Okemo Trailside Condominiums, Inc. v. Blais, 28-76
| Decision Date | 02 November 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 28-76,28-76 |
| Citation | 380 A.2d 84,135 Vt. 500 |
| Parties | OKEMO TRAILSIDE CONDOMINIUMS, INC. v. Charles P. BLAIS et al. |
| Court | Vermont Supreme Court |
Pope & Pu, Brattleboro, for plaintiff.
Bruce M. Lawlor, Douglas Richards, Springfield, for defendant, Town of Ludlow.
Before BARNEY, C. J., and DALEY, LARROW, BILLINGS and HILL, JJ.
The plaintiff corporation seeks relief in the nature of mandamus to require the Village of Ludlow to accept for connection to the municipal sewage system the sewer lines of the plaintiff's condominium units located in the Town of Ludlow. The lower court refused to grant the desired remedy, and this appeal followed.
Most of the facts are not in dispute. Starting in 1963, the Village of Ludlow started the necessary planning, and followed through with the necessary voter authorization from the Village, that resulted in the completed construction of an approved sewage waste treatment plant in 1971. The cost of the system was underwritten by Village general obligation bonds and state and federal grants. The cost of maintenance and operation, as well as the debt service payments, all were to come out of sewer charges paid by the users of the system, whether within or without the Village. In 1971 the Village of Ludlow voted the necessary authorizations to allow extension of its sewer lines outside the Village limits. In late 1971, as a result of this authority, the first fifty condominium units of the plaintiff were allowed to be connected to the Village system. A year later the plaintiff proposed to construct an additional one hundred units and connect them to the Village system. It is these condominiums which are the subject of the present suit.
Meanwhile, in April, 1972, the trustees of the Village, who are authorized to act as sewer commissioners, decided not to allow any further connections by prospective users outside the Village. This decision was communicated to the plaintiff, but in its application for a land use permit for the one hundred extra units, the corporation indicated that the sewer connections would be made to the municipal system. This application was returned by the District Environmental Commission because the plaintiff had not obtained permission from the Village to connect to its sewer. The application was amended in 1973 to provide for a private sewage system, called a "spray irrigation" system, and approved. However, the plaintiff continued, right down to the institution of this suit, to seek permission to be tied into the municipal system.
The argument is, in part, phrased in terms of governmental versus proprietary activity of the municipality. This terminology, unfortunately, tends to be more conclusionary than analytical. The policy bases for decision making must usually be separately explored before the labels are applied. See Marshall v. Town of Brattleboro, 121 Vt. 417, 421-26, 160 A.2d 762 (1960).
The principal issue of this case comes down to whether or not there is any legal obligation on a municipally owned sewage system to provide services outside its territorial limits. No one in this case questions the proposition that the municipality, under appropriate circumstances, may elect to provide certain municipal services outside its boundaries. See Valcour v. Village of Morrisville, 104 Vt. 119, 130-33, 158 A. 83 (1932).
This litigation, however, deals with the question of whether or not, once services are offered outside the municipal limits, such services can be demanded as a matter of law. That is the nature of mandamus; it is a remedy of compulsion. Rutland Cable T.V., Inc. v. City of Rutland, 121 Vt. 399, 402, 159 A.2d 83 (1960). It does not apply to a case where official action depends upon the application of judgment to a state of facts, making the act discretionary. Eastern Advertising, Inc. v. Cooley, 126 Vt. 221, 222, 227 A.2d 294 (1967).
The plaintiff puts forward the holdings in Kedroff v. Town of Springfield, 127 Vt. 624, 256 A.2d 457 (1969), and Corcoran v. Village of Bennington, 128 Vt. 482, 266 A.2d 457 (1970), in support of its claim for service as a matter of right. In addition, it claims that there is such substantial identity between the Town and Village of Ludlow that they may be treated as a single governmental unit.
Taking the last contention first, it seems fitting to point out that purchasers of Ludlow Village bonds might be...
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Bryant v. Town of Essex, 87-030
...that section nor the cases cited by plaintiffs require the Town to provide unlimited capacity. In Okemo Trailside Condominiums v. Blais, 135 Vt. 500, 503, 380 A.2d 84, 87 (1977), the extension of sewer service beyond village limits was held to be discretionary. Neither Corcoran v. Village o......
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Kirchner v. Giebink
...of the selectmen to function in this area of their official responsibility. (citation omitted). In Okemo Trailside Condominiums, Inc. v. Blais, 135 Vt. 500, 503, 380 A.2d 84, 87 (1977), we recognized the broad powers of the selectmen to decide the sewage system capacity "and how much, if an......
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Bargman v. Brewer, 500-81
...not lie to review the performance of official acts involving the exercise of judgment or discretion. Okemo Trailside Condominiums, Inc. v. Blais, 135 Vt. 500, 502, 380 A.2d 84, 86 (1977) (citing Eastern Advertising, Inc. v. Cooley, 126 Vt. 221, 222, 227 A.2d 294, 295 (1967)); see also Coutu......