Since 1998, the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Municipal Planning Grant (MPG) Program has provided over $13 million to 237 cities and towns across Vermont to help breathe new life into communities, plan for future growth and investment, and improve the quality of life. 99% of survey respondents say that Municipal Planning Grants are important to achieving planning goals. Applications are due December 1 for the 2023 grant round, with flexible funding to help communities like yours do data gathering, visioning, and project feasibility studies.
MPGs can help you tackle the planning phase for a variety of community projects.
Over its 32-year history, these grants have helped communities overcome challenges like building more affordable housing, planning village water and wastewater systems, developing and implementing community revitalization and economic recovery strategies -- and more. MPGs are a proven tool that turns grassroots ideas into action. These grants can help communities ‘unlock’ implementation or construction dollars and are designed to be easy for even smaller towns to apply for and manage. While various funding opportunities are available to fund project design and construction, MPG is one of the rare sources of grants for planning.
One grant recipient shared how the MPG program is an “excellent program for small rural towns, who don’t have the resources to investigate or research solutions to community needs.”
MPGs can help you tackle the planning phase for a variety of community projects. 2022 grants averaged just over $18,000, with a minimum cash match of 10%. The maximum award is $26,400 for individual municipalities and $39,600 for consortium (multi-town) applications. In 2022, Irasburg was awarded $20,000 to develop architectural and engineering plans to address the accessibility issues of the Leach Public Library. Orange was awarded $18,000 to develop a Capital Improvement Plan. South Hero was awarded $16,000 to develop a new Town Plan focusing on creating an inclusive and economically vibrant community. Hartford was awarded $20,000 to update the Town Plan Housing Chapter, focusing on the develop of strategies to increase housing diversity and affordability. And Chittenden received $22,000 to develop a village center streetscape and green space improvement plan.
MPGs is part of a suite of Better Connections, Bylaw Modernization Grants, Downtown Transportation Fund Grants, and Better Places, to help meet your community development goals.
For additional information, visit the MPG application website via accd.vermont.gov or contact Planning and Policy Manager Jacob Hemmerick at 802-828-5249 or Jacob.hemmerick@vermont.gov.
More information about applying for the municipal planning grants is located in the Applicant Guidance section of ACCD website or in this FY23 Municipal Planning Grants Program Description document.