(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the exclusive remedy of an interested person with respect to any decision or act taken, or any failure to act, under this chapter or with respect to any one or more of the provisions of any plan or bylaw shall be the appeal to the appropriate panel under section 4465 of this title, and the appeal to the Environmental Division from an adverse decision upon such appeal under section 4471 of this title. The appeal to the Environmental Division, if not on the record, as allowed under section 4471 of this title, shall be governed by the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure and such interested person shall be entitled to a de novo trial in the Environmental Division. If the appeal to the Environmental Division is on the record, according to the provisions of section 4471 of this title, it shall be governed by the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure. Whether proceeding on the record or de novo, the court shall have and may exercise all powers and authorities of a Superior Court.

(b) The remedy of an interested person with respect to the constitutionality of any one or more of the provisions of any bylaw or municipal plan shall be governed by the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure with a de novo trial in the Superior Court, unless the issue arises in the context of another case under this chapter, in which instance it may be raised in the Environmental Division. In such cases, hearings before the appropriate municipal panel shall not be required. This section shall not limit the authority of the Attorney General to bring an action before the Environmental Division under section 4453 of this title, with respect to challenges to housing provisions in bylaws.

(c) The provisions of this section shall not be construed as preventing appeals to the Supreme Court in accordance with the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure and the Vermont Rules of Appellate Procedure.

(d) Upon the failure of any interested person to appeal to an appropriate municipal panel under section 4465 of this title, or to appeal to the Environmental Division under section 4471 of this title, all interested persons affected shall be bound by that decision or act of that officer, the provisions, or the decisions of the panel, as the case may be, and shall not thereafter contest, either directly or indirectly, the decision or act, provision, or decision of the panel in any proceeding, including any proceeding brought to enforce this chapter. (Added 1967, No. 334 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 23, 1968; amended 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 1973, No. 255 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 1973, No. 261, (Adj. Sess.), § 8, 1993, No. 232 (Adj. Sess.), § 49, eff. March 15, 1995; 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 107; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 236.)