Agency of Commerce and Community Development issued the following announcement.
Department of Housing and Community Development Awards Second Round of Municipal Planning Grants
Additional $250,000 in Municipal Planning Grant Funds Awarded in the Budget Adjustment Act
Montpelier, Vt. – The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has funded an additional 18 projects in a second round of Municipal Planning Grants. The 2022 Budget Adjustment Act (Act 83) appropriated an extra $250,000 for municipal planning which allowed for DHCD to review and fund the highest scoring applications that were not funded in the first round.
“Through the Municipal Planning Grant Program, our department has provided hundreds of communities with means to pursue important revitalization and local planning initiatives,” said Department of Housing and Community Development Commissioner Josh Hanford. “With this additional funding, we are happy to give even more communities the tools and resources to plan for a healthy vibrant future.”
This second round of awarded projects range from creating an outdoor recreation plan, identifying ways to enhance existing and future recreational amenities, updating town zoning and subdivision regulations to support smart growth, developing a village center streetscape and green space improvement plan, and developing a bicycle and pedestrian connectivity plan. These grants continue to help Vermont communities adopt useful comprehensive plans and implement those plans through village revitalization, regulatory updates, wastewater solutions, and placemaking.
“The residents of Vernon rely on recreation areas in town to benefit their physical fitness and mental well-being,” said Shelly Walker Town Administrator for Vernon. “This grant award will allow our community the opportunity to augment our existing recreational resources for better accessibility which will benefit a greater number of citizens including underserved communities such as the elderly, disabled, residents living below the poverty line and others”.
The Town of Vernon will have a year and a half to complete this project.
Since 1998, the Municipal Planning Grant Program has provided approximately $13 million to 237 cities and towns. This year, $443,223 was awarded in the initial round of funding to 24 municipalities including one multi-town project, making this year’s total award more than $790,000.
Original source can be found here.
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