Vermont Supreme Court rules in favor of Williston dog rescue

The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Williston dog rescue, reversing a decision that denied the rescue’s home business permit and sending the case back to environmental court.

The case centers on Vermont English Bulldog Rescue, a Williston-based dog rescue that for many years operated out of the Lamplite Lane residence of owner and founder Dawna Pederzani.

The rescue has generated significant controversy in the small neighborhood. In 2022, nearby residents took their complaints to town zoning officials after discovering she was operating without a permit. 

Pederzani sought a permit for her rescue and was approved by the town zoning administrator, but the town’s Development Review Board, upon appeal by neighbors, reversed that decision.

Pederzani then appealed the DRB’s decision to the state environmental court, which ruled in favor of the neighbors in January and found that her rescue constituted a home business, which, per town zoning law, is not allowed to use outdoor workspaces.

The case eventually reached the state Supreme Court, where Pederzani and the residents presented their case during an October hearing. The Supreme Court’s decision was released on Friday.

“We feel vindicated,” said Christian Chorba, an attorney representing Pederzani. “It’s a great win to be able to continue that operation as she sees fit.”

Ron Bliss, a Lamplite Lane resident and one of 16 neighbors who is acting as a spokesperson for the group, said they were “disappointed” in the ruling, and “believe they misinterpreted the ordinances regarding the home business’” in a residential district.

“We will be pursuing all legal options up to and including the Vermont environmental court,” Bliss said. 

At issue was the use of Pederzani’s backyard and the surrounding neighborhood to walk dogs. In their appeals to the town and in environmental court, neighbors argued that businesses operating in residential neighborhoods under town zoning cannot use outdoor work spaces, and must operate within the home itself.

Chorba, in the appeal to the Supreme Court, argued that the lower court got it wrong: The town has zoning provisions for home businesses, as well as more specific provisions for kennels, which, Chorba said, do allow for certain outdoor workspaces.

The court agreed, determining that the environmental court had erred. Supreme Court Justice William Cohen, in the court’s decision, wrote, “When there are two conflicting provisions in an ordinance, the specific provision is held as an exception to the general provision.”

“The kennel provision should be read as an exception to the home-business provision,” Cohen wrote. Prohibiting the dog rescue from operating “would render the provision permitting kennels as home businesses … virtually meaningless.”

Pederzani operated her rescue out of her Williston home for years, but earlier this year moved the rescue to the Green Mountain Masonic Center on Williston’s Merchants Row.

She declined to comment on the latest ruling, but previously said she had no plans to drop the case despite having a new space.

Chorba said all of the operations are now run out of the Masonic Lodge, but “it’s nice for her, from an operations standpoint … to have the flexibility of being able to rely on a permit to use her home going forward.”

With the case now sent back to environmental court, Chorba said there may be “ancillary” issues remaining in the case — determining, for example, how many volunteers Pederzani can have at the property at any one time. 

How that will proceed is unclear, but Chorba said the Supreme Court’s decision marks a “big win” for Pederzani.