REGION – The Vermont Land Use Review Board (LURB) will host public information sessions across the state to introduce Vermonters to a new Act 250 review criterion that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2028. Criterion 8(C) only applies to projects that already require an Act 250 permit and does not affect when a permit is needed. This criterion is aimed at ensuring forest blocks and habitat connectors are considered in the Act 250 review process. The LURB’s formal rulemaking process will begin in 2027, but the LURB would like to inform and hear from Vermonters ahead of time.
The LURB welcomes both in-person and remote participation. More information, including remote connection details, is available online at www.act250.vermont.gov/modernizing-land-use-review/criterion-8c-forest-blocks-and-habitat-connectors.
Local information sessions will be held on Thursday, Oct. 1, from 6:30-8 p.m., at the Brattleboro Town Office, 230 Main Street, No. 108, in Brattleboro, Vt.; and on Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 6:30-8 p.m., at the Regional Planning Commission Office, 16 Evelyn Street, Second Floor, Rutland, Vt.
These informational sessions will focus on what forest blocks and habitat connectors are and why they are important; what criterion 8(C) rules must include; critical considerations for the drafting process; the rulemaking timeline; ways to keep Vermonters updated; and opportunities for public input. Each session will include time for questions and comments.
Two frequent questions: (1) Why criterion 8(C)? The legislature’s stated intent is to “discourage fragmentation of the forest blocks and habitat connectors by encouraging clustering of development.” Will this mean more land is subject to Act 250 review? No. Criterion 8(C) does not change when or where an Act 250 permit is required.