Wheeler Nature Park. Photo courtesy of The Other Paper
This story by Liberty Darr was first published in the Other Paper on Sept. 26.
The future of a 7-acre slice of land next to South Burlington’s Wheeler Nature Park will be determined by the state’s highest court after residents opposing a housing development on the property appealed a lower court’s decision.
The appeal comes after the Vermont Environmental Court ruled in favor of the development in August following a six-day trial earlier this year.
The project calls for 32 mixed-housing units directly adjacent to the park, at the intersection of Dorset Street and Park Road in South Burlington, part of a larger parcel that itself was once the subject of a lengthy court case.
Although the project’s developers, BlackRock Construction, won development review board approval in 2021 and Act 250 approval in 2022, the project was quickly appealed by a group of 125 nearby neighbors from the Inverness, Glen Eagles and Villas at Water Tower Hill homeowners’ associations and the Neighbors Committee to Stop Neighborhood Blasting. It has been moving through the courts since.
Key issues for residents include their contention that the scenic view of the Green Mountains over the nature park would be disturbed, as would the wildlife from the blasting of rock needed to build the homes; overall aesthetic and undue traffic burdens were also mentioned as concerns.
A lower environmental court sided with the developer this summer, finding that the project complies with Act 250 criteria for aesthetics, noise and traffic, also adding that the project is consistent with many nearby developments that also affect views of the mountains.
But the crux of the problem for residents is that the land should remain a nature park.
The 110-acre Wheeler Nature Park has had years of legal history since it was first acquired by the city in 1993. The parcel at the heart of this latest court battle was first created in 2015, the result of a settlement with landowner JAM Golf that included the swapping of these 7 acres for 22 acres that have been conserved forever as Wheeler Nature Park. A second amended agreement between the parties was reached in 2017.
The land swap was approved by city voters in 2011, although the vote was not legally binding and only considered a “good faith” gesture on the part of the city, former city attorney Jim Barlow said at a council meeting in 2015, according to previous reporting in The Other Paper.
That agreement created specific zoning for the parcel, laying out specific development guidelines.
“The main issue that we have is that this is a park,” James Leas, one of the opposing neighbors and a patent attorney who is representing himself in the case, said. “The city made a deal, and it feels that instead of just representing the people of South Burlington, it now has to represent JAM Golf, a private owner of land in South Burlington. What about the people of South Burlington? What about the fact that state law requires public input when you’re changing the land use designation?”
The appellants, Leas and two other neighboring residents, Alan Luzzatto and Jeanne Zagursky, submitted a 13-page statement to the state’s highest court last week that outlines 32 points the team plans to court.
“I think we have very solid case,” Leas said. “We recognize that we’re just three volunteers. But there were more than 20 people from the community who came out to testify about how they use the park, how they enjoy the park, how they love walking on the trails.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Residents appeal Wheeler Park decision to supreme court.