Affordable Housing and Farmland: Infrastructure for Economic Development
Equal Time, WDEV
Carl Etnier Hosts
March 8, 2010
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Affordable housing and farmland conservation--they're tied together in Vermont politics, and Jim Douglas' budget proposes slashing state funding for them by more than 50%. The Vermont Housing and Conservation Commission would like to see some of that funding restored--through $5 million dollars not from the general fund, but from the capital bill. Gil Livingston, President of Vermont Land Trust, explains why he thinks of housing and farmland as infrastructure and advocates paying for them in the same way we pay for roads and bridges.
The second guest is Adam Wilson, who is now farming in Chittenden County thanks to the help of Vermont Land Trust. Finally, Eileen Peltier of the Central Vermont Community Land Trust talks about the importance of affordable housing, especially in walkable communities.