Barnard

Barnard, Vermont faced questions over the legality of a proposed helicopter landing area back in 2013. In this case, a Barnard resident, seeking to build a cement helipad in their yard, believed that the lack of specific zoning requirements for helipads in the Barnard town zoning regulations allowed them to build this helipad without a permitting process. Local officials agreed with this interpretation of Barnard’s zoning laws and told the applicant that they were within their right to construct the landing area on their property, as long as its construction fit the definition of a “customarily incidental” addition.

Neighbors and other local residents lodged a series of complaints and official appeals against the project, arguing that the noise, environmental impacts, and safety risks of the proposed helipad would greatly impact the makeup of the neighborhood and therefore this project should not be considered “customarily incidental”. In their final ruling on this matter, the Barnard Developmental Review Board and Zoning Administrator confirmed that this project required no permitting due to the lack of explicit zoning requirements on helipads in Barnard, and the project has since been constructed.

Read more about this case in the following resources:

1. Story by The Herald on the process of building the helipad

2. Valley News Op-Ed on the helipad written by Jim Kenyon

3. Woodstock Early Bird Story on the helipad