Susan Harritt (Jericho Community Development Corportation)
Susan Harritt: Using her legal training to help her town
In 2014, when it appeared that the Underhill Jericho Fire Department was going to convey land they owned to the town of Jericho, the town responded by creating the Jericho Community Development Corporation to see if the parcel might be suitable for development. The JCDC is a public benefit, non-profit corporation whose purpose is to “foster, encourage, and assist the Selectboard in the development of projects that contribute to the economic, cultural, recreational, and environmental well-being of the community.”
Attorney Susan Harritt was one of the people invited to join the group. When the project did not come to fruition, the committee became inactive but when John Abbott was hired as Town Administrator, he asked the group if they would like to start meeting again. “I tip my hat to him,” Harritt said “because he got us moving again.”
There have been some personnel changes on what was originally a five-person board and Harritt praises the addition of Joe Flynn as having helped revitalize the group thanks to his background in surveying and land development. Harritt said the JCDC is working on creating guidelines and developing procedural steps for looking at property. “We want to help the town reach its goal of adding to the housing stock so the population can reflect diversity and affordability,” she said. Harritt described the group’s goals as mirroring those of the Town Plan in wanting to protect the environment and the character of the community while also adding to the housing stock to bring in younger families who might have children attending our public schools.
For the last five years, Harritt has also been a member of the state’s Human Services Board which reviews recommendations made by hearing officers after evidentiary hearings. Those recommendations include determinations on whether someone belongs on a state registry and issues of entitlement to programs like SNAP or housing benefits. The Board hears the appeals of people who disagree with the officers’ recommendations.
Harritt and her husband Bill Butler moved to Jericho in 1980 after renting a house in Hinesburg. They happened to be walking around the Nashville area when they met a homeowner who was looking to sell his home. They admired the view and the Mill Brook which ran behind the house and were happy to be able to purchase the property. The couple has a garden with flowers and vegetables and Harritt enjoys making pesto and tomato jam with the fruits of their labors. She has been a member of the same book group for 40 years and enjoys traveling, particularly in the colder months.
Harrit’s first encounter with the legal system in Vermont was while attending Northeastern Law School. The school’s model alternates quarters of work with regular study after the first year and Harritt’s first assignment was in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. After graduating, she applied for a job clerking at the Vermont Supreme Court. From there she moved to the Public Defender’s Office, the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office, and then back to the Attorney General’s office where she spent the majority of her career. She then joined the Agency of Human Services before retiring after 32 years with the state.
The JCDC isn’t Harritt’s first brush with volunteering in Vermont. She served several terms on the Jericho Elementary School’s Board many years ago. “Jericho is just spectacularly beautiful,” she said. “It’s an exquisite place to live and it’s nice to be able to serve. I’m happy to donate my time and energy to the town. I’m in a position to make a contribution and I’m happy to do it.”
