Thursday, May 9, 2019

Rental appeals consolidated in Environmental Court

Rutland Herald


KILLINGTON — A rental vacation homeowner’s appeals of town zoning violations have been consolidated in Environmental Court, according to the attorney representing him.
Brooke Dingledine, of the Barre firm Valsangiacomo, Detora & McQuesten P.C., attorney for Vincent Connolly, said in a Wednesday email that Connolly’s appeals are being treated as one case by the court and are in the discovery phase, meaning written questions and answers are being exchanged.
Connolly owns 287 Estabrook Road, which he rents out through the website Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com), a service similar to Airbnb.
Connolly, of Morrisville, does business through Killington Mountain House LLC. The company was issued a violation notice in August by then-Zoning Administrator Richard Horner. The town claimed Connolly was renting the place out to far more people than town zoning regulations allow. According to the town, given the number of beds in the home, it could sleep six. Connolly’s vrbo.com listing, for a time, had it listed as sleeping 28 people.
According to a notice of appeal, filed by Dingledine in February, Killington Mountain House was issued a violation in November. The appeal to the town Zoning Board of Adjustment was denied in January. The second violation accused Killington Mountain House of changing its use from a residential home to a commercial facility, which would require a permit it didn’t get. The town cited short-term rental agreements made by Killington Mountain House, the fact that the secretary of state lists as a “member-managed LLC” and other documents as evidence that the Estabrook Road property is being used for commercial purposes.
In a past interview, Dingledine said the property doesn’t meet the Killington zoning bylaws’ definition of a commercial property, at least as far as they went when her client began using the property. According to ZBA documents, she made this argument before the ZBA in January in appealing Horner’s violation notice.

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