Land use permit upheld. Findings as to as to Criteria 1(D), “Floodways” and 8, “Aesthetics” were not clearly erroneous.

In re Zaremba Group Act 250 Permit, 2015 VT 88 (26-Jun-2015)

SKOGLUND, J.   Neighbors of a plot of land in Chester appeal the environmental division’s decision to grant an Act 250 permit amendment to build a Dollar General store (“the Project”) on that plot.  We affirm.

Neighbors challenge the “Aesthetics”conclusion, based on claimed violation of  “a clear, written community standard intended to preserve the aesthetics” of the area.  A criterion of the Chester Zoning Regulations states that. that all construction of new buildings should adhere harmoniously to the “over-all New England architectural appearance which gives the center of Chester its distinct regional character and appeal.”

The criterion refers to the “center of Chester”—a vague description that we will assume means the historic village center—but the Project is not located in the pedestrian-oriented village center; it is more than a half-mile away in a vehicle-oriented part of the town.  We need not decide whether the reference to “over-all New England architectural appearance” in this provision would provide clear guidance if this project were in the historic village center.  The Project’s immediate surroundings—including a flat-roofed structure containing a gas station, mini market, and liquor store—and the entirety of diverse architecture in the area cannot be said to conform to a discernible “New England architectural appearance.”  These conflicting architectural styles are evidence that the zoning criterion is not a clear community standard intended to preserve aesthetics, at least as applied to the area surrounding the Project.