§ 2409. Retention of municipal ownership of lease lands
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Legislative body” means the officer or officers of a municipal corporation who are
charged with the care of the municipal corporation’s lease lands.
(2) “Lessee” means the person entitled to possess, enjoy, and use land subject to a perpetual
lease and shall include the person’s heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns.
(3) “Municipal corporation” shall have the same meaning as “municipality” in 1 V.S.A. § 126 and shall also include every municipal corporation identified in subdivision 1751(1) of this title, county grammar schools, any unorganized towns and gores in the State, and any of
the unified towns and gores of Essex County. “Municipal corporation” shall not include
the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College.
(4) “Perpetual lease” means any leasehold interest in Vermont land, and every estate in
Vermont land other than fee simple absolute, the title to which is held by a municipal
corporation according to section 2401 of this title, arising out of or created by an instrument of lease that conveys to a person designated
as lessee the right to possess, enjoy, and use the land in perpetuity or substantially
in perpetuity. “Perpetual lease” shall include leasehold interests that are subject
to restrictions on the lessee’s use of the land and shall include lands that the municipal
corporation may repossess for nonpayment of rent or other default under the terms
of the lease.
(5) “Perpetual lease land” means all land described in a perpetual lease that is owned
by or vested in a municipal corporation. “Perpetual lease land” does not include land
described in a perpetual lease that is held in title by any person other than a municipal
corporation, or any land described in a perpetual lease over which the municipal corporation
acts exclusively as trustee.
(b)(1) On January 1, 2020, fee simple title to perpetual lease lands shall vest in the current
lessee of record, free and clear of the interest of a municipal corporation in the
perpetual lease lands held in accordance with section 2401 of this title, unless prior to that date the legislative body of the municipal corporation votes
in the affirmative to retain ownership of some or all of the perpetual lease lands
within that municipal corporation.
(2) At any time, the legislative body of a municipal corporation may vote to relinquish
its interest in some or all of the perpetual lease lands within that municipal corporation
held in accordance with section 2401 of this title. Upon such a vote, fee simple title to perpetual lease lands shall vest in the current
lessee of record.
(3) When fee simple title to perpetual lease land vests in the current lessee of record
pursuant to this subsection, the land shall remain subject to any other encumbrances
of record, including municipal encumbrances and easements.
(c) Nothing in this section shall prevent a municipal corporation that has retained its
interest in perpetual lease land held in accordance with section 2401 of this title from later conveying the land in accordance with section 2406 of this title. (Added 2017, No. 152 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)