Planning & Zoning

Please submit a Certificate of Compliance application form. Send by US Mail or utilize our Municipal Offices drop box, including a check for $40 (per property), or submit by email totscanlon@townofmiddlebury.org and send your payment separately. Please allow 1-2 weeks for processing.

Applications received must be complete in order to be processed. Be sure to include your closing date, signature and contact information. We will return the completed certification by the means specified on your form.

We are available to help! Please email your question to: jmurray@townofmiddlebury.org or call at 802-458-8010. One of our staff will get back to you soon!

Please visit our interactive zoning map available under 'Other Planning Resources' on the Planning and Zoning Department webpage. Still have questions? Email a member of staff at planning@townofmiddlebury.org.

Listers’ cards are available online at the Assessors & Listers page. Click on the interactive map to access the Listers’ card. Can’t find it? Email Allison Joseph, Assessor, at ajoseph@townofmiddlebury.org.

To place a sign in the Right-of way it must meet the following criteria:

If your sign request meets all of the above criteria, please submit a Temporary Sign Application.  There is no fee. Submit your application by emailing it to dwetmore@townofmiddlebury.org, physically mailing it to 77 Main Street, Middlebury VT 05753, or using our outside drop box (located beside the mailbox in the municipal offices parking lot).

A member of staff will contact you with authorization to place your sign(s). After July 1st, we anticipate returning to the system of issuing stickers for each sign to be placed.

Please submit an inquiry describing what you would like to do by sending an email to dwetmore@townofmiddlebury.org with cc: to jmurray@townofmiddlebury.org.

A member of staff will respond with the total fee amount, and any additional information. Please submit a Zoning Permit Application Form by physically mailing it to 77 Main Street, Middlebury VT 05753, or using our outside drop box (located beside the mailbox in the municipal offices parking lot). Include any attachments requested by staff and a check for the fee amount quoted to you. You can also email the form and attachments to dwetmore@townofmiddlebury.org with cc: to jmurray@townofmiddlebury.org and send the fee separately.

If more information is needed to complete your application, a member of staff will contact you. Once approved, a yellow zoning permit will be sent to the mailing address provided on your application form. The permit must be posted at the property in a location visible from the public right of way for a duration of 15 days. You may commence work/occupancy at the expiration of the 15-day appeal period. Permits are good for 2 years.   

If staff has indicated that your application requires a hearing before the Development Review Board (DRB) prior to issuance of a permit, please see that section below.

Please contact dwetmore@townofmiddlebury.org to set up an inspection.

If you didn’t already do so when applying for the building (zoning) permit, complete a Certificate of Occupancy application form and submit it with a fee for $55. Physically mail the application form to 77 Main Street, Middlebury VT 05753, or use our outside drop box (located beside the mailbox in the municipal offices parking lot). You may also submit the completed application by email to planning@townofmiddlebury.org and send the fee separately.

Please be aware that in order to issue a Certificate of Occupancy, we will need documentation that a Residential Building Energy Certificate has been completed for your home and recorded with the Town Clerk. If you built the home yourself, you might be able to self-certify using this form. For commercial construction, you will need to complete and record the Commercial Building Energy Certificate. For additional information please refer to the VT Department of Public Service.

If Staff has indicated that your application requires a hearing before the Development Review Board (DRB) prior to issuance of a permit, then in addition to the Zoning Permit Application Form and associated fees, please also submit a DRB Hearing Application Form with a fee of $60.

The DRB Hearing Application form must be signed by the Owner of the property. An application may be represented by someone other than the Owner (ex: a potential purchaser, consultant, etc.). They should fill in their information as 'Applicant'. If the application will not be represented at the hearing by the property owner, please attach a letter signed by the Owner granting permission to another party to represent the application. To qualify, this party will need to be sworn-in and must be willing and able to provide testimony if asked by the DRB. They must have sufficient knowledge of the property and proposed project to answer questions posed by the DRB.

Send us the completed DRB Hearing Application Form, supporting documentation, representative’s certification (if applicable) and fee. Physically mail your application package to 77 Main Street, Middlebury VT 05753, or use our outside drop box (located beside the mailbox in the municipal offices parking lot). You may also submit the completed application by email to dwetmore@townofmiddlebury.org and send the fee separately.

Staff will review your application package and determine if it is complete. We recommend that you communicate with staff about required supporting documentation from the time of your initial inquiry. You will receive a call or email if additional supporting documentation is needed.  Once the application is determined to be adequately complete and a hearing date is assigned, you will receive written notice of your hearing date and a laminated hearing notice (poster) at the address provided on your hearing application form. It is important you provide us with a valid mailing address that you check regularly. The laminated hearing notice poster must be posted at the property under consideration in a location visible from the public right of way for a duration of 15 days prior to the hearing in order for your hearing to be valid. Staff will complete the other noticing requirements on your behalf, such as notifications to abutters and a notice in the local paper. An authorized representative must be present at the hearing to represent the application.

Within 30 days of close of the final hearing, staff will prepare a written decision and send it by US Mail to the address on your application. This decision will contain details of your denial or approval, including any conditions of approval set by the DRB. Please read this document carefully as failure to uphold these conditions or to complete the project as presented in the hearing may constitute a zoning violation subject to penalties and further enforcement action.  You and other interested parties will have 30 days to appeal any decision of the DRB to the State Environmental Court. A reappearance before the DRB to request an Amendment to their decision may be appropriate if there are unforeseen changes to the site plan or project. Small non-substantive changes may be handled administratively at the discretion of staff. DRB approval of a Subdivision will require you to file an approved survey plat in the Land Records maintained by the Town Clerk. Please see Procedure for Recording Subdivision Plats.