§ 4449. Zoning permit, certificate of occupancy, and municipal land use permit

(a) Within any municipality in which any bylaws have been adopted:

(1) No land development may be commenced within the area affected by the bylaws without a permit issued by the administrative officer. No permit may be issued by the administrative officer except in conformance with the bylaws. When an application for a municipal land use permit seeks approval of a structure, the administrative officer shall provide the applicant with a copy of the applicable building energy standards under 30 V.S.A. §§ 51 (residential building energy standards) and 53 (commercial building energy standards). However, the administrative officer need not provide a copy of the standards if the structure is a sign or a fence or the application certifies that the structure will not be heated or cooled. In addition, the administrative officer may provide a copy of the Vermont Residential Building Energy Code Book published by the Department of Public Service in lieu of the full text of the residential building energy standards.

(2) If the bylaws so adopted so provide, it shall be unlawful to use or occupy or permit the use or occupancy of any land or structure, or part thereof, created, erected, changed, converted, or wholly or partly altered or enlarged in its use or structure after the effective date of this chapter, within the area affected by those bylaws, until a certificate of occupancy is issued therefor by the administrative officer, stating that the proposed use of the structure or land conforms to the requirements of those bylaws. Provision of a certificate as required by 30 V.S.A. § 51 (residential building energy standards) or 53 (commercial building energy standards) shall be a condition precedent to the issuance of any such certificate of occupancy.

(3) No permit issued pursuant to this section shall take effect until the time for appeal in section 4465 of this title has passed, or in the event that a notice of appeal is properly filed, no such permit shall take effect until adjudication of that appeal by the appropriate municipal panel is complete and the time for taking an appeal to the Environmental Division has passed without an appeal being taken. If an appeal is taken to the Environmental Division, the permit shall not take effect until the Environmental Division rules in accordance with 10 V.S.A. § 8504 on whether to issue a stay, or until the expiration of 15 days, whichever comes first.

(4) No municipal land use permit issued by an appropriate municipal panel or administrative officer, as applicable, for a site plan or conditional use shall be considered abandoned or expired unless more than two years have passed since the permit approval was issued.

(b) Each permit issued under this section shall contain a statement of the period of time within which an appeal may be taken and shall require posting of a notice of permit on a form prescribed by the municipality within view from the public right-of-way most nearly adjacent to the subject property until the time for appeal in section 4465 of this title has passed. Within three days following the issuance of a permit, the administrative officer shall:

(1) deliver a copy of the permit to the listers of the municipality; and

(2) post a copy of the permit in at least one public place in the municipality until the expiration of 15 days from the date of issuance of the permit.

(c)(1) Within 30 days after a municipal land use permit has been issued or within 30 days of the issuance of any notice of violation, the appropriate municipal official shall:

(A) deliver the original or a legible copy of the municipal land use permit or notice of violation or a notice of municipal land use permit generally in the form set forth in subsection 1154(c) of this title to the town clerk for recording as provided in subsection 1154(a) of this title; and

(B) file a copy of that municipal land use permit in the offices of the municipality in a location where all municipal land use permits shall be kept.

(2) The municipal officer may charge the applicant for the cost of the recording fees as required by law.

(d) If a public notice for a first public hearing pursuant to subsection 4442(a) of this title is issued under this chapter by the local legislative body with respect to the adoption or amendment of a bylaw, or an amendment to an ordinance adopted under prior enabling laws, the administrative officer, for a period of 150 days following that notice, shall review any new application filed after the date of the notice under the proposed bylaw or amendment and applicable existing bylaws and ordinances. If the new bylaw or amendment has not been adopted by the conclusion of the 150-day period or if the proposed bylaw or amendment is rejected, the permit shall be reviewed under existing bylaws and ordinances. An application that has been denied under a proposed bylaw or amendment that has been rejected or that has not been adopted within the 150-day period shall be reviewed again, at no cost, under the existing bylaws and ordinances, upon request of the applicant. Any determination by the administrative officer under this section shall be subject to appeal as provided in section 4465 of this title.

(e) Beginning October 1, 2010, any application for an approval or permit and any approval or permit issued under this section shall include a statement, in content and form approved by the Secretary of Natural Resources, that State permits may be required and that the permittee should contact State agencies to determine what permits must be obtained before any construction may commence. (Added 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 100; amended 2009, No. 146 (Adj. Sess.), § F27; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 236; 2013, No. 89, §§ 9, 11; 2021, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. July 1, 2022.)