Vermont

A scramble for some Vermont communities as duplexes get fast-tracked

Published

2 years ago

June 26, 2023

A scramble for some Vermont communities as duplexes get fast-tracked

ST. ALBANS, Vt. (WCAX) – Sweeping housing changes are coming to Vermont faster than some anticipated.

A compromise bill passed by lawmakers during last week’s veto session looks to help some 1,200 people living in hotels find permanent shelter. But it did more than that. As of July 1, a separate bill also allows people to build duplexes wherever they can build a single-family home. That change is coming a year ahead of schedule in hopes of putting a dent in Vermont’s housing shortage.

The change took some cities by surprise. City leaders in St. Albans are working on building about 200 new units, including 100 on a former brownfield lot on Lower Newton Road.

Zoning reforms that took place this session were a big shift for many — and they are working on plans to see what those changes should look like.

Changes to local planning are coming a lot sooner than expected. The HOMES Act allows for duplexing by right and allows for quadruplexes in areas served by water and sewer.

During the hotel-motel negotiations last week, duplexing by right was moved up by a whole year. Towns and select boards need to start planning sooner.

“The city of St. Albans has a zoning policy that does a good job maintaining the form of our neighborhoods,” said Chip Sawyer, the director of planning and development in St. Albans.

In St. Albans, the City Council recently approved an updated zoning bylaw allowing the city to permit three- to four-unit buildings at the same per-unit density as a single-family home.

“The interim zoning provided guidance on what density those units should be permitted at,” Sawyer said.

That means you have to have four times the lot size for a four-unit apartment than you would a single-family home.

But at least one lawmaker says the new policy is out of step with legislative intent.

“It’s a way to get the kind of housing available that creates our first homeowners and starts to develop our housing market quickly,” said Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden County.

Ram Hinsdale, the lead sponsor of the HOMES Act, says the bill’s intent is to build more houses on smaller lots including infill, and more units per acre to give more people a path toward renting or owning a home.

“Saying that you have to have a huge lot to have multifamily housing either pushes that housing out or makes it a luxury complex again,” Ram Hinsdale said.

“Ultimately, we will be changing our zoning to be in compliance with state law that was revised by S.100. It might take a couple of years to do that. If we need to pass a few interim bylaws in the meantime, that’s why state law allows us to do that,” Sawyer said.

Leaders say the HOMES Act is the most significant change to local zoning policies in years and it will take time for communities to adjust.

The hotel-motel bill has not yet been signed by the governor.

The Agency of Commerce and Community is gearing up and looking to help communities adjust to the new laws.

“We’ll work with anyone on trying to try to understand those nuances and try to provide some basic guidance,” said Josh Hanford, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development.

Local zoning and permitting are only half of the picture. The HOMES Act also sets up another study for Act 250 to see if more changes should be made to the now 53-year-old land-use law.

Vermont

Driver arrested in Vermont after crashing car, showed signs of impairment

Published

5 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Driver arrested in Vermont after crashing car, showed signs of impairment

Vermont State Police tell us they arrested 23-year-old Caylin G. Clavier of Easthampton, MA on Saturday night following a vehicle crash.

Police say they responded near the intersection of Vermont Route 11 and Route 30 in the Town of Winhall around 10:10 p.m., when they discovered a 2004 Ford Ranger over the guardrail.

Officers made contact with the vehicle’s operator, who was identified as Clavier.

They say Clavier displayed several signs of impairment, and she was placed under arrest for suspicion of DUI. She was taken to the Manchester Police Department for processing.

She was charged with a DUI and released on a citation, said police.

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Vermont

Watch: Vermont man braves icy waters to save dog from drowning in a 'selfless' act – The Times of India

Published

13 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Chris MacRitchie. heroically rescued a dog from the icy Winooski River

In a heroic act, a Vermont man leaped into freezing waters on Friday to rescue a dog struggling in the icy Winooski River, the New York Post reports.
Chris MacRitchie, accompanied by his family in Berlin, spotted the distressed dog while going through a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru. He quickly climbed down the embankment and entered the river to save the dog.
The courageous rescue was recorded by his son and widely shared online.

“It was one of those moments where you have to make a decision,” MacRitchie said. “I felt I was obligated to at least try to fetch this dog out of the river, as I have two dogs myself, and I would hope someone would do that for them if they were in that spot.”
The footage shows MacRitchie, dressed in a T-shirt and sweats, wading through the icy water as his wife encourages him. Despite the biting cold, his main concern was the river’s depth.
“I didn’t know if it was 20 feet or 2 feet,” he said. “When I broke through and it was waist-high, I thought, ‘OK, this isn’t that bad. Yeah, it’s cold, but I feel this is a very doable situation.’”
MacRitchie successfully pulled the shivering dog to safety, where his wife wrapped it in a sweatshirt. The dog’s owner, Morgan Cerasoli, was overwhelmed with gratitude when MacRitchie called her using the number on the dog’s tag.
Cerasoli, who had been searching for Arizona, her 7-year-old rescue mutt, since Thursday, described her reaction as emotional. “I started crying, and I told him, ‘Oh, my God, I love you,’” she said.
Now reunited with Arizona, who is recovering well, Cerasoli described the rescue as “brave, selfless, and commendable.” She added, “It’s everything we’re meant to be on this Earth.”

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Vermont

Dramatic rescue of dog in Vermont goes viral

Published

21 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Dramatic rescue of dog in Vermont goes viral

Spotting a dog struggling to stay afloat in an icy Vermont River, Chris MacRitchie never hesitated.

He jumped into the frigid waters and waded over to the dog, gently pulling it ashore where his wife, Erica, draped it with a sweatshirt. The dramatic rescue of the dog Friday afternoon in Berlin, Vermont, was caught on video by his son and has been shared widely on social media.

MacRitchie’s son, Ace, first spotted the dog as they were going through the drive-thru of a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts. When they reached the river embankment, the father of two felt he had no choice but to save the pooch.

“It was like one of those moments everyone probably has in their life like you’re going to make a decision,” MacRitchie said. “So, I felt I was obligated to at least try to fetch this dog out of the river, as I have two dogs myself, and I would hope someone would do that for them if they were in that spot.”

The video shows MacRitchie approaching the embankment as the dog struggles to get out.

MacRitchie gingerly steps through the ice and into the river, audibly gasping as he wades about 20-feet toward the dog, which was on the other side of the frozen tributary of the Winooski River. His wife repeatedly shouts “c’mon” to the dog and exclaims “Oh, my God” as MacRitchie lifts the dog, later identified as Arizona, out of the water and onto the icy embankment. He carries it over to his wife.

MacRitchie called the dog’s owner, Morgan Cerasoli, whose number was listed on the dog tag.

Cerasoli said she had been looking for her dog, a seven-year-old mutt who had originally been rescued from the side of the road in South Carolina, since Thursday. She was heading to pick up her daughter from school, when she got the call from MacRitchie

“I started crying, and I told him, oh, my God, I love you, I love you, I love you,” she said, as she sat besides Arizona during an interview. She said the dog has mostly recovered, though a checkup did find it was suffering from Lyme disease.

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