HUNTINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A Central Vermont man is on the move, and he’s taking his house with him. It’s all because of different zoning rules between the neighboring towns of Huntington and Bolton.
Power tools buzz at Rick Weston’s home in Huntington. But what initially looks like routine maintenance work to his bathroom is actually far from it.
“I’ve got to cut these walls all up to get the shower out — and it was just all redone — now I’ve got to cut it all out to move it,” Weston said.
Weston is moving his whole house from Huntington to Bolton, a journey of just 12 feet. “If I move it to there, it’s in Bolton. By moving it to there, they’re letting me live in it year-round. If I leave it here, I can’t,” Weston explained.
At issue are zoning regulations. Weston wants to transform the home from a seasonal camp to a year-round residence, but Huntington prohibits that kind of conversion in woodland and conservation districts. But across the town line in Bolton, the conversion is allowed.
Now, there’s a new foundation outside. Weston says given Bolton’s less stringent land use laws, he’s going to hire a company to pick his house up and move it just over the town line.
Reporter Cam Smith: Why do you feel it’s worth it to just pick up the house and move?
Rick Weston: Now, I’ve got so much into it, I don’t have a choice. I’ve got to get it so I can sell it, get some money back out of it.
Town officials in both Huntington and Bolton declined requests for comment.
Under Vermont law, the Legislature has granted the power of land use regulation to individual municipalities. The Chittenden Regional Planning Commission says each town comes up with its own plan.
