Fantastic_Painter_15 t1_j2572rg wrote
Oh boy, this comment section should be fun
Fantastic_Painter_15 t1_j2577yw wrote
Personally, I’m fine with the total population. The issue is the demographics of that population. Skewed far too old. State needs to find a way to keep younger people around - large part of that is affordable housing and jobs that pay livable wages. Those are only achievable with further development. But the flip side is too much development will take away so many of the things we all love about the state and the things that make vermont vermont. It’s a super fine balance imo and I do not have any idea how to appropriately strike that balance.
Unique-Public-8594 t1_j25jdsn wrote
Morrisville is going gangbusters on development. We’ll see how that works out.
No-Ganache7168 t1_j262v6c wrote
It depends. My concern is that nearly all of the development has been apartments in the $1600-$1800 range. Only 50 of the new apartments are going to be affordable according to an article in the local newspaper. That leaves a lot of the local workers out given that one developer will own most of the apartments when the current estimated 1,000 units are finished. There will not be enough competition to bring lower rentals into the equation.
On the positive side, the new apartments will draw professional people into the area to fill jobs at Copley hospital, Concept 2, the school, etc.
As far as I’m aware no new homes are being built that will be affordable to first time buyers. Most are custom builds at or above $500,000. Meanwhile, village homes that sold for $200,000 before Covid are selling for $350,000 or more while homes outside of the village are being snapped up by cash buyers and many have been turned into airbnbs. Our town planner is quoted in one article as saying that the percentage of airbnbs is increasing by 10 percent each year.
This doesn’t bode well for my children who will be priced out if they want to return after college.
I feel fortunate to have bought 15 years ago when people turned their noses up at morrisville, but I also feel trapped. There’s no place for me to go. My husband and I have always wanted to restore an older home and planned to do that when our mortgage was paid off. Now those fixer uppers cost more than our energy efficient 20-year old home.
elpvtam t1_j28ou2i wrote
I'll be curious how Morrisville turns out. Who will live in those apartments? It's pretty much out of commute range to chittenden county. That's almost Burlington pricing. I suspect developer will be unable to rent and will lower prices. As for air bnb locals need to put in place strong regulations that either cap the number or tax the crap out of it.
No-Ganache7168 t1_j29dyf2 wrote
I was surprised and happy when the planning commission voted to limit people to one Airbnb recently. You can rent out your home as much as you want but you can’t buy a second home and use it as an Airbnb as well.
Based on the newspaper articles the apartment will attract people who work in chittenden county but want the outdoor activities in lamoille county. I doubt rents will be lowered given the scarcity of housing.
5teerPike t1_j264x9i wrote
What makes Vermont, Vermont?
I am asking this because I think it's important, not to be a jerk.
inelasticplastick t1_j26gi1k wrote
some of my ideas:
no billboards
hundreds of miles of shoreline on the largest non-great lake in the continental united states. the other side of the lake is rural adirondack ny and the lake is notably clean and deep
one of the strongest agricultural reputations in the world. international beer and cheese awards frequently go to vermont artisans. as well as the dairy expertise, a lot of prime grade a farmland.
one of the most citizen-centric political systems in country
WhatTheCluck802 t1_j26xs4q wrote
Sure it’s deep, but Lake Champlain is not clean.
Loudergood t1_j26y623 wrote
How polluted it is is also very overrated. Outside of phosphorus it's actually pretty clean.
inelasticplastick t1_j27e3e0 wrote
agreed and i’m encouraged by the active coordinated efforts to maintain or improve its water quality between quebec, new york, and vermont.
there are concerning outbreaks every summer for swimmers in certain bays and often near a population center like btv.
Loudergood t1_j27lokd wrote
The inland sea area is the most concerning. Hopefully Franklin county can get sources cleaned up.
inelasticplastick t1_j27oioh wrote
absolutely. i hope so too. i know a lot of people are working hard to put the right resources in the right places. and my sense is that vermont is doing an admiral, certainly with room for improvement, job of navigating its dairy heritage and present day realities with the lake’s needs.
PolarBlueberry t1_j2a0fd9 wrote
Just as important as affordable housing and jobs are schools. If you want young families to come and stay, you need a good school system.
This has been a major problem on the island communities in Maine. They don't have enough young people to keep the schools open, so no young families move in and their homes become vacation rentals. This is how a community dies and once you loose your schools, its very hard to start again from scratch.
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