Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 24 Sec. 4454

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Municipal land use permit: means any of the following whenever issued:

  • Municipality: means a town, a city, or an incorporated village or an unorganized town or gore. See
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, and any other incorporated or unincorporated organization or group. See
  • real estate: shall include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein, and pews or slips in places of public worship shall be treated as real estate. See
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See

§ 4454. Enforcement; limitations

(a) An action, injunction, or other enforcement proceeding relating to the failure to obtain or comply with the terms and conditions of any required municipal land use permit may be instituted under section 1974a, 4451, or 4452 of this title against the alleged offender if the action, injunction, or other enforcement proceeding is instituted within 15 years from the date the alleged violation first occurred and not thereafter, except that the 15-year limitation for instituting an action, injunction, or enforcement proceeding shall not apply to any action, injunction, or enforcement proceeding instituted for a violation of chapter 61, subchapter 10. The burden of proving the date the alleged violation first occurred shall be on the person against whom the enforcement action is instituted.

(b) No action, injunction, or other enforcement proceeding may be instituted to enforce an alleged violation of a municipal land use permit that received final approval from the applicable board, commissioner, or officer of the municipality after July 1, 1998, unless the municipal land use permit or a notice of the permit generally in the form provided for in subsection 1154(c) of this title was recorded in the land records of the municipality as required by subsection 4449(c) of this title.

(c) Nothing in this section shall prevent any action, injunction, or other enforcement proceeding by a municipality under any other authority it may have, including a municipality’s authority under Title 18, relating to the authority to abate or remove public health risks or hazards.

(d)(1) As used in this section, “person” means any of the following:

(A) An individual, partnership, corporation, association, unincorporated organization, trust, or other legal or commercial entity, including a joint venture or affiliated ownership.

(B) A municipality or State agency.

(C) Individuals and entities affiliated with each other for profit, consideration, or any other beneficial interest derived from real estate.

(2) The following individuals and entities shall be presumed not to be affiliated with a person for the purpose of profit, consideration, or other beneficial interest within the meaning of this section, unless there is substantial evidence of an intent to evade the purposes of this section:

(A) A stockholder in a corporation shall be presumed not to be affiliated with a person solely on the basis of being a stockholder if the stockholder owns, controls, or has a beneficial interest in less than five percent of the outstanding shares in the corporation.

(B) An individual shall be presumed not to be affiliated with a person solely for actions taken as an agent of another within the normal scope of duties of a court-appointed guardian, licensed attorney, real estate broker or salesperson, engineer, or land surveyor, unless the compensation received or beneficial interest obtained as a result of these duties indicates more than an agency relationship.

(C) A seller or chartered lending institution shall be presumed not to be affiliated with a person solely for financing all or a portion of the purchase price at rates not substantially higher than prevailing lending rates in the community. (Added 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 101; amended 2009, No. 93 (Adj. Sess.), § 3a.)