This is a watershed zoning case that established well articulated rules for the enforcement of municipal zoning ordinances in Vermont. The property owner built an addition in violation of zoning setback restrictions and an enforcement action commenced. This case presented a conflict of culture as well as of private / public interests, as the rural community at issue had not established a history of enforcement. The Court reiterated that perfection is not required of a municipality in its zoning and planning efforts, but rather the rules of common sense and good faith still operate.
Issues examined on appeal: Selective enforcement, equitable estoppel, constitutional taking and equal protection, ultra vires action, Dillon's Rule, prior nonconforming structures, application of good faith doctrine, relaxed standard for municipal injunctive relief.
Firefox recommends the PDF Plugin for Mac OS X for viewing PDF documents in your browser.
We can also show you Legal Updates using the Google Viewer; however, you will need to be logged into Google Docs to view them.
Please choose one of the above to proceed!
LOADING PDF: If there are any problems, click here to download the file.