Vermont Dept. of Housing & Community Affairs Organization Chart

About the Department of Housing and Community Affairs

	The department's mission is to further sustainable development of Vermont communities. We do this through development of state housing policy and coordination of state housing programs; through awards of federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to municipalities; through development of state land use policy and support for local and regional planning; through identification and protection of historic and archeological resources; and through delivery of programs to preserve the health of Vermont's downtowns and village centers.

	Housing
	The Housing Division administers laws for protection of mobile home park residents and also administers the Charitable Housing Investment Tax Credit. The Division assists with development of the state's HUD Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development which guides funding decisions for U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds, and is the State's primary policy directive for other state and federal housing programs.

	Vermont Community Development Program
	Funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grants for Small Cities program, the VCDP awards roughly $7.3 million annually to municipalities on a competitive basis. Funds help identify and address needs related to housing, economic development, public facilities, public services, and handicapped accessibility, and are primarily focused on assisting persons of low and moderate income. Financial assistance is also provided for urgent health and safety issues and to improve areas of slums and blight.

	Land Use Planning (Now part of Community Planning & Revitalization)
	The Planning Division administers more than $3 million in state general funds allocated to both the 12 regional planning commissions and to the Municipal Planning Grant Program. The majority of the funds are distributed to the regional planning commissions to support their work with communities. The Municipal Planning Grants are awarded annually on a competitive basis to improve local planning and regulatory capacity. The division also manages the growth center and Vermont neighborhoods designations, coordinates state policy to influence development and conservation decisions that respect Vermont's historic settlement pattern of compact villages and rural countryside. The division works with local, regional, and statewide organizations to provide training, respond to legislative proposals affecting land use, and review compatibility of major development proposals with Vermont's land use goals.

	Historic Sites
	With the purchase of the childhood home of President Calvin Coolidge's mother in 1947, Vermont launched the state-owned historic sites system that now consists of 26 sites with 95 buildings. From early settlement to the Revolutionary War to Presidential birthplaces, the state-owned historic sites offer nationally-recognized quality and authenticity to over 100,000 visitors annually.

	Historic Preservation
	The Division for Historic Preservation is the public agency designated to be the advocate for historic and prehistoric properties in Vermont, ranging from 10,000-year-old Native American sites to rambling 19th century farm complexes, to railroad-spawned villages of the 1870s, to gleaming streamlined diners built to serve auto-borne patrons of the 1930s. Each of these buildings, structures, and sites is important for what it can tell us about our history.

	Downtown Program (Now part of Community Planning & Revitalization)
	The Vermont Downtown Program provides training to communities, and administers the Downtown Development Act which offers financial incentives to municipalities that have demonstrated substantial commitment to revitalize their downtowns and village centers.