Construction of the Essex County Courthouse in Guildhall abuts the Essex County Sheriff’s Deprtment on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. . Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger The Essex County sheriff lost his bid to block a parking lot redesign he says would jeopardize public safety. Judge Joseph McLean recently dismissed Sheriff Trevor Colby’s appeal, finding that his concerns about department operations did not establish grounds to challenge the project under local zoning bylaws. The revised plan would hinder the sheriff’s department’s ability to safely transport people from their vehicles into the station, Colby said in previous interviews with VTDigger. The dispute centers on changes to a construction project at the Eben Judd Justice Center. The revised plan reduces parking spaces from 22 to nine and includes a retaining wall that Colby argues would limit direct access to the sheriff’s office. But the ruling turns on who filed the challenge and whether his objections fall within zoning law, rather than whether the redesign would hamper the department. READ MORE Colby filed his appeal Sept. 4 in the Vermont Superior Court’s Environmental Division as an individual representing himself. He claimed standing as an “interested person,” a legal designation that allows certain people affected by a zoning decision to appeal it. McLean wrote that Colby needed to establish that he qualified to appeal as an “interested person” under Vermont’s zoning law. Colby argued that the sheriff’s office was his primary workplace and that he had participated by testifying and raising concerns at a July 15 public hearing. Nicholas Low, an attorney representing the county’s assistant judges, challenged Colby’s claim to qualify as an occupant and questioned whether he was appealing personally or on behalf of his department. After Colby hired attorney Brice Simon, Simon told the court at a Sept. 21 hearing that the sheriff was acting for the department. But neither revised the original notice of appeal, McLean wrote. “In other words, neither the Essex County Sheriff’s Department nor Trevor Colby in his official capacity as sheriff of Essex County appealed the AMP’s decision,” McLean wrote. Although Colby appealed as an individual, his arguments focused entirely on department operations, the judge found. McLean also found that Colby had not adequately demonstrated a violation of zoning bylaws. “Thus, while the claimed impacts to operations may well be legitimate concerns, the court doubts that it has the authority to redress them under the bylaws,” McLean wrote. Read the story on VTDigger here: Essex County parking saga comes to a close. ...read more read less