Committee to Save the Bishop’s House, Inc.; Committee to Save the Bishop’s House, Sigma Nu Fraternity and Thomas…

Summary

The Vermont Supreme Court held that Medical Center Hospital of Vermont's plan to raze the Bishop's House and build a parking lot on its 1.44-acre lot is not 'development' under Act 250 because the nearby 26-acre Mary Fletcher Unit is not 'involved land' within 10 V.S.A. § 6001(3), so no state land-use permit is required. The court declared Environmental Board Rule 2(F)'s functional definition of 'involved land' invalid as exceeding the Board's delegated authority, and announced a narrower, impact-based test for involved land while directing strict construction of Act 250's jurisdictional threshold. It reversed the permanent injunction, dissolved it, and remanded for a hearing on damages caused by the first preliminary injunction. No separate writings were filed.