March 16th's kick-off meeting for the Chittenden County Regional Sustainability Project will air on public access stations around the county, and is available as streaming video below.

The first meeting of the steering committee overseeing a two-year regional sustainability initiative is a partnership of Chittenden County municipalities, state and local agencies, institutions and non-profit organizations.

The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission is the primary agency providing staff support for the endeavor.

With the potential of a shutdown of the federal government looming tomorrow, we've received questions from people wondering what it would mean for VHFA and housing in Vermont.

Regardless of whether or not there's a shutdown, it will be business as usual for VHFA.

However, a number of federal housing programs managed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (See list below) could be interrupted, reason enough to hope Congress resolves this crisis before it happens.

Community planning and development

VHFA will release the 2011 update of "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Housing and Wages in Vermont" at a press event Thursday, April 21 at 12 noon, in the Statehouse's Cedar Creek Room.

The 2011 update is the 10th edition of the annual report first published in 2002. It will show, despite a long-term recession, that rental prices have continued to escalate making the gap between Vermonters’ wages and their cost of housing larger. Furthermore, the future of Vermont’s affordable housing is in jeopardy as federal subsidies are set to expire, and pressure grows to reduce national debt by cutting the federal budget.

Scheduled to speak at the April 21 event:

A report released today by the Center for Housing Policy shows involuntary, unplanned and frequent moves — such as those caused by eviction or foreclosure — can have negative impact on children and family welfare.

With low-income families more susceptible to such moves, the report provides yet more evidence of the importance of housing assistance and counseling programs that help
low-income families maintain affordable, high-quality housing.