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Neighbor Rides available in several towns
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The new Neighbor Rides program from United Way connects people who need local rides (to appointments, shopping, etc.) with people who can offer them.To learn about the program or volunteer, visit the Neighbor Rides website.
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 | Give a pint --
Get a pint.
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June is Pint for a Pint Promotion month at the Red Cross Donor Center.
All presenting donors will receive a Free Pint sized Item: Al's French Fry's, Magic hat Glass, Olivia's Crouton's or a Quart of Bove's Spaghetti Sauce.
Also, Receive a FREE Vermont State Park Pass, Raffle for a $200 Give card and you could win Red Sox Tickets and become the Blood Donor of the Game.
Open Monday-Friday, 9 am to 6 pm and Saturdays, 7:30 am to 1 pm.
Walk in or by appointment call 1-800 RED CROSS or online at redcrossblood.org
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Interns Kori Krichko and Tory Dumas, both UVM Engineering students, conduct sidewalk inventory for Essex Junction using GIS
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Greetings!
With the official start of summer close at hand, we hope you are able to take advantage of our rich natural environment -- all the more precious when it can be enjoyed in between bouts of rain.
After two years of tremendous collaborative effort, the new 5-year ECOS Plan combines the Regional Plan, Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) and the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The CCRPC Board of Commissioners voted to adopt the plan at its Annual Meeting on June 19th, and the GBIC Board will vote to adopt the CEDS at its annual meeting coming up in a couple of weeks. Tremendous thanks to all of you who contributed to creating this shared vision for a healthy, inclusive and prosperous community. We are looking forward to hearing about -- and sharing -- your actions and accomplishments as we continue to realize the vision. The full plan is available at www.ecosproject.com.
The 2012-2013 Legislative season ended with several significant initiatives that will impact planning and development. You can click here for a PDF summary of the legislative session provided by Department of Housing and Community Development.
Sincerely,
Charlie Baker
Executive Director
Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission
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Of Note
Local Motion Seeking Executive Director
Local Motion is a Greater Burlington VT non-profit promoting people-powered transportation and recreation for healthy and sustainable Vermont communities. Our member-supported organization continues to flourish as we expand popular initiatives such as Bicycle Recycle Vermont, complete streets & trails advocacy, Bike Ferry service, Trailside Center, the Safe Streets Collaborative and a myriad of outreach activities. We are looking for a dynamic, passionate Executive Director to lead our 12 year-round and many seasonal employees, 12-member Board, 1,000 area members and 300 annual volunteers.
Local Motion's programs reach throughout Chittenden County (pop. 158,000) and connect Vermont across Lake Champlain to New York and Quebec.
Click here for the Local Motion Executive Director position description and application info. Review of applications begins 7/15.
Chittenden County Traffic Alert Did you know we host and distribute traffic and construction project information on a weekly basis? You can see the full list of activities at the Traffic Alert website, where you can also sign-up to get the weekly updates via email.
Milton High School's water storage project recognized In the Building Operator Certification Newsletter  (a nationally distributed journal published in Seattle, Milton High School's water storage project is recognized in an article calle d Stormwater: Turning Damage into Advantage. Read the full story here. Electronic Submission of proposed and adopted plans and bylaws A reminder from Wendy Tudor, Grants Administrator in the Community Planning and Revitalization department of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, that municipalities can and should submit their proposed and adopted plans and bylaws, including public hearing notices as well as plan & bylaw reports, by email to her. She will reply with an official email notifying the senders that their submission was received by the Department. These documents will be posted to a searchable website, available to the public. Documents should be sent to Wendy at Wendy.Tudor@state.vt.us
Businesses Benefit from Downtown and Village Center Tax Credits
Read the full story in the VTDigger article. The deadline to apply for tax credits is July 1, 2013
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Transportation News
For the latest news with several of our projects, please click on a link below:
Of course, there's lots more going on all over the County, and we plan to have web pages for almost all our projects by summer.
Completed Projects & Reports
Holy Cross Rd/West Lake Shore Drive Scoping Study This study developed and evaluated alternatives for a shared use path between the West Lakeshore Drive/Prim Road intersection and the Holy Cross Road/Church Road intersection. This is one of two key gaps in the existing east-west shared use path system in Colchester that, when complete, will contribute to a town-wide network of pedestrian and bicycle facilities. This study assessed shared use path location and developed the concept and impacts for the preferred alignment.
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The ECOS Plan in Action
[In this section of the newsletter, we will highlight the work of your town or organization that is contributing to the ECOS mission of a healthy, inclusive and prosperous community. To be included, please send your news to agrayson@ccrpcvt.org.]
The ECOS Plan was adopted by the CCRPC Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, June 19th. Woo-Hoo! Now we're all responsible for making it a reality.
The ECOS Planting Cards were created as part of our outreach effort -- we gave them out wherever we and our partners went to talk about our collaborative effort. We're hoping that thousands of wildflowers are blooming all over the county this spring! Contact us if you'd like to plant some ECOS cards -- we still have plenty left.
Leadership Training for People of Color One of the eight key strategies in the ECOS Plan is to design and develop programs that are inclusive of all people, and engage under-represented populations. This is a most worthy goal, but many people new to the community do not know how our processes and systems work, and thus don't feel knowledgeable or empowered enough to make a contribution. Towards that end, CCRPC has been facilitating a Leadership for People of Color program with 20 participants. Of those 20, more than half are applying for various positions on boards and committees. A subcommittee has volunteered to write a Community Engagement Guide to help organizations understand how to engage with the various ethnically diverse communities in a respectful and culturally competent manner. We will continue to make note of advances for this strategic goal, the other 7 seven High Priority Strategies of the ECOS Plan. |
Energy & Natural Resources Shoreland Bill heads for summer "Roadshow"
Although the House passed H.526, a modest shoreland protection bill with a strong majority, the Senate decided to take the concept of shoreland protection around Vermont this summer to five public meetings for discussion and input. During these meetings, representatives from the House, Senate, and Agency of Natural Resources will describe the science behind the initiative, outline what other states have done in terms of shoreland protection, and sketch out how a bill like H.526 could be implemented. While education is a valuable tool, after 40 years of using just education to protect our shorelands, VNRC feels that the time for minimum safeguards is long overdue. Language in the budget bill, S.530, outlines how this summer "roadshow" will take place. VNRC was disappointed the Senate did not take up the bill this year, but will urge lawmakers to pass strong legislation next year.
Vermont has lowest carbon dioxide emissions, but reduction rate only average - See full story at VTDigger.
Home Energy Tip of the Month
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Emergency Preparedness
July 12 Deadline for Natural Disaster Mitigation Projects  | | Route 100 after Irene |
The application window for a remaining $11 million in federal funds for natural disaster mitigation projects will close July 12. According to the Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Vermont is eligible for funding from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The money, which was authorized in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, is for improving public infrastructure, the buyout of vulnerable property, and education and outreach studies on hazard mitigation strategies. Apply at the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) website.
Changes to National Flood Insurance Program Changes are now underway in the National Flood Insurance Program. The 2012 Biggert-Waters Act requires the NFIP to set actuarial rates for flood insurance. This primarily means that older structures (Pre-Flood Insurance Rate Map) will no longer have a subsidy. This information was updated the Vermont Floodplain Management blog at: http://vtfpm.blogspot.com/ with this information and a summary sheet is available here. River Management Video Series  | | VNRC's Water Program Director Kim Greenwood |
A new series of videos relating to river management, particularly in relation to big storms like Tropical Storm Irene, has just been released. The four-part series, called After the Flood: Vermont's Rivers and the Legacy of Irene, offers compelling clips of Irene's flooding and the ensuing river work, as well as interviews with state officials, scientists, lawmakers, and VNRC's Water Program Director Kim Greenwood. In the videos, Greenwood notes that in the rush to fix infrastructure after Irene, people got conflicting messages about how to proceed, and the result was damage to the health of many rivers beyond the damage inflicted by Irene. Watch the series on YouTube here.
* * * For questions regarding Emergency Preparedness, including LEPC 1 or 5, please contact Paul Luciano in the CCRPC office at pluciano@ccrpcvt.org. |
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Save the Date
CCRPC Calendar of Upcoming Meetings
06/26/13 - CCRPC Joint Executive/Finance Committee Meeting, CCRPC Winooski, 5:45-7:30
06/27/13 - Colchester Essex Network Transportation Study (CENTS) Local Concerns Meeting, Champlain Room, 781 Blakely Road, Colchester, VT 05446, 6:30-8:30
07/09/13 - CCRPC TAC Meeting, Williston Town Hall, 9-11 a.m. (Peter)
07/09/13 - CCRPC Go! Chittenden County Partners Meeting, CCRPC Winooski, 11:30-1:30
07/09/13 - Burlington Railyard Enterprise Project (REP) Steering Committee Meeting, Burlington DPW, 6-8 p.m.
07/17/13 - CCRPC Board Meeting, CCRPC Winooski, 6-8 p.m.
Other Opportunities
6/20/13 - Hurricane Sandy - Lessons Learned
Thursday, June 20, 2:00-3:30 Eastern Time
The impacts of Hurricane Sandy underscore the need for proactive planning for extreme weather events. This session will focus on extreme weather preparations, emergency response, recovery, and planning for long term resilience. Info and registration at the FHWA webinar website
. 7/15/13 - The City of Burlington's Diversity & Equity Adhoc Committee will be presenting its Strategic Plan for Racial & Ethnic Diversity to City Council on July 15, 2013, in Contois Auditorium.
***********************************************************************************  Each summer, UVM's Transportation Research Center hosts free Brown Bag Lunch discussions. All discussions are on Fridays from 12:00 to 1:00 in Decision Theater, Farrell Hall. The building is accessible and directions can be found here. Remote access capabilities will also be provided. Directions on how to link to the presentations or view recordings of previous presentations can be found on the Brown Bag Website.
June 21st - Transportation Surveys: Attitudinal Changes and Trends in Chittenden County, VT, 2000 - 2012
Hosted By: Amanda Hanaway-Corrente of the Transportation Research Center, and featuring our very own Peter Keating, Senior Transportation Planner, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission
July 12th - Fracture Experiments of Asphalt Mixtures
Hosted By: Amanda Hanaway-Corrente of the Transportation Research Center
July 26th - Refugees and Transportation in Vermont: Travel Behaviour and Critical Questions based on Gender, Age and Transportation Hierarchies
(*NOTE: this Brownbag will start at 11:30am) Hosted By: Glenn McRae of the Transportation Research Center
August 9 - Pervious Concrete Pavement at UVM's Trinity Parking Lot Hosted By: Amanda Hanaway-Corrente of the Transportation Research Center
September 13th - Health Care Systems and Transportation Hosted By: Glenn McRae of the Transportation Research Center ****************************************************************************** Graduate-level Housing Policy Course Online from August 26th to October 18th. Taught by Maura Collins, Policy and Planning Manager at Vermont Housing Finance Agency. Learn more about housing policy and finance in a highly interactive format. No text book is required and course work will draw from national and local case studies including an in-depth review of a local municipality's housing market.
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Other Resources & News
New Publication from the EPA:
Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions among Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality
This 2nd edition provides evidence that certain kinds of land use and transportation strategies - where and how we build our communities - can reduce the environmental and human health impacts of development.
There is also a free webinar overview of this publication that will be on Wed., July 24th, from 2:00-3:00pm. Register at the EPA Webinar Website.
Building Better Budgets: A National Examination of the Fiscal Benefits of Smart Growth Development finds that development that uses land more efficiently, with homes, businesses and services in close proximity, and good connections between streets and neighborhoods, can generate fiscal savings and added revenue for municipalities. See here for report written by Smart Growth America in partnership with Strategic Economics.
Legislators Reform Downtown Designation, Neighborhoods Program
Late in the session the legislature passed H.377, a bill that will revise the state's neighborhood designation program and allow the creation of neighborhood planning areas (generally areas within walking distance of downtowns and village centers). Once approved, neighborhood development areas become eligible for benefits, helping advance the goal of creating more housing in and around downtowns and villages. The bill specifically requires consideration of natural resources through careful planning during the designation process.
Does your municipality have regulations that protect shoreland areas? Is this accomplished through a bylaw or ordinance?
There has been a lot of conversation this session about which cities, towns or villages have shoreland zoning regulations or ordinances, as a result of the bill H. 526. The most recent list of regulations in municipalities from the Agency of Natural Resources is dated 2010. You may find those lists here: http://www.vlct.org/events-news-blogs/current-news/shoreland-zoning/
H. 526 as it passed the House may be found here.
In the CCRPC office, Dan Albrecht works with communities on water quality issues. If you would like information or to connect with the people working on this in your town, contact dalbrecht@ccrpcvt.org.
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