Vermont S 169: An act relating to Act 250 permit appeals

Bill Text

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S.169 1
Introduced by Senators Clarkson and Watson 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Conservation and development; land use; Act 250; appeals; 5
Environmental Division of the Superior Court 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to move appeals 7
of Act 250 permits from the Environmental Division of the Superior Court to 8
the Land Use Review Board. 9
An act relating to Act 250 permit appeals 10
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 11
* * * Appeals to the Board * * * 12
Sec. 1. 10 V.S.A. § 6025 is amended to read: 13
§ 6025. RULES 14
(a) The Board may adopt rules of procedure for itself and the District 15
Commissions. The Board’s procedure for approving regional plans and 16
regional plan maps, which may be adopted as rules or issued as guidance, shall 17
ensure that the maps are consistent with legislative intent as expressed in 18
section 2802 of this title and 24 V.S.A. §§ 4302 and 4348a. The Board shall 19
adopt rules of procedure that govern appeals and other contested cases before it 20

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that are consistent with this chapter. The rules may include the Board’s use of 1
hearing officers and Board panels, where less than a quorum of members of the 2
Board hear a case. 3
* * * 4
Sec. 2. 10 V.S.A. § 6027(h) is amended to read: 5
(h) The Board may shall hear: 6
(1) all appeals from an act or decision of a District Commission under 7
this chapter, including fee refund requests under section 6083a of this title; and 8
(2) appeals from an act or decision of a district coordinators under 9
subsection 6007(d) of this chapter. 10
Sec. 3. 10 V.S.A. § 6086(f) is amended to read: 11
(f) Prior to any appeal of a permit issued by a District Commission, any 12
aggrieved party may file a request for a stay of construction with the District 13
Commission together with a declaration of intent to appeal the permit. The 14
stay request shall be automatically granted for 14 days upon receipt and notice 15
to all parties and pending a ruling on the merits of the stay request pursuant to 16
Board rules. The automatic stay shall not extend beyond the 30-day appeal 17
period unless a valid appeal has been filed with the Environmental Division 18
Board. The automatic stay may be granted only once under this subsection 19
during the 30-day appeal period. Following appeal of the District Commission 20
decision, any stay request must be filed with the Environmental Division 21

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pursuant to the provisions of chapter 220 of this title Board. A District 1
Commission shall not stay construction authorized by a permit processed under 2
the Board’s minor application procedures. 3
Sec. 4. 10 V.S.A. § 6089 is amended to read: 4
§ 6089. APPEALS 5
Appeals of any act or decision of a District Commission under this chapter 6
or a district coordinator under subsection 6007(c) of this title shall be made to 7
the Environmental Division in accordance with chapter 220 of this title. For 8
the purpose of this section, a decision of the Chair of a District Commission 9
under section 6001e of this title on whether action has been taken to 10
circumvent the requirements of this chapter shall be considered an act or 11
decision of the District Commission. 12
(a)(1) Appeals to the Board. An appeal of any act or decision of a District 13
Commission shall be to the Board and shall be accompanied by a fee 14
prescribed by section 6083a of this title. 15
(2) Participation before District Commission. A person shall not appeal 16
an act or decision that was made by a District Commission unless the person 17
was granted party status by the District Commission pursuant to subdivision 18
6085(c)(1)(E) of this title, participated in the proceedings before the District 19
Commission, and retained party status at the end of the District Commission 20
proceedings. In addition, the person may only appeal those issues under the 21

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criteria with respect to which the person was granted party status. However, 1
notwithstanding these limitations, a person may appeal an act or decision of the 2
District Commission if the Board determines that: 3
(A) there was a procedural defect that prevented the person from 4
obtaining party status or participating in the proceeding; 5
(B) the decision being appealed is the grant or denial of party status; 6
or 7
(C) some other condition exists that would result in manifest injustice 8
if the person’s right to appeal was disallowed. 9
(3) Filing the appeal. An appellant to the Board, under this section, 10
shall file with the notice of appeal a statement of the issues to be addressed in 11
the appeal, a summary of the evidence that will be presented, and a preliminary 12
list of witnesses who will testify on behalf of t