Progressive Update
The Progressive Caucus recently heard from the Land Access and Opportunity Board about their current work and hopes for the 2026 legislative session.
The Land Access and Opportunity Board (LAOB) was created in 2022 to engage with Vermont organizations working on housing equity and land access “to recommend new opportunities and improve access to woodlands, farmland, and land and home ownership for Vermonters from historically marginalized or disadvantaged communities who continue to face barriers to land and home ownership.”
The LAOB has since launched a Small Scale Developer Training Program & Community of Practice, which includes: one day in-person development workshops, 6 seek online development courses, 1-on-1 technical assistance and a community of practice. The Secure Housing Coach Program assists marginalized communities with land and home ownership. Resilience Hub Grants, which support community-led disaster resilience, emergency shelter that is led and informed by marginalized communities and creates a network of community hubs, have been awarded to Bennington, Brattleboro, Middlebury, Rutland (2), Chittenden/Colchester, and Burlington (2).
H.826: An act relating to land access and opportunity proposes a comprehensive approach to addressing the shortage of affordable housing and land access in Vermont. The bill creates the Land Access and Opportunity Fund to provide grants and loans to support activities such as tenant purchase of buildings and land, renovation of owner-occupied multi-unit housing, development of housing under cooperative or collective ownership models, and transitional housing. Funding would prioritize projects that build self-sufficient and resilient communities—for example, through regenerative agriculture, local energy generation, circular waste systems, and integrated community resources such as workforce training and health services.
The LAOB would give particular consideration to projects serving historically marginalized or disadvantaged communities, including people experiencing homelessness, individuals with disabilities, those impacted by incarceration or justice involvement, youth involved with child welfare services, older adults, and agricultural workers. The LAOB would also coordinate with agencies such as the Vermont Housing and Finance Agency and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to identify pilot projects, especially those using public land, demonstrating circular design, promoting cooperative ownership, and fostering public-private partnership.
In addition, the bill directs the Department of Taxes, in collaboration with the Joint Fiscal Office, to produce a report by July 1, 2027 evaluating tax incentives and penalties intended to preserve affordable housing. This report must examine definitions of affordability, impacts on rents and property owners, the potential for tax tools to deter excessive rent increases, options to promote tenant pathways to ownership (such as right of first refusal or rent-to-own), and opportunities for favorable tax treatment for properties owned by members of historically marginalized communities. It must also estimate the fiscal impacts of these proposals.
Finally, H.826 establishes a temporary Land Security Working Group composed of representatives from housing, agriculture, racial equity, legal aid, conservation, planning, and community organizations. The Working Group is charged with producing a report assessing the economic and environmental justice impacts of Vermont’s land use and conservation laws—including Act 250 and other recent legislation—and with recommending strategies to protect agricultural land for community food security.
Overall, the bill aims to advance housing affordability, land ownership, and community resilience in Vermont, with a strong emphasis on equity, cooperative development models, and integration of housing, food security, and environmental sustainability goals. The Land Access and Opportunity Board has the potential to be a powerful tool for transformation at this moment in our collective effort to solve the housing crisis.
As the United States continues to reckon with the failure of a privatized insurance-driven health care system, Vermont has the opportunity to lead the nation towards publicly financed universal health care. On Town Meeting Day 2026, at least 8 towns in Vermont are weighing in on a ballot item related to H.433: An act relating to incremental implementation of Green Mountain Care.
Universal healthcare item on select Town Meeting ballots – ABC22 & FOX44