Killington bans attorney from planning process
Toolbox
By Cristina Kumka STAFF WRITER - Published: June 30, 2009
Killington town officials have ousted their longtime land-use attorney from the firm of Langrock, Sperry and Wool because of a perceived conflict of interest between the firm and SP Land Co., an applicant with a plan for development of a ski village on the table.
By a 2-1 margin, the three-member Select Board voted June 18 to seek other counsel, despite opinions from an outside attorney and Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz that Kevin Brown didn't pose a conflict as the Planning Commission's attorney in a face of a lawsuit brought by Martin Post, Jill Post, Judith Dark and William Langlais.
Those parties are being represented by the Langrock firm in a pending federal class action lawsuit against Killington Resort under the direction of Powdr. Corp and its partner, SP Land Co., over the validity of season passes issued by the resort's former owner, American Ski Co.
SP Land Co. has an application on the Planning Commission's table for a 408-acre ski village development and according to commission Chairman David Rosenblum, that raises the conflict question.
Rosenblum, an attorney himself, believed Langrock shouldn't be representing the commission at the same time it was fighting SP Land and its partner over season passes, and took the issue to the town's Select Board.
SP Land Co. did not raise the issue.
In an e-mail and meeting minutes, the board decided to "err on the side of extreme caution by completely avoiding any appearance of a lack of impartiality, and therefore only in matters pertaining to SP Land and the Planning Commission master plan/planned unit development approval process, has decided that should the need arise, the town will retain other legal counsel, to be determined."
The Langrock firm has represented the town and the commission for at least the last 30 years.
The determination to not use the firm was confirmed by a 5-3 vote by the Planning Commission June 24.
In a letter to the board, Town Planner Dick Horner expressed regret over the possible ousting before the vote.
"In the 19 years I have worked with the town of Killington, I have built a strong relationship with Langrock Sperry and specifically attorney Kevin Brown," Horner wrote.
"Kevin assisted in writing the zoning regulations and is extremely knowledgeable in land use law. Because he has represented the town of Killington in zoning matters for many years he understands how the town works and who the various parties are. I am comfortable working with Kevin … he explains legal matters in an easy to understand manner and has legal opinions that are well thought out," according to Horner in the letter.
And, according to Horner, the town will face additional costs for bringing a new attorney up to speed and in Vermont, it may be difficult to find an attorney without conflicting clientele.
"This is a bad precedent to set because it may force the town to continually find new attorneys," Horner wrote.
Commission member Charles Demarest adamantly opposed the ousting, calling on Rosenblum to resign for meeting with SP Land in April prior to a public meeting, while Select Board member Chris Bianchi said all the attorneys he had spoken with advised him to "seek other counsel," for the perception of a conflict alone.
cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com
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