School days
Impressive stats
Shelburne, Charlotte make leadership changes
CVU’s Yates named Gatorade Football Player of the Year
Page 3
Page 11
Volume 53 Number 51
Utility district expansion
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shelburnenews.com
December 19, 2024
Shelburne explores fixing impact fee structure
Jaws of life
Shelburne, O’Brien reach tentative agreement
PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER
PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER
A new pre-development agreement between O’Brien Brothers and Shelburne is ready for public review. The project, touted as potentially the largest in Shelburne’s history, has stirred controversy over the last year as the developer, town and residents grapple with interpretations of the HOME Act, a state law passed in 2023 to spur higher-density housing development. O’Brien Brothers has owned the 175-acre plot in Shelburne, where they want to build hundreds of housing units, for decades. Although the plot is currently zoned as rural, limiting development to five dwellings per acre, the company wants to take advantage of the HOME Act to build more homes.
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PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Shelburne fire crews train on vehicle extraction equipment. The training equips firefighters with skills and techniques needed to safely rescue people trapped in vehicles. Extractions are often low-frequency events, but require high-acuity when they do happen.
The Shelburne Selectboard is investing $40,000 to improve its structure for collecting impact fees this year, a topic that has frequently emerged as the town explores how to bring in new revenue and rely less on property taxes. Impact fees apply to any new development, and the amount depends on the development’s impact on public infrastructure. The idea is to draw in more money for developments that are heavily reliant on things like roads, schools and utilities. The main impact fee Shelburne collects is from the Champlain Valley School District, however, after 20 years, that fee has expired, resulting in a revenue loss. “Today it’s much cheaper to build in Shelburne than it was two months ago,” town manager Matt Lawless said. “That’s because we’re in this window where an impact fee has expired, and we haven’t put new ones in place yet.” Lawless said new impact fees on developments would help fund projects like pedestrian infraSee IMPACT FEE on page 12
See O’BRIEN on page 12
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