24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 101 Corporate existence retained
101. Corporate existence retained
The inhabitants of the Town of Middlebury, within the limits as now established, shall be a municipal corporation by the name of the Town of Middlebury.
Powers of the Town of Middlebury
V.S.A. tit. 24 Appendix, ch. 127, subch. 1
in effect24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 102 General law; application
102. General law; application
Except when changed, enlarged, or modified by the provisions of this charter, or by any legal regulation or ordinance of the Town of Middlebury, all provisions of the statutes of the State of Vermont relating to municipalities shall apply to the Town of Middlebury.
24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 103 Powers of the Town
103. Powers of the Town
(a) The Town of Middlebury shall have all the powers granted to towns and municipal corporations by the Constitution and laws of this State and this charter, together with all the implied powers necessary to carry into execution all the powers granted; it may enact ordinances not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the State of Vermont or with this charter and impose penalties for violation thereof.
(b) The Town may acquire property within or without its corporate limits for any Town purpose, in fee simple or any lesser interest or estate, by purchase, gift, devise, lease, or condemnation, consistent with the Constitution and laws of the State of Vermont and may sell, lease, mortgage, hold, manage, and control such property as its interest may require consistent with the Constitution and laws of the State.
(c) In this charter, no mention of a particular power shall be construed to be exclusive or to restrict the scope of the powers that the Town would have if the particular power were not mentioned, unless this charter otherwise provides.
24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 104 Additional powers
104. Additional powers
The general grant of authority in section 103 of this charter shall include the following:
(1) To adopt and enforce ordinances relating to the installation of new water lines, new sewer lines, and equipment necessary for their operation, requiring the installation of such improvements in a manner specified as a condition precedent to the issuing of a building permit under any Town ordinance and requiring the apportionment of part or all the cost of such improvements against property owners benefiting thereby. Special assessments shall constitute a lien on the property against which the assessment is made in the same manner and to the same extent as taxes assessed on the grand list of the Town, and all procedures and remedies for the collection of taxes shall apply to special assessments.
(2) To adopt and enforce police ordinances regulating or prohibiting the use of firearms, air rifles, and devices having a capacity to inflict personal injury and the parking, operation, and speed of vehicles of any kind upon Town and State aid streets and highways, private and public property, and to regulate or prohibit any activities constituting a hazard to the safety or health of the public.
(3) To adopt and enforce ordinances relating to the prevention of pollution of air, land, streams, ponds, and other waterways within the Town.
(4) To adopt and enforce ordinances relating to the cleaning or repair of any premises that, in the judgment of the Selectboard, is dangerous to the health, welfare, or safety of the public.
(5) To adopt and enforce ordinances relating to regulation, licensing, or prohibition of the storage and accumulation of garbage, ashes, rubbish, refuse, and waste materials; regulation of the removal and disposal of such materials; licensing for revenue and regulation or prohibition of the collection, removal, and disposal of such materials by contract or by a Town officer or department now existing or created for that purpose; establishment of service rates to be paid the Town for such service.
(6) To adopt and enforce ordinances prohibiting and punishing willful injuries to trees planted for shade, ornament, convenience, or use, public and private, and to prevent and punish trespassing or willful injuries to or upon public or private buildings, property, or lands.
(7) To adopt and enforce ordinances relating to codes for building construction, including also wiring and plumbing.
(8) To adopt and enforce ordinances relating to fire prevention and control.
(9) To adopt and enforce ordinances relating to the use, protection, care, and management of all public recreation facilities of the Town.
(10) To adopt, amend, repeal, and enforce ordinances relating to the prevention of riots, noises, nuisances, disturbances, and disorderly assembly and to provide for the enforcement of penalties for violation or nonperformance.
(11) To adopt and enforce ordinances establishing regulations for signs and billboards.
(12) To adopt and enforce an ordinance related to a special assessment district; such an ordinance can be considered by the Selectboard only when the request is made by a petition signed by the owners of two-thirds of the parcels of real property within the proposed district. If a parcel of land is owned by more than one person, only one person shall sign on behalf of the owners of the parcel. Such petition shall define the boundaries of the district, the purpose for which the assessment is to be levied, and the proposed costs and duration of the levy. In addition to the required notification in subsection 107(a) of this charter, each affected property owner within the proposed district shall be notified by certified mail of the proposed ordinance or any amendments thereto prior to any public hearing held.
(13) The enumeration of powers herein shall not be deemed to limit the general grant of authority to adopt ordinances conferred by section 103 of this charter.
Amended 2015, No. 23, § 127.
24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 105 Reservation of powers to the Town
105. Reservation of powers to the Town
Nothing in this charter shall be construed to in any way limit the powers and functions conferred on the Town of Middlebury and the Selectboard of said Town by general or special enactments of State statutes or regulations in force or effect or hereafter enacted, and the powers and functions conferred by this charter shall be cumulative and in addition to the provisions of such general or special enactments unless this charter otherwise provides.
24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 106 Ordinances; penalties for breach thereof
106. Ordinances; penalties for breach thereof
(a) A Town ordinance may provide:
(1) for a fine in an amount not greater than $1,000.00; and
(2) that each week a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. A violation of a Town ordinance shall be classified as a misdemeanor or a rule violation in the same manner as it would be classified by the general State statutes now or hereafter enacted, and prosecuted accordingly. The Town may maintain an action to enjoin the violation of any ordinance or rule, but the election of the Town to proceed with an application for an injunction shall not prevent a criminal prosecution for the violation of an ordinance.
(b) A municipal court may be established with such jurisdiction, operation, and procedures as may be voted by annual Town meeting.
24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 107 Ordinances; adoption by Selectboard
107. Ordinances; adoption by Selectboard
(a) If the Selectboard desires to adopt an ordinance, they shall cause it to be entered in the official record kept of their proceedings, and thereafter, they shall adopt it subject to final approval after the public hearing as hereafter set forth. The ordinance shall then be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town, together with a notice of the time and place of a public hearing to consider the ordinance for final passage, such publication to be on a day at least one week and not more than two weeks prior to the date of hearing.
(b) At the public hearing or at any time and place to which the hearing may from time to time be adjourned, the ordinance shall be read in full, unless the Selectboard elects to read the ordinance by title; and after such reading, all persons interested shall be given an opportunity to be heard.
(c) After the public hearing, the Selectboard may finally adopt the ordinance, with or without amendment. If they amend the ordinance prior to passage, they shall cause the amended ordinance to be entered in the official record of their proceedings and shall also cause the amended sections of the ordinance, as finally passed, to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town on a day not more than 14 days after adoption.
(d) Every ordinance shall become effective 40 days after adoption, unless the Selectboard specifies a longer period, or, if the ordinance is conditioned on approval by voters of the Town, then upon such voter approval. If within 40 days of adoption, a referendum petition is filed, the ordinance shall not become effective until after the question of repeal is voted.
(e) The Town Clerk shall prepare and keep in the Town Clerk’s office and in all Town libraries a book of ordinances, which shall contain each Town ordinance, together with a complete index of the ordinances according to subject matter. Failure to comply with this provision shall not invalidate any Town ordinance lawfully passed.
24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 108 Referendum
108. Referendum
(a) All Town ordinances, except as specified in section 110 of this charter, may be repealed by vote of the Town as follows: A petition signed by not less than 10 percent of the registered voters shall be filed with the Town Clerk requesting a vote on the question of repealing the ordinance. The Selectboard shall call a special Town meeting to be held within 60 days of the date of filing the petition, to vote on whether the ordinance shall be repealed. The ordinance shall be repealed only if at least 15 percent of the registered voters vote and a majority of that number vote for repeal.
(b) Within 40 days after passage of an ordinance, five percent of the registered voters shall constitute sufficient signatures for a referendum petition, and all other procedures of subsection (a) of this section shall apply.
24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 109 Initiative
109. Initiative
Any lawful ordinance may be enacted by vote of the Town as follows: A petition signed by not less than five percent of the registered voters shall be filed with the Town Clerk requesting enactment of the ordinance and accompanied by the text thereof. The Selectboard shall call a special Town meeting to be held within 60 days of the date the petition is filed, unless prior to such meeting, the Selectboard shall have enacted the ordinance. The warning for the meeting shall include the text of the proposed ordinance and shall provide for a “yes” or “no” vote as to its enactment. The ordinance shall be adopted if at least 15 percent of the registered voters vote and a majority of that number vote for adoption. The ordinance shall take effect on the 30th day following adoption.
24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 110 Nonapplicability to zoning and subdivision
110. Nonapplicability to zoning and subdivision
(a) The provisions of sections 107, 108, and 109 of this charter shall not apply to the enactment, amendment, or repeal of any zoning ordinance or zoning bylaw; any land subdivision ordinance or land subdivision bylaw; nor to the enactment, amendment, or repeal of any municipal plan or comprehensive municipal plan, nor to the enactment, amendment, or repeal of any regional municipal plan or comprehensive regional plan, the enactment, amendment, or repeal of such ordinances, bylaws, and plans being specifically controlled by 24 V.S.A. chapter 117, or by such other State statutes regulating zoning, subdivision, and municipal and regional plans as may be enforced from time to time. The adoption, amendment, or repeal of all other ordinances shall be in conformity with sections 107, 108, and 109 of this charter.
(b) The right of referendum and initiative contained in sections 108 and 109 of this charter shall apply to the amendment or repeal of an ordinance as well as to its enactment.
24 App. V.S.A. ch. 127, § 111 Authority of police officers
111. Authority of police officers
The police officers of the Town shall have the same powers throughout the State with respect to criminal matters, and the enforcement of the laws relating thereto, as they have within the Town.
Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/24APPENDIX/127Fetched: 10/21/2026