• Municipal authority to regulate land use within its jurisdiction is limited by the enabling legislation found in 24 V.S.A. Chapter 117 (or Act 200) which was first enacted by the Vermont Legislature in 1967.  When the municipality wishes to adopt a particular bylaw it must first be sure that it is authorized to do so by checking the enabling legislation.  Without such authorization, the bylaw will be void.     
  
  
• Municipal zoning ordinances and subdivision bylaws must be written to advance a legitimate interest which is expressed in the town plan.     
  
  
• A bylaw or ordinance may only require a landowner to leave his or her land in its natural state (undeveloped) if there is a clear and compelling reason for requiring the land to remain open as when any development on the land would result in health hazard or nuisance for the inhabitants or neighbors.         
  
  
• A physical invasion or occupation of the owner's property will be considered a physical taking of the property and will be held to be unconstitutional unless compensated.           
  
  

• A regulation or ordinance may only require a land owner to give part of the property to the municipality in exchange for the right to use the property a certain way if there is a 'reasonable relationship' between the conditions imposed on a development permit and the impact of the development.         
  

• A regulation must leave property with some economically beneficial use. So long as the regulation advances a legitimate state interest and leaves some economic value in the property the regulation will not result in an unconstitutional taking.  A regulation may leave property with no economic value if the purpose of the regulation is to protect other property from a common law nuisance arising from the regulated parcel, or if development of the parcel would otherwise be prohibited under common law.         
  

   [Excerpted, with permission,  from the
   "Vermont Municipal Guide to
Land Use Regulation"]

Vermont Secretary of State
Opinions    Volume 1 Number 1   February 1999

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