172 North Willard Street Zoning Appeal

Summary

The Vermont Superior Court, Environmental Division, partially granted and partially denied Applicants’ motion to extend the scheduling order in an appeal concerning a Burlington Development Review Board approval for an ADA ramp and deck addition. The court extended the former trial-ready date by 60 days to June 9, 2026, but denied requests to extend discovery and related deadlines. The court concluded that allowing additional discovery would fundamentally alter the proceedings and was not required as a reasonable ADA accommodation under the circumstances.

Holdings

1. The court denied the requested extension of discovery and declined to make Applicants' second set of discovery requests timely because the requests were served after the established deadline and Applicants did not adequately explain their failure to seek an extension before the deadline.
2. The court held that the requested discovery extension was not a reasonable ADA accommodation because granting it would fundamentally alter the court's established processes by reopening expired discovery and allowing additional litigation opportunities after the opposing party had relied on the deadlines.
3. The court extended the former trial-ready date by 60 days, from April 9, 2026, to June 9, 2026, and directed the parties to provide their June and July dates of unavailability for a one-day merits hearing.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court should extend the discovery deadline and permit Applicants' second set of discovery requests to be treated as timely.
2. Whether additional time for discovery and summary-judgment briefing was required as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
3. Whether the merits-hearing date should be extended in light of Applicants' circumstances and prior ADA accommodation requests.

Disposition

other