by Joseph Gresser
NEWPORT — Despite concerns expressed by Northeast Kingdom residents at hearings held to discuss it, the board of the Northeast Vermont Development Association (NVDA) approved the organization’s regional plan. The board met at Le Belvedere on October 15 for the organization’s annual meeting, not long after the third hearing on the plan.
While the NVDA has created numerous regional plans over the years, this year’s version drew special attention because it was drafted to conform with the requirements of Act 181. That law, which made changes to Act 250, was passed over Governor Phil Scott’s veto in 2024.
While Act 181 relieved developers of the need to go through the Act 250 process when building housing in more built-up areas of the state, it infuriated many in more rural areas by forcing anyone who wished to build a road or driveway more than 800-feet-long to get an Act 250 permit. The law also put more environmentally sensitive areas into the “Tier 3” category, which would also have made an Act 250 permit mandatory for any development.
After residents of the state’s more rural areas let their anger be heard, the Legislature repealed the most disliked parts of the law earlier this year. From the tenor of comments at the NVDA hearings, it appeared that many still are suspicious about Act 181.
Some were not convinced when ….
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