Vermont Statutes Title 24 Sec. 2795
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 24 Sec. 2795
- Downtown: means the traditional central business district of a community that has served as the focus of socio-economic interaction in the community, characterized by a cohesive core of commercial and mixed use buildings, some of which may contain mixed use spaces, often interspersed with civic, religious, residential, and industrial buildings and public spaces, typically arranged along a main street and intersecting side streets that are within walking distance for residents who live within and surrounding the core and that are served by public infrastructure such as sidewalks and public transit. See
- downtown district: means a district delineated by the municipality and designated by the Downtown Development Board under section 2793 of this title. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Municipality: shall include a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units. See
- Town: shall include city and wards or precincts therein; "selectboard members" and "board of civil authority" shall extend to and include the mayor and aldermen of cities; "trustees" shall extend to and include bailiffs of incorporated villages; and the laws applicable to the inhabitants and officers of towns shall be applicable to the inhabitants and similar officers of all municipal corporations. See
§ 2795. Considerations for competitive-based incentives
In awarding competitive-based financial incentives under section 2794 of this title, including a rebate and tax incentives, or in awarding grants or other assistance from the Downtown Transportation and Related Capital Improvement Fund under section 2796 of this title, the Vermont Downtown Development Board shall give consideration to the following factors:
(1) the vacancy rate for existing buildings in the downtown district;
(2) the current or projected unemployment rate for the labor market area in which the municipality is located;
(3) ordinances or bylaws adopted by the municipality that support the preservation of the downtown’s vitality, including:
(A) an ordinance or bylaw requiring that new construction in the downtown development district shall be compatible with the buildings that contribute to the integrity of the district, in terms of materials, features, size, scale and proportion, and massing of buildings, and that exterior rehabilitation shall respect the historic and architectural significance and its exterior features; and
(B) a conditional use provision in a town zoning ordinance that supports adaptive reuse of historic properties;
(4) the integration of the proposed improvements with any coordinated plan for the downtown district and surrounding area;
(5) the degree of any deficiency in the downtown district of transportation infrastructure including parking facilities;
(6) the vulnerability of the downtown district to economic decline due to competing development in adjacent areas;
(7) the immediacy of the benefits provided and the desirability of prompt action to secure those benefits for a downtown district;
(8) the amount of investment from individual Vermont taxpayers that has been committed to projects in the downtown district. In considering this factor, the Board shall recognize the value of individuals participating in downtown projects by giving preference to applications for incentives from individual Vermont taxpayers, and projects coordinated by developers who have encouraged the participation of such investors. (Added 1997, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1999, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 33.)