## Facts

- A lakeside subdivision was created in 1957 and a plat was recorded showing lots, roads, and an area designated as a “park.”
- Multiple purchasers acquired lots in the subdivision over time; their deeds referred to the recorded plat.
- In 1966, Jacques and Therese Lalonde purchased from the developers with reference to the plat.
- In 1982, Dennis and Isabelle Renaud purchased from the Lalondes a parcel that included the area shown on the plat as the park.
- The Renauds treated the parcel as a buildable lot and attempted to develop it.
- Other subdivision lot owners sued for a declaration that the disputed area was park land under the subdivision plan and that all lot owners had rights to keep it open and use it as a park.
- The trial court ruled for the lot owners and restricted the Renauds’ development; the Renauds appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether subdivision lot purchasers acquire enforceable rights to keep open and use land labeled “park” on a recorded plat when their lots are conveyed by reference to that plat, without proof of subjective reliance.
2. Whether those rights burden a later purchaser’s title to the park-designated area and prevent development inconsistent with park use.

## Decision

- The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed the judgment for the plaintiff lot owners.
- The court held that the disputed area was park land as designated on the recorded subdivision plan.
- The court held that lot owners acquired a right to keep the park area open and to use it as a park based on conveyances referencing the recorded plat.
- The court rejected the argument that the defendants held fee simple title free of the lot owners’ rights.
- The court later made a technical correction to the property description without changing the substantive result.

## Legal Principles

- When subdivision lots are sold with reference to a recorded plat, purchasers obtain the right to keep open and use roads, streets, and park areas as indicated on the plat.
- The existence of these plat-based rights is determined by an objective test focused on the recorded plan and the subdivision conveyancing scheme, not on each purchaser’s subjective reliance.
- A purchaser who later acquires the area designated as a park takes title subject to the lot owners’ plat-based rights and may not develop the area in a manner inconsistent with those rights.

## Conclusion

The court upheld subdivision lot owners’ enforceable, plat-based rights to keep and use an area labeled “park,” applying an objective rule that arises from conveyances referencing a recorded subdivision map and that restricts later development of the designated park area.


Lalonde v. Renaud, 597 A.2d 305 (Vt. 1989)