On September 29th, Stitzel, Page & Fletcher attorneys, working on behalf of the Village of Jeffersonville, closed on the Village’s purchase of a 4.2-acre, more or less, parcel of land lying at the southwesterly corner of the intersection of Vermont Routes 15 and 108. The highly visible property sits within a portion of the Federal Emergency Management Agency-designated Special Flood Hazard Area at the confluence of the Lamoille and Brewster Rivers and was proposed to be developed with a gasoline station, convenience store and possibly a pharmacy.
In late April 2011, the property was inundated by floodwaters due to a combination of rapid snowmelt and a substantial rainstorm. Believing that the proposed commercial development would exacerbate future flooding and potentially lead to floodwaters reaching the Village core, the Village began negotiating with the property owner in the fall of 2011 to purchase the property. The Village’s purchase this past September was the result of a three-year long planning, fundraising and negotiation process, and may ultimately lead to the protection of more than five acres of floodplain in the Village from development.
For more information about this project or for assistance with your municipality’s real property transactions, please contact Robert Fletcher or David Rugh.