§ 2792 -   Vermont downtown development board

§ 2792. Vermont downtown development board

(a) A "Vermont downtown development board," also referred to as the "state board," is created to administer the provisions of this chapter. The state board shall be composed of the following members, or their designees:

(1) The secretary of commerce and community development;

(2) The secretary of transportation;

(3) The secretary of natural resources;

(4) the commissioner of public safety;

(5) the state historic preservation officer;

(6) a person appointed by the governor from a list of three names submitted by the Vermont Natural Resources Council, the Preservation Trust of Vermont, and Smart Growth Vermont;

(7) a person appointed by the governor from a list of three names submitted by the Association of Chamber Executives; and

(8) three public members representative of local government, one of whom shall be designated by the Vermont league of cities and towns, and two shall be appointed by the governor.

(b) In addition to the permanent members appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, there shall also be two regional members from each region of the state on the downtown development board; one shall be designated by the regional development corporation of the region and one shall be designated by the regional planning commission of the region. Regional members shall be nonvoting members and shall serve during consideration by the board of applications from their respective regions. Regional members designated to serve on the downtown development board under this section, may also serve as regional members of the Vermont economic progress council established under 32 V.S.A. § 5930a.

(c) The state board shall elect its chair from among its membership.

(d) The department of housing and community affairs shall provide staff and administrative support to the state board.

(e) On or before January 1, 1999, the state board shall report to the general assembly on the progress of the downtown development program.

(f) In situations in which the state board is considering applications for designation as a growth center, in addition to the permanent members of the state board, membership shall include as a full voting member a member of the Vermont planners association (VPA) designated by the association; the chair of the natural resources board or a representative of the land use panel of the natural resources board designated by the chair; and a representative of a regional planning commission designated by the Vermont association of regional planning and development agencies (VAPDA) and an alternate representative designated by VAPDA to enable all applications to be considered by a representative from a regional planning commission other than the one to which the applicant municipality is a member. The alternate designated by VAPDA may vote only when the designated representative does not vote. (Added 1997, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 8, § 6b, eff. April 25, 2005; 2005, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2007, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 16, 2008; 2007, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 15, eff. May 28, 2008.)