Land Use Plans - What are the Risks and Why do they Matter?

Vermont is well underway revising regulations and plans for land use in a number of ways, led by different entities, subject to different processes that sometimes do, and sometimes don’t, speak to each other.

This is an entry level overview of land use processes currently at play in Vermont, concerns and risks Rural Vermont has identified, and how to engage in these processes and ensure a viable farm future in the state. It is worth noting that none of these ongoing processes specifically seek to protect farmland or to incentivize farming. 

Currently, there are at least three relevant processes related to (farm)land use ongoing that have been mandated by law:

  1. Vermont Conservation Plan

The Vermont Conservation Plan is currently being written by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) and the Agency of Natural Resources (Act 59 of 2023 implementation) to issue recommendations, with the goal to protect (from development and for biodiversity) 30% of Vermont by 2030 and 50% by 2050. The Conservation Plan can build upon existing conservation tools and expand land where development rights have been sold to a land trust, so that the land can not be developed other than as previously agreed upon in the underlying contract (conservation easement) and for the long term (perpetuity). The Conservation Plan might also recommend the development of new tools to achieve the objectives of biodiversity protection and community resilience. It is unclear how the goal to conserve half of the state would contribute to the inflation of properties that are not conserved and to our knowledge, no such macro economic analysis has been undertaken to date. There is not an agreed upon way in which existing or potential agricultural land will be considered for this plan and no member-led agricultural stakeholder group has been invited to participate in the ongoing discussions on “how” to do Conservation with this new plan. Conservation of farmland was defined as “natural resource area” in the Act 59 law and VHCB is currently involving an advisory committee, but it only includes a single farm: one that wasn’t involved in the earlier inventory phase where agricultural stakeholders could weigh in on the question “if” farmland should be projected in this conservation effort as a working group.

2. Future Land Use Maps & Regional Planning


Regional Planning Commissions are updating Vermont’s framework for land use with an overall goal of increasing housing production with specific development targets (Act 181 of 2024 implementation). In an ongoing revision of the land use maps of existing Regional Plans, the eleven different Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) are consulting with Selectboards, and other town representatives about the development of revised Future Land Use Maps (FLUs). Regional Plans themselves are not legally binding, but they coordinate land use across municipalities that often have policies to issue zoning ordinances in alignment with the Regional Plans. You can look at the FLU maps and see that agriculture and forested land share a land use category segregated to the outskirts of cities and towns. In many ways, Regional Plans have historically segregated agricultural land to the outskirts of villages. However, areas designated for the working lands don’t have real protections from sprawl development (low density residential) that account for over 83% of all agricultural land loss, according to American Farmland Trust statistics (see slide 15 from the recent Farm to Plate presentation here). Because of the new interpretation of the municipal exemption for farming by the Vermont Supreme Court in 2025 (see Info box 2), these plans could inspire towns to issue zoning requirements that create barriers to farming, or further limit or segregate agriculture across our communities. They may also be the basis for a land trust refusing to put a conservation easement on a parcel that’s designated for development. Importantly, these maps will guide where the Act 250 requirements will be loosened to incentivize development (see next point). Residential development of less than 10 units is often not required to undergo Act 250 permitting, no matter in which zone or area of a plan the parcel is being developed. Because of the projected loss of 39% of existing farmland within  to climate change impacts (the “Act 250 critical resource areas concept” identifies those areas which are now known as “Tier 3”, see next list item), we know that it is critical that decision makers understand now the overlap of land appropriate for housing and land appropriate for agriculture, and the need to not only increase housing and limit the loss of agricultural land - but to dramatically increase working agricultural land in number of acres, and in long term accessibility and affordability for farmers and farmworkers. In summary, a look at the FLUs across RPCs is raising questions about how proportional the planning for development is with the public interest in protecting Vermont’s best locations for food production, protecting food and resource sovereignty celebrating interwoven land uses, encouraging food production and green spaces, and the efficacy of the legal tools to balance these interests. 

Often, the view into the draft revised FLU map will give the public the option to comment on a specific parcel and its designation - you can do that to engage with your RPC or contact RPC staff directly to comment on the revision process and to learn more about how to engage. Rural Vermont is advocating during the 2026 legislative session to reinstate the Municipal Exemption for farming and the Right to Grow Food in conjunction with a great number of member-led agricultural stakeholder groups. You can submit public comments to your RPC at any time during the process of the ongoing revision of Regional Plans. This is all the more concerning with the May supreme court ruling giving towns a significant degree of regulatory authority over farms.

Relevant Resources:

  1. Addison County Regional Planning Commission (ACRPC) - Future Land Use Map

  2. Bennington County Regional Planning Commission (BCRC - Future Land Use MAP

  3. Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission (CVRPC) - unsure about link to FLU

  4. Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) - Future Land Use Map - Next Steps Engagement

  5. Lamoille County Planning Commission (LCPC) - Future Land Use Map

  6. Northwest Regional Planning Commission (NWRPC) - Future Land Use Map

  7. Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA)

  8. Windham Regional Commission (WRC) - Future Land Use Map - If you have any questions, please contact Matt Bachler, Senior Planner, at 802-257-4547 ext. 112 or mbachler@windhamregional.org.Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC)

  9. Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) - Future Land Use Map- submit comments via email, use regionalplan@trorc.org.

  10. Mount Ascutney Regional Commission (MARC) -Agricultural Soils Map



3. Act 250 Reform

Act 181 of 2024 also amended Act 250 jurisdictional thresholds to set incentives for development according to historic settlement patterns in: Downtown Centers, Village Centers, Planned Growth Areas, and the greater Village area. Based on a tiered system, there will be little to no Act 250 requirements in those areas. Tier 1A areas include Downtown and Village Centers and Planned Growth Areas that municipalities defined in their Future Land Use Maps (FLUs). Tier 1A areas could become fully Act 250 exempt, but municipalities have to apply with the Land Use Review Board for their Centers and Planned Growth Areas to receive this status. This designation can be made anytime after January 1, 2026 making it unclear how many Centers and Planned Growth Areas will be Act 250 exempt in Vermont. In all four mentioned planning areas, including the Village Area, development projects of 50 units or fewer on 10 acres or less for housing and mixed-use development will benefit from new Act 250 exemptions if their municipalities apply for them with their RPC (Tier 1 B). Tier 1 A and B areas thus encompass the majority of the landmass that can be described as the village or the village center, or a larger municipality's counterparts. These are exactly those areas where the League of Cities and Towns has expressed interest in maintaining its newly gained ability to regulate farming activities (see infobox VT Supreme Court Ruling). In Tier 2 Areas, the existing jurisdictional Act 250 thresholds remain and expand starting in July 2026, depending on the length of the road and driveway.  Note that Act 250 doesn’t create a barrier to private residential development projects of single housing units on farmland in Tier 2 areas. Tier 3 areas are defined, limited, critical natural resource areas where additional requirements will take effect in December 2026. The proposed rule for Tier 3 areas includes about 4.5-8.8% of Vermont and focuses on headwater streams, habitat connectors of statewide significance, rare and very rare natural communities, steep slopes, and high elevations. In other words, Tier 3 areas are those areas that you should invest your energy into farming wise and where you shouldn’t build housing as some of those areas might experience significant climate change impacts. 

Rural Vermont