In re Stowe Highlands Merger/Subdivision Application

Summary

The Vermont Supreme Court reviewed an appeal concerning a proposed merger and subdivision of lots within the Stowe Highlands Resort Planned Unit Development. The court held that the existing permit required inclusion of a hotel or resort component but did not restrict Parcel 1 exclusively to that use, and that the proposed amendment did not require a permit-condition change subject to the Stowe Club test. The court affirmed the Environmental Division's reversal and remand to the Development Review Board for further review.

Holdings

1. The permit and recorded plat required Parcel 1 to include a hotel or inn as part of the Resort Planned Unit Development, but did not restrict the parcel to nothing other than a hotel or inn.
2. The proposed amendment did not require a change in a permit condition because it preserved the same permitted 21-unit hotel on Parcel 1A; therefore, the Stowe Club test for modifying permit conditions did not apply.
3. The Supreme Court could suspend the appellate rules in its discretion and decide the fully briefed issue despite the absence of a final judgment and permission for an interlocutory appeal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Resort Planned Unit Development permit or recorded plans imposed a condition restricting Parcel 1 to development solely as a hotel or inn.
2. Whether the proposed subdivision and merger reduced or otherwise changed the previously permitted 21-unit hotel component so that the Stowe Club test for permit modification applied.
3. Whether the Supreme Court could reach the merits despite the Environmental Division's interlocutory remand order and the absence of permission for an interlocutory appeal.

Disposition

affirmed