Headlines – Alliance for Vermont Communities

The Story

March 22, 2016- Very Vermont, Daily UV: Local journalist Nicole Antal reports about 900 acres of purchases.

March 27, 2016- Very Vermont, Daily UV: The community begins to question the project and we here from David Hall and learn that “… contact with the local communities and their governing bodies was not considered important by those starting the project.”

March 31, 2016- Grist: “Hall estimates it could take as long as 50 years to fully realize his vision. Meanwhile, Vermonters point to the state’s stringent Act 250 law — which protects this notoriously green landscape by regulating developments larger than 10 acres — as the best way to counter meager local zoning protections and slow Hall’s roll (or the roll of his descendants and colleagues, as the decades pass). But his deep pockets and deep faith suggest Hall won’t give up easily. He is “driven,” according to the LinkedIn review of a drill-site manager who’s done business with him: “Perfection may be considered his lowest standard when developing a concept to reality.” And he is motivated by a 183-year-old plan for a perfect community.”

April 2, 2016- Very Vermont, Daily UV, The town library of Tunbridge holds a forum with David Hall and we hear that “Lobby is a funny word, I am not going to hire a bunch of lobbyist. You figure out what the best laws are, and then you work with the legislators and the people to try to get those changes made. And that will definitely happen over time. But like I say, from my point of view right now, Act 250 enables me, it’s not going to stop me. It actually is the thing that enables this possibility.

April 3, 2016- Green Mountain Daily: “When individuals come to a NewVista community, they will deposit their intellectual assets and cash with the community capital fund (except for operating cash, which will be deposited into an account at the community’s approved bank), receiving legal instruments acknowledging the deposits.”

April 11, 2016- Very Vermont, Daily UV: The NewVista development overlayed on some of the land purchases.

April 26, 2016-Very Vermont, Daily UV: TRORC officials answered questions from Strafford, Sharon, Tunbridge, and Royalton town officials.

April 29, 2016- VPR: “Hall admits he could have been more open about what he was doing and why, but says it doesn’t mean he’ll be announcing future land purchases.”

May 17, 2016- VPR: “Everybody says, ‘Well, you’ve got all this land, look what you could get for it,’ but money is not everything. There’s heritage here, and love.” — Cliff Pease, Tunbridge dairy farmer

June 5, 2016- VTDigger: More is learned about the NewVistas plan and how it relates to the Plat of Zion, a blueprint for the ideal community, originally designed by Joseph Smith in 1830.

June 6, 2016- Seven Days Vermont: David Hall comes to Vermont to discuss his plan.

June 9, 2016- The Rutland Herald: Back in his hometown of Provo, UT, Hall faces similar opposition.

June 12, 2016- Very Vermont, Daily UV: Nicole Antal leads the way in questioning Gubernatorial and State Representative Candidates on their opinions of the project.

June 15, 2016- Green Mountain Daily: “For now, says Ellis, David Hall is (under his guidance) “reaching out to local officials and residents.” And later, should the need arise for any state rules or regulations to be adjusted favorably to the planned development by the legislature, long-time Montpelier lobbyist Kevin Ellis probably wants “to be in the middle of it.”

June 16, 2016- KSL: People in Utah stage their first protest against the project in their neighborhood.

June 16, 2016- VTDigger: Vermonters stage a protest in solidarity with their Utah neighbors.

June 17, 2016- Very Vermont, Daily UV: Nicole Antal covers the “bridge” protest.

June 25, 2016- Valley News: “We’re just beginning,” Huppee said, “but we will persist, and we will fight as long as we have to.”

June 30, 2016- Very Vermont, Daily UV: “Like others we are beginning to learn more about the proposed NewVistas development. What we do know is that it is a private venture and is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

July 16, 2016- Valley News: “The eco-friendly sustainable community Hall envisions seems straight out of Woody Allen’s Sleeper.The campus, as Hall calls it, would feature 24 four-story multi-purpose buildings with roll-up walls that would allow residents to live and work in the same space. During working hours, dining room tables, living room couches and such would be stored in cubbies under the floor.”

July 20, 2016- Bloomberg Businessweek: The story breaks nationally in this coverage by Bloomberg Businessweek.

August 17, 2016- Deseret News: The LDS Church releases a statement, “This is a private venture and is not associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in any way. The church makes no judgment about the scientific, environmental or social merits of the proposed developments. However, for a variety of reasons, we are not in favor of the proposal.”

August 25, 2016- WSJ: “David Hall lives in a 3,500-square-foot, redbrick home in a quiet suburb of Provo, Utah.”

September 17, 2016- Valley News reports on the work of Planning Commissions in the four towns in response to New Vistas.

September 18, 2016 – Rutland Herald, Letter to the Editor: “Both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young articulated a mix of community systems, none of which parallel very much the NewVistas plan. Hall’s system is corporatist, while Joseph’s was more communal. Hall wants to establish a top-down power structure, whereas Joseph envisioned a bottom-up community of common consent. Hall seeks to control. Joseph sought to liberate.”

September 20, 2016- Valley News- “The Utah multimillionaire planning a massive settlement in four Upper Valley towns has backed out of an October meeting that he had requested with Royalton officials, citing the potential for opposition protesters.”

October 1, 2016- Valley News- “The new nonprofit, a coalition of local land-use planners and concerned citizens called the Alliance for Vermont Communities, on Wednesday announced it had the support of the Vermont Natural Resources Council and the Preservation Trust of Vermont.”

October 6, 2016- WCAX- “‘I am very concerned about scale,’ said Sen. Dick McCormack, D-Windsor County. McCormack thinks Hall’s ‘New Vistas’ proposal may violate the state’s Act 250 law.”