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Equity and environmental goals collide with new housing bill

affordable-housing-shortage-20230306.jpg
Tedra Meyer
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Tedra Meyer
Lawmakers are considering legislation that would encourage housing development in town centers where there is already water and sewer infrastructure. This new apartment building in Morrisville will include below-market-rate rentals, according to Lamoille Housing Partnership.

Lawmakers in Montpelier are considering housing reforms that would make it easier and faster to build homes in Vermont. Among other things, it would make changes to the 50-year-old land-use law Act 250. Could this bill address the state's affordable housing crisis?

This hour, we'll talk with state Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, who is the chair of the Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee and says this bill would create more equitable housing in Vermont. We’ll also hear from a national housing consultant on the racial gap in home ownership, and an environmental advocate with some concerns about the legislation.

Our guests are:

  • State Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, of Burlington
  • Leah Rothstein, a public policy and housing policy expert who writes about how government policies led to racially segregated communities. Her upcoming book, "Just Action," looks at ways community groups can address those policies.
  • Brian Shupe, executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council

Broadcast live on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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Mikaela Lefrak joined Vermont Public in 2021 as co-host and senior producer of Vermont Edition. Her stories have aired nationally on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The World and Here & Now. A seasoned local reporter, Mikaela has won two regional Edward R. Murrow awards and a Public Media Journalists Association award for her work.
Tedra joined Vermont Public as a producer for Vermont Edition in January 2022. Before moving to Vermont, she was a journalist in New York City for 20 years. She has a master’s degree in journalism from New York University.