The Municipal Assistance Center has compiled many topical model templates related to policies and ordinances deemed most helpful for municipalities. At member request we have compiled a list of our current available models for your quick reference.
Model Policies
Model Ordinances | |
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An ordinance is a legislative act by the legislative body (selectboard, council, aldermen, trustees) of a municipality (town, city, village, etc.). Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed., 2014) defines an ordinance as “[a]n authoritative law or decree; specifically, a municipal regulation, especially one that forbids or restricts an activity.” . An ordinance is “an expression of municipal will affecting the conduct of the inhabitants generally, or of a number of them under some general designation.” City of Barre v. Perry & Scribner, 82 Vt. 301 (1909). Municipal ordinances carry the state’s authority and have the same effect within the municipality’s limits as a state statute. Once adopted according to statutory process, an ordinance becomes a legally enforceable local law.
The process is the same for adopting, amending, or repealing an ordinance – other than a zoning ordinance – and is governed by 24 V.S.A. §§ 1972, 1973, unless a town has a different process specified in its governance charter, in which case that process will control. Town of Brattleboro v. Garfield, 180 Vt. 90 (2006). In addition to the explanation of this process written here, please refer to our Quick Guide on Ordinance Adoption, Amendment, or Repeal.
The process starts with the selectboard’s review of a draft ordinance followed by its adoption of the proposed draft. The selectboard must formally adopt the proposed ordinance, by a majority vote of its members at a duly warned, open selectboard meeting, and must ensure that their action, and a copy of the proposed ordinance, are entered in the minutes of the meeting.
The full text of the ordinance, or a concise summary of it, must then be posted in at least five conspicuous public places in town and published in a newspaper of general circulation within 14 days of the selectboard's adoption. The information published in the newspaper must include:
Please refer to our Ordinance Notice Requirements Info Sheet for a model newspaper notice template.
If a petition signed by at least five percent of the voters of the town is received by the town clerk within 44 days following the date of adoption of the ordinance, the selectboard must either: (1) call (i.e., schedule) a special town meeting within 60 days from the date of receipt of the petition; or (2) if the annual town meeting falls within the 60-day period, include in the warning for that meeting an article that asks the voters whether they disapprove of the ordinance. 24 V.S.A. § 1973(c).
Voting would be in the traditional, open-style, floor voting town meeting, unless the town has voted to use the Australian ballot system for disposition of public questions. For either situation, two copies of the ordinance must be posted at each polling place during the hours of voting and copies must also be made available at the polls upon request. If Australian ballot is used, there is no need to reprint the entire ordinance on the ballot: a warning (and ballot) asking “Shall the voters of [name of town] disapprove the proposed [name] ordinance?” will suffice.
The warning for the meeting must include the date, time, and location of the meeting; be signed by a majority of the selectboard; be filed with the town clerk; and be recorded with the date and time received noted upon it prior to its posting. It must then be posted in at least two public places in the town and in or near the town clerk’s office at least 30 but not more than 40 days prior to the meeting. The warning must also be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least five days before the special town meeting. The posted notice accompanying the warning must include information about voter registration, absentee voting, and other appropriate information. If the town votes public questions from the floor, then information applicable to Australian ballot voting need not be included. For assistance in compiling these notices, please refer to our Model Special Town Meeting Ordinance Warnings webpage.
If the vote is unsuccessful, then the ordinance will take effect immediately on the conclusion of the meeting, or at such later date as is specified in the ordinance. If a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question at the meeting vote to disapprove the ordinance, then it will not take effect.
If no petition is received within 44 days of its adoption, the proposed ordinance will become effective either 60 days after its adoption or at such later date as is specified in the ordinance.
Finally, if you want to use one of our model ordinances, please be sure to see our User’s Guide to VLCT Model Ordinances for instructions on their proper use, context, and best practices for implementation. All of the VLCT resources referred to in this article are collected in our new Ordinance Adoption, Amendment, and Repeal Toolkit.
The authority to adopt, amend, or repeal a rural town's zoning bylaw now lies solely with the town’s selectboard.
The Housing Opportunities Made for Everyone (HOME) Act of 2023 (Act 47, S.100), which was signed into law on June 5, amends the Planning & Development statute, Act 250, and other laws to, according to the Agency for Commerce and Community Development (ACCD), “enable new opportunities for housing development within state, regional, and local planning and development regulations.” As of July 1, 2023, the HOME Act also repeals 24 V.S.A. § 4442(c)(2), which had allowed voters in rural towns to require all zoning bylaw updates be adopted by Australian ballot. The repealed provision is:
However, a rural town as defined in section 4303 of this chapter, by vote of that town at a special or regular meeting duly warned on the issue, may elect to require that bylaws, bylaw amendments, or bylaw repeals shall be adopted by vote of the town by Australian ballot at a special or regular meeting duly warned on the issue. That procedure shall then apply until rescinded by the voters at a regular or special meeting of the town.
The repeal of this provision not only takes away rural voters’ authority to require all future bylaw adoptions, amendments, or repeals to be approved by town vote, but it also invalidates all such similar, previous town votes. Consequently, the authority to adopt, amend, or repeal a zoning bylaw now lies solely with a town’s selectboard. 24 V.S.A. § 4442(c)(1).
Despite this, the voters of a rural town, like voters in all towns, can still be involved in the process of adopting, amending, or repealing bylaws. While these voters can no longer require that all bylaw updates be adopted by Australian ballot, their selectboard can still choose to put bylaws before the voters at a special or regular town meeting. 24 V.S.A. § 4442(c)(1). Additionally, when bylaws are adopted, amended, or repealed by the selectboard, the voters still retain their right to petition that action. 24 V.S.A. § 4442(d). When a petition signed by at least five percent of the voters is filed within 20 days of the selectboard’s vote, a town meeting must be called for the purpose of acting by Australian ballot upon the bylaw adoption, amendment, or repeal.
For over a century, Vermont’s tree warden laws have mostly remained untouched, much like the great redwood trees out west. Last fall, the Vermont Legislature passed an update to the laws with the enactment of Act 171, which took effect in November. The act makes substantial changes to the tree warden law, including getting to the root of the old law’s main problem, which was the lack of a definition for the term “shade tree.” Other amendments define how trees may be removed and the methods by which they are managed on both public and private land. The following is an overview of the major changes and additions to the law.
Municipalities always had to appoint a tree warden, who had to be a registered voter of the town – in other words, a resident. This is no longer the case. Although municipalities must still appoint a tree warden, the warden no longer needs to be a resident of the municipality. This change allows selectboards to branch out to find someone who meets the position’s requirements. The selectboard now may also appoint as many deputy tree wardens as it sees fit, and these deputies would have the same authority and duties as the tree warden and serve under the direction of the tree warden. The commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation will be pining to know who the tree warden is; therefore, the selectboard must certify the tree warden’s appointment and contact information on the Forest, Parks, and Recreation website.
Before Act 171, public trees or public shade trees were not defined in statute, causing tree wardens and selectboards to be stumped as to their obligations with respect to particular trees. The new legislation defines shade tree as “a shade or ornamental tree located in whole or in part within the limits of a public way or public place,” provided that the tree was planted by the municipality or is designated as a shade tree in a municipal shade tree preservation plan. To flesh this definition out a bit more, the law says that a “public place” is any municipal property except municipal forestland or property subject to any ownership interest by the Agency of Transportation, and that a “public way” is a right-of-way held by a municipality.
A preservation plan may be created and approved by the selectboard and tree warden. While the plan is discretionary, it must include at least the following:
Of particular relevance to the shade tree definition, the preservation plan may designate particular trees as shade trees, including designating trees individually or as part of a mapped zone, in whole or in part, provided the trees are within a public place or way. If a tree is to be designated as a shade tree in a public way, the tree warden and selectboard must find that the tree is critical to the cultural, historical, or aesthetic character of the municipality. This is a great opportunity for municipalities to inventory their shade trees for better tree management. Before adopting a preservation plan, the tree warden and selectboard must hold at least one public hearing and publish the plan ten days before the hearing.
While municipal authority to regulate trees on or above public highways, sidewalks, or other municipal property already exists (24 V.S.A. § 2291(3)), the new law grants additional, supplemental authority for municipalities to adopt an ordinance in order to administer the preservation plan and to regulate shade trees. The law also allows the tree warden to propose to the selectboard rules or an ordinance for the planting, protection, care, or removal of shade trees, which the selectboard may adopt.
Removal of Trees and Tree Warden Hearings. Tree wardens still have control over shade trees but the process for removing them has changed. Previously, a hearing was always required before removing a shade tree. Now, only public notice is required before a shade tree is cut or removed. If a landowner or resident appeals the cutting or removal, then the selectboard and tree warden must hold a public hearing, and the cutting or removal is suspended pending the selectboard’s final decision.
A public hearing is not required for shade tree removals when they are infested or infected (or at risk to become so) and are located in an area designated by the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation; a hazard to public safety; or required to be removed by the municipality in order to comply with state or federal laws or permitting requirements. Notably, municipalities still have the authority to manage trees on town highways. Selectboards may cause a tree within the limits of their highways to be trimmed, cut, or removed without following the tree warden notice and appeal procedures, if it is not a shade tree and it obstructs the view of the highway ahead or causes damage to the highway.
The penalty for the “tree-sonous” act of willfully and critically injuring or cutting down a shade tree without the permission of the tree warden or selectboard now ranges from $50 to $2,000 per tree, which will be determined by a value assessment based on the tree’s diameter. The same penalty will apply for the willful or malicious removal of or damage to trees in municipal and state highway rights-of-way without prior consent from the state, the municipality, or the tree warden.
Tree wardens previously had authority to enter into various agreements and cooperate with other entities, including adjoining landowners of public ways and places and state and federal agencies. Act 171 gives additional collaborative enabling authority, which allows the tree warden to, with the consent of the selectboard, enter into agreements or “treeties” with other municipalities to provide tree warden services or training.
With a clear definition of shade tree, the ability to both adopt preservation plans and designate trees, and the chance to work communally with peers, Act 171 gives municipalities and tree wardens a “tree-mendous” opportunity to turn over a new leaf on tree management.
Thanks to generous support from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation’s Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Program, MAC will be developing online guidance and hosting training on municipal tree law this year. The Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Program provides technical assistance to municipalities and tree wardens regarding tree care and management. In response to the amended tree warden laws, in 2021 the program is offering a free online Tree Warden School, partnering with 10 municipalities to develop shade tree preservation plans, and has updated its tree warden web resources, which can be found at https://vtcommunityforestry.org/municipal-assistance/tree-wardens.
Carl Andeer, Staff Attorney II
VLCT Municipal Assistance Center
Disclaimer: This resource is only intended to provide information and it does NOT constitute legal advice. Readers with specific legal questions are encouraged to contact an attorney. The use or downloading of this resource does NOT create an attorney-client relationship and will not be treated in a confidential manner.
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