The South Burlington VT property dispute was appealed to the United States Supreme Court

The South Burlington case may come to the desk of the United States Supreme Court in the near future. The legal battle between developers and the city has been ongoing for two years following zoning regulations passed by the City Council in February 2022, which restrict development in newly designated “habitat blocks,” or wildlife corridors.

Developers Jeff Nick and Jeff Davis of JL Davis Realty own the 113.8-acre property at 835 Hinesburg Road. They say the new rules could prevent them from building about a third of the properties.

The land was purchased in 2000, with both developers open about their plans for commercial, residential and office buildings.

Nick and Davis filed their first lawsuit in early 2022 in U.S. District Court in Vermont, in which they “argued that the habitat block designation prevented them from doing anything with their land and constituted a regulatory taking requiring just compensation,” according to a public statement from their team legal, Pacific Legal Foundation. They originally sought monetary damages and an injunction preventing the city from enforcing the law.