Act 181 was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. The expansion of Act 250’s jurisdiction contemplated by that legislation would have been a very big deal for rural Vermont.

I have yet to meet someone who has been through an Act 250 permit process and thought, at the end, that it was simple, inexpensive, or easy to navigate.

Act 250 addresses 10 broad criteria covering everything from water, wetlands, and erosion to transportation, municipal services, wildlife habitat, scenic beauty, agricultural and forest soils, development patterns, and local and regional plans. Those criteria are further divided into numerous subcriteria and can involve multiple state agencies and divisions.

What sounds like 10 criteria can quickly become 20 or more areas requiring studies, documentation and responses. And you often don’t know which issue may become a problem until after significant money has been spent on consultants, plans, studies and applications.

The application fees themselves can be substantial. Because fees are tied to factors such as property value and construction costs, I have personally seen Act 250 application fees exceed tens of thousands of dollars. For an ordinary Vermont family, that is not a minor expense.

I have heard regulators say, “This isn’t a big deal.” I am here to say that it is.

For a portion of my career, I helped families find ways to avoid triggering Act 250 as they provided homes for children and other family members. I have been involved in many efforts to create mother-in-law apartments and subdivisions for sons and daughters. These efforts can make the difference between a young family being able to stay in Vermont or having to leave.

But that well will eventually run dry. Families have only so much land and development potential, while many young Vermonters have no such opportunity available to them.

Adding Act 250 permitting to these modest efforts would make affordable homeownership even harder. The prospect of renewed legislation expanding Act 250 jurisdiction is therefore alarming.

Rural Vermont pushed back through Rural Vermont Rising, at least temporarily pausing Act 181. We should listen to that grassroots concern and carefully consider whether adding more regulatory authority is really the answer for the Vermont families trying to live, work, and raise their children here.

Tom Otterman, of West Topsham, is a Republican candidate for the Orange-Caledonia House district.