwest Regional Planning Commission in partnership with the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain, hosted a successful stream cleanup of Stevens Brook on Sunday, May 21. It was a sunny day, and several interesting items were pulled out of the stream, including a sewing machine, a skateboard, a human-sized stuffed unicorn, and a set of tires, along with several additional bags of trash. Mill River BBQ and Brewing hosted the volunteers after the event, treating them to their local brew and fresh pizza. We also welcomed our youngest volunteer to date, 8-year-old Juliana!

Congratulations to Sandy Gregg –

Citizen Planner

of the Year!

Sandy Gregg’s has spent over 10 years serving on the South Hero Planning Commission and the South Hero Meeting House Steering Committee. Sandy has provided steady leadership during a town plan update as well as during a zoning bylaw rewrite. She has helped raise the profile and understanding of town planning in South Hero, supported fellow planning commissioners and town staff, and brought together diverse interests from the community to find common ground. Sandy has facilitated challenging conversations about the community’s future, and supported work that has led to responsible growth and development in South Hero’s village center while working to maintain South Hero’s special island character.

Lake Carmi Stormwater Improvement

Patton Road before and after implementation.

NRPC is pleased to announce that nutrient-reducing Best Management Practices were recently installed on a segment of Patton Shore Road located alongside Lake Carmi. The work was part of a larger project in which NRPC conducted a road erosion inventory, prioritized roads segments for their potential to support projects that could improve water quality, and developed designs for a small number of areas based on landowner willingness, likelihood of long-term success, and cost effectiveness.