{"id":950,"date":"2019-07-22T19:59:31","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T23:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nlg.org\/guild-notes\/?post_type=article&p=950"},"modified":"2019-07-24T17:40:30","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T21:40:30","slug":"nlg-vt-members-represent-citizens-in-lawsuit-to-stop-demolition-of-city-hall-park","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.nlg.org\/guild-notes\/article\/nlg-vt-members-represent-citizens-in-lawsuit-to-stop-demolition-of-city-hall-park\/","title":{"rendered":"NLG VT Members Represent Citizens in Lawsuit to Stop Demolition of City Hall Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kira Kelley, Esq., Vermont NLG Chairperson<\/strong><\/p>\n

This piece was originally published as an announcement on nlg.org. To view court documents from the case, visit www.nlg.org\/nlg-vt-members-represent-citizens-in-lawsuit-against-city-of-burlington-to-stop-demolition-of-city-hall-park\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Eight Burlington residents represented by attorneys with the Vermont Chapter of the NLG filed a lawsuit in late February against the City of Burlington to stop the demolition of City Hall Park. These residents were among over 3,300 signatories of a petition to insert an article on the Town Meeting Day ballot advising the Mayor and City Council to cancel the City Hall Park renovation plan. City Council has since voted to refuse to put this question on the ballot.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkimming funding from properly approved purposes in order to privatize a cherished public space, circumventing the required voter approval \u2013 this is exactly the type of consolidating power we must guard against vigilantly if we want our government to be accountable to our best interests,\u201d said Kira Kelley, chair of the Vermont NLG and one of the attorneys that drafted the complaint.<\/p>\n

The complaint and a supporting motion for a preliminary injunction allege that City officials have violated the Burlington Charter in two ways: (1) pledging City credit without first submitting the purpose of those bonds to the voters for approval, and (2) refusing to put a validly petitioned article on the Town Meeting Day Ballot that addresses a matter within the voters\u2019 authority to decide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Burlington City Charter requires City Council to seek voter permission before pledging City credit or acquiring bonds,\u201d the complaint reads. \u201cCity Council has gone rogue, and is rushing to complete a project that it lacked the authority to approve in the first place. Circumventing its obligation to submit the true purpose for the $4 million City Park overhaul to a vote, the Council seeks to cheat the Plaintiffs and the entire city out of their rightful role in town governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit asks the Chittenden Superior Court to revisit a recent Vermont Supreme Court decision, Skiff v. South Burlington School District<\/em>: \u201cThe standard in Skiff<\/em> prohibits a school board or City Council from omitting an article from the ballot unless the petitioned item meets two criteria: the item must be (1) advisory and (2) beyond the authority of the electorate to decide.\u201d The motion argues that since \u201cthe matter of bonds and their purpose are fully within the electorate\u2019s authority \u2026 Burlington City Council lacks discretion to omit this petitioned question from the ballot.\u201d \u25a0<\/p>\n

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