MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Gov. Phil Scott has vetoed legislation that would have changed parts of a Vermont land use law known as Act 250, saying it failed to simplify the regulatory process or protect recreational trails.
Scott vetoed the bill Monday but also signed an executive order for recreational trails.
“Nothing in this bill modernizes or improves the Act 250 process - something that is widely agreed to be necessary after fifty years of existence,” Scott wrote in his veto message to the Legislature.
Senate President Tim Ashe, a Democrat and Progressive, on Tuesday called the veto surprising considering the administration’s earlier articulated support of the trails and forest fragmentation provisions in the legislation. Ashe acknowledged that if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t happened, the Legislature could have done more to change how large developments are permitted.
“Global pandemics can get in the way of getting everything we want in life and in legislation,” Ashe said in a written statement. He raised concerns about the “apparent legislating-by-way-of-Executive-Order” and the prospect of gubernatorial intervention in legal proceedings.
“The Legislature will explore both of these two concerns further in the coming days,” Ashe said.
The governor’s order directs the Vermont Natural Resources Board chair to clarify that at least 10 acres of land disturbance is needed to trigger Act 250 jurisdiction of a Vermont Trails System project and that only land used as part of trail improvement will be considered in making that determination.
It also states that jurisdiction will apply only to the trail corridor and not restrict or encumber lands outside of it that the trail may cross. In addition, any executive branch member involved in a lawsuit may take steps to delay a final decision in proceedings addressing Act 250 jurisdiction until the order’s steps take effect.
The order also directs the commissioner of the Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation to make recommendations for an alternative program based on best practices for the oversight of planning, construction, use and maintenance of recreational trails in the Vermont Trails System.
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