Title 10, Conservation and Development

§ 724. Land-use, erosion control, and natural resources conservation rules; approval The supervisors of any district shall have authority to formulate rules, as set forth in this chapter, governing the use of lands within the district in the interest of conserving soil, controlli…

§ 725. Uniformity of rules The rules shall be uniform throughout the district, except that the supervisors may classify, prior to the adoption of such ordinances, the lands within the district with reference to such factors as soil type, degree of slope, degree of erosion threate…

§ 726. Ordinances prescribing rules; referendum A referendum shall be conducted as follows: (1) The ordinances proposed to be enacted shall be delivered by the supervisors or by agents authorized by them, or by mail to the last known address of such owners of land within the dist…

§ 727. Conduct of referendum The supervisors shall prescribe appropriate rules governing the conduct of the referendum, and shall publish and record the result of the ballot. All owners of lands within the district shall be eligible to vote in such referendum. (Amended 2019, No. …

§ 728. Amendment or repeal of rules Any owner or person in possession of land within a district may at any time file a petition with the supervisors asking that any or all of the land-use rules prescribed in any ordinance adopted by the supervisors under the provisions of this ch…

§ 729. Termination of district At any time after five years after the organization of a district under the provisions of this chapter, any 25 owners of land lying within the boundaries of the district may file a petition with the State Natural Resources Conservation Council prayi…

§ 730. Effect of termination Upon issuance of a certificate of dissolution under the provisions of this chapter, all ordinances and rules previously adopted and in force within such districts shall be of no further force and effect. All contracts previously entered into, to which…

§ 731. Failure to observe land-use ordinance; conferences (a) In the event that the supervisors of a district find that the provisions of a land-use ordinance adopted according to the provisions of this chapter are not being observed on particular lands, and that such nonobservan…

§ 734. Supervisors may petition Superior Court If a landowner does not sign such stipulation, the supervisors may petition the Superior Court to require such landowner to bring his or her land into conformity with the ordinance, and the court shall order such relief as it may dee…

§ 735. Validation of defectively organized districts All natural resources conservation districts heretofore organized are hereby recognized and declared to be natural resources conservation districts subject to the provisions of this chapter, notwithstanding any defect in the pr…

§ 736. Division and combination of districts and unions — Generally Any district or union organized under the provisions of this chapter may be divided and the divided portions may become separate districts or unions or may be combined with one or more districts or unions as here…

§ 737. Not more than three towns When the portion to be separated from a district and combined with another district does not comprise more than three towns, and the State Council has declared the move to be effective, that portion will come under the jurisdiction of the district…

§ 738. More than three towns When the portion to be separated from a district and combined with another district consists of more than three towns, and the State Council has declared the move to be effective, the Council shall appoint two supervisors for each of the new districts…

§ 739. Divided portion as new district When the portion to be divided from a district consists of more than three adjacent towns, the divided portion may either become a separate district or be combined with an existing district as provided in section 738 of this title. When the …

§ 740. Assumption of commitments In any case where the boundaries of districts have been changed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, any commitments made by districts to landowners will be assumed by the districts in which their land is located after the changes in…

§ 747a. Limitation; liability (a) An action against the on-site sewage program provided by this subchapter, regarding the design, installation, or operation of any system, shall be brought against a conservation district only, and shall be brought within six years from certificat…

§ 751. Purpose The purpose of this chapter is to minimize and prevent the loss of life and property, the disruption of commerce, the impairment of the tax base, and the extraordinary public expenditures and demands on public service that result from flooding; to ensure that the d…

§ 752. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Agency” means the Agency of Natural Resources. (2) “Development,” for the purposes of flood hazard area management and regulation, has the same meaning as “development” under 44 C.F.R. § 59.1. (3) “Flood hazard area” has the same m…

§ 753. Flood hazard areas; cooperation; mapping (a) Cooperation to secure flood insurance. The Secretary and all municipalities, regional planning commissions, and departments and agencies of State government shall mutually cooperate to achieve the purposes of this chapter and to…

§ 754. Mapped River Corridor Rules (a) Rulemaking authority. (1) On or before July 1, 2027, the Secretary shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 that establish requirements for issuing and enforcing permits for: (A) all development within a mapped river corridor in the…

§ 755. State flood hazard area standards; municipal education; model flood hazard area bylaw or ordinance (a) State flood hazard area standards. (1) On or before January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 that establish a set of flood hazard …

§ 801. Purpose The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the natural resources conservation districts in Vermont to form supervisory unions for administrative purposes while still retaining their individual identities, duties, and powers as authorized under sections 701-740 of …

§ 802. Formation of supervisory union The State Natural Resources Conservation Council, on petition from two or more districts, may combine several districts into a supervisory union after having determined that such a union is feasible, and in the best interests of the people in…

§ 803. Application and procedure (a) Each district shall appoint one of its supervisors as its member of the supervisory union board. They may also appoint an alternate who must be a supervisor. The executive secretary of the Council shall be an advisory member of and clerk of th…

§ 804. Board of directors; organization; pay The board of directors shall elect a chair from among its members and may from time to time change the designation. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum. A board member shall be entitled to receive compensation for service…

§ 805. Powers and duties of board The board of directors shall have the following powers and duties: (1) It shall keep a record of all proceedings and resolutions and provide for an annual audit of receipts and disbursements. (2) It shall offer appropriate assistance to the membe…

§ 806. Removal of board member Any board member may be removed from office by the Council upon notice and hearing for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other reason. The Council shall replace any board member so removed by a representative from the district of t…

§ 807. Duties of union conservationist The union conservationist shall: (1) Devote his or her entire time to the duties of his or her office and apportion his or her time as prescribed by the board of directors after determining the workload in districts. He or she shall help imp…

§ 821. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Conservation rights and interests” mean rights held by a qualified holder to restrict or condition the use, modification, or subdivision of a land or water area and rights to perform, or require the performance of, specified activi…

§ 822. Rights and interests Conservation and preservation rights and interests shall be stated in the form of a deed restriction, right, easement, covenant, or condition. These rights and interests shall be valid, exercisable, and enforceable by the holder thereof and by the hold…

§ 823. Interests in real property Conservation and preservation rights and interests shall be deemed to be interests in real property and shall run with the land. A document creating such a right or interest shall be deemed to be a conveyance of real property and shall be recorde…

§ 851. Landowner’s duties When the public good or the necessity or convenience of individuals requires the opening of a ditch or watercourse to drain low or swamp lands, to enable owners or occupants thereof to cultivate the same, such owners or occupants shall open such ditch or…

§ 852. Dispute between landowners; notice to selectboard; investigation When there is a dispute between parties as to the opening of a ditch or watercourse or the width, depth, or extent that a person shall open, either party may notify in writing the selectboard of the town in w…

§ 853. Hearings; orders; charges; lien On receiving such notice, the selectboard shall notify all the parties interested of the time when it will examine the premises and hear the parties and their witnesses. They shall apportion the ditch or watercourse among the several parties…

§ 854. When only part of landowners to open drain When it appears to the selectboard that the owner or occupant of a piece of land is not sufficiently interested in opening the ditch or watercourse to be required to perform or pay for any part thereof, but it appears necessary fo…

§ 855. Land damages When an owner of land through which a drain is to be constructed claims damages therefor, the selectboard shall hear the parties interested therein, and may award reasonable damages to be paid by the parties benefited in such proportions as the selectboard dee…

§ 856. Expenses, paid by whom All expenses under this chapter shall be paid by the parties interested in such proportion as the selectboard orders, and the selectboard shall receive the same compensation as for other services.

§ 857. Decision; written and filed The award of the selectboard shall be in writing, signed by a majority of them, and they shall lodge it, or a certified copy thereof, in the office of the town clerk. The clerk shall keep it on file, and the selectboard shall deliver a copy to e…

§ 858. Depth of drainage An owner of land shall not be required to make or assist in making a ditch or watercourse of greater depth than is necessary for draining his or her land.

§ 859. Cleaning or repairing ditches Ditches or watercourses opened under the provisions of this chapter shall be kept free for the passage of water into and through the same. If a person fails to do his or her proportionate share of cleaning or repairing a ditch or watercourse, …

§ 860. Opening on noncompliance with order When a person does not open a ditch or watercourse, or his or her proportion thereof, in accordance with the order of the selectboard, a person interested who was a party of record in the proceedings may open such ditch or watercourse an…

§ 861. Discontinuance Ditches and watercourses opened under the provisions of this chapter may be discontinued by the same proceedings and under the regulations provided for opening the same.

§ 862. Appeal from award; recognizance A person owning land through which a drain or watercourse is to be laid may appeal from the award of the selectboard to the Superior Court, by entering into a recognizance with sufficient sureties, before the board, in such sum as it require…

§ 863. Procedure on appeal; commissioners When the appeal is entered in the Superior Court with the report of the selectboard in writing, in its discretion, upon hearing, the court may accept or reject the award, or may appoint a commission consisting of three disinterested freeh…

§ 864. Duties of court The Superior Court shall make necessary orders and render judgments to carry out its decisions and tax costs as seems just. (Amended 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974.)

§ 865. Copy of award and judgment filed A certified copy of the award of the selectboard or of the report of the commissioners, finally accepted by the Superior Court, with the orders and judgments of such court, shall be recorded in the office of the town clerk where the lands a…