Skip to main content

NOTICE:

Please be aware that some independent online entities are charging a fee to download and/or print versions of our forms. This website and anrOnline are the only official sources for Act 250 forms. Contact your Act 250 district office if you have questions.

What Are the Act 250 Criteria?

The Act 250 criteria are the specific standards that district commissions use to evaluate every development and subdivision application that falls under Act 250 review. The criteria focus on projected impacts on air and water quality, water supplies, waste disposal, flood hazards, soil stability, habitat protection, transportation networks, local schools and services, municipal expenses, historic resources, aesthetics, primary agricultural soils, forest fragmentation, energy conservation, impacts of growth, and municipal and regional plans.

A complete listing the Act 250 criteria is available via the Vermont Statutes Online at 10 V.S.A. §6086. In addition, the Board's District Commissioner Training Manual addresses each criterion in a separate chapter (see District Commissioner Training Manual on our website). You can also contact our Act 250 District Office staff if you have questions.

  • Criterion 1: Air and water pollution
    • 1(A): Headwaters
    • 1(B): Waste disposal
    • 1(C): Water conservation
    • 1(D): Flood hazard areas; river corridors
    • 1(E): Streams
    • 1(F): Shorelines
    • 1(G): Wetlands
  • Criterion 2: Water supply
  • Criterion 3: Impact on water supply
  • Criterion 4: Erosion and capacity of soil to hold water
  • Criterion 5: Transportation
    • 5(A): Traffic
    • 5(B): Transportation
  • Criterion 6: Educational services
  • Criterion 7: Municipal services
  • Criterion 8: Aesthetics, historic sites and natural areas
    • Visual aesthetics, odor, and noise
    • Historic Sites - structures, districts, or landscapes
    • Historic Sites - archeology
    • Rare and irreplaceable natural areas
    • 8(A): Necessary wildlife habitat and endangered species
    • 8(C): Forest blocks and habitat connectors
  • Criterion 9: Capability and Development: Land Use
    • 9(A): Impact of growth
    • 9(B): Primary agricultural soils
    • 9(C): Productive forest soils
    • 9(D): Earth resources
    • 9(E): Extraction of earth resources
    • 9(F): Energy conservation
    • 9(G): Private utility services
    • 9(H): Costs of scattered development
    • 9(J): Public utility services
    • 9(K): Public investments
    • 9(L): Settlement patterns (formerly "Rural growth areas")
  • Criterion 10: Local and regional plans