In re Quechee Lakes Corp

In In re Quechee Lakes Corp., 154 Vt. 543, 551, 580 A.2d 957, 962 (1990), the Court recognized that administrative tribunals can base their decisions on a broader range of evidence than courts and so extended our previous holding that "judicial findings can be grounded on knowledge acquired from site visits, as long as such examinations are not the exclusive basis for the findings," to administrative tribunals. Id. at 551, 580 A.2d at 962. The Court concluded in Quechee Lakes that the Environmental Board's partial reliance on knowledge garnered from site visits was not erroneous. Id. at 552, 580 A.2d at 962. To the extent the fact-finder does intend to rely on site visit observations, the Court further held that those observations must be placed on the record in order to preserve the right of rebuttal and to facilitate review. Id.; 3 V.S.A. 809(e)(2) (Vermont's Administrative Procedure Act provides that "the record in a contested case shall include . . . all evidence received or considered").