The Insidious Costs of Our Oil Addiction

Confronted with pictures of oil-soaked pelicans struggling in Louisiana marshes, we are reminded once again of the many costs of our addiction to oil.

Now, a new study has revealed a more direct cost – also related to our petroleum-based transportation network – that is hitting closer to home: a budget strain Vermont families face if they choose to live far from town centers.

State Gets it Right in Designating Hartford Growth Center

The Expanded Downtown Board – the entity responsible for administering Vermont’s Growth Centers Program – has struggled with how to apply the standards that communities must meet to achieve growth center designation.

Vermont Senate Approves Changes to Growth Centers Program

Despite the recent success with the Hartford Growth Center, there are several problems with the growth centers program that need fixing.

Permitting Truth: A Two-Pronged Assault on Vermont's Environment

The 2009 legislative session began with a real eye-opener for Vermonters who care about the environment. Governor Douglas came out of the gate in his fourth inaugural address with a proposal to sabotage Vermont’s landmark land use and development law — Act 250. Essentially asserting that Act 250 and other environmental permitting are a hindrance to economic development — when leading economists and the state’s own facts say otherwise — the governor proposed eviscerating the state’s best tool to protect the environment.

My Turn: Douglas Taking Vermont on a Race to the Bottom

"When it comes to economic development, states across the nation generally choose one of two approaches. They either race to the top, or race to the bottom. For the past 40 years, Vermont has, for the most part, raced to the top. And, for the most part, this strategy has worked." In this op-ed, VNRC's Brian Shupe comments that "Racing to the bottom involves eliminating perceived barriers to development regardless of the implications. Protecting air and water quality becomes an unaffordable luxury. Community character is sacrificed to standards dictated by national franchises." ...

VNRC: Active on Growth Centers

VNRC continues to work to strengthen Vermont’s downtowns as well as protect the state’s spectacular and countryside. Specifically, VNRC has been a part of several initiatives implementing the “growth center” law passed last year, including shaping a manual to help guide communities through the Growth Center designation process and developing an interim procedure to reduce the effect of development on agricultural lands.

Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative

The following organizations have joined together to launch a collaborative effort to advance policy, education and community strategies to reduce sprawl and achieve smart growth in Vermont.

Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative: Housing Endorsement Program

The Housing Endorsement Program is a Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative initiative to actively encourage smart growth development that provides housing for all Vermonters. Since December 2001, the VSGC has been working with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, Housing Vermont, and other housing organizations to create a voluntary housing endorsement program, which uses criteria to evaluate new housing projects based on smart growth principles. Guidance for the criteria came from "Growing Smarter, Best Site Planning Practices for Residential, Commercial and Industrial Development", a project of the Vermont Forum on Sprawl and an advisory group, including architects, landscape architects, preservationists, planners, homebuilders, environmentalists, community developers, realtors and government representatives. Projects which effectively demonstrate smart growth principles during their planning stages will earn a VSGC endorsement or "stamp of approval." This endorsement could be submitted with other project materials during the planning and permitting stages.

Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative Citizen Education and Outreach Program

The Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative is pleased to offer workshops and technical assistance on smart growth planning tools and strategies for communities and citizens. The Collaborative’s members have a wide range of experience in community and regional planning, legal assistance, environmental science, housing, community development, landscape architecture, historic preservation and other fields.

Higher Standards for Big Box Campaign

In the summer of 2005, VNRC joined forces with the Vermont Livable Wage Campaign and the Vermont Workers’ Center in a partnership aimed at holding Wal-Mart and other big boxes accountable to the people and places where they locate. The “Higher Standards for Big Box Campaign” is a focused effort to merge the social justice, labor and environmental interests of each organization.