In Re Appeal of Times & Seasons, LLC and Hubert K. Benoit

Summary

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the Environmental Board's denial of an Act 250 permit for a 4,800-square-foot gift shop and deli in Royalton. It upheld the Board's findings that the project would have an undue adverse aesthetic impact under Criterion 8 — because the applicant never challenged the finding that it failed to take generally available mitigating steps — and that it would significantly reduce the agricultural potential of primary agricultural soils under Criterion 9(B). The Court reversed on Criterion 10, holding that the town plan provision requiring commercial development 'where feasible' to be located within or close to the villages was too ambiguous to be enforced. No separate opinions were filed.