On March 12, 2020, Governor Baker issued an Order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law that governs various public meetings, such as the meetings of Zoning Boards, Planning Boards, Conservation Commissions, and many others. The Governor’s Order is...
Municipal Law
SJC Affirms Test for Standing in Zoning Appeals
In a highly unusual move, only one day after hearing oral argument the Supreme Judicial Court on Friday (March 6, 2020) reversed an Appeals Court decision concerning standing in land use cases. The decision upheld the Land Court decision and reaffirmed what had been...
No Variance Necessary to Increase Preexisting Nonconformity; c. 40A § 6 Finding Sufficient
Land use practitioners in Massachusetts are well aware of the “difficult and infelicitous” language of the first two sentences of G. L. c. 40A, § 6 concerning single and two-family dwellings. The statute reads: Except as hereinafter provided, a zoning ordinance or...
Johnson & Borenstein win subdivision appeal against Town of Lunenburg in Land Court
Johnson & Borenstein partner Donald F. Borenstein represented developer O’Brien Homes, Inc. in a long-running dispute between O’Brien and the Town of Lunenburg over the subdivision of a former egg farm and other adjacent property in Lunenburg, MA, totaling 135...
Appeals Court Affirms Anti-SLAPP Relief Not Available in Land Court Try Title Action Where Defendants Named Based on Claim of Property Rights, Not Petitioning Activity
In 1994, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted a so-called “anti-SLAPP” statute, G.L. c. 231, § 59H, to provide a procedural remedy for early dismissal of suits which seek to use litigation to intimidate opponents into foregoing the valid exercise of their...
Lack of Standing Leads to Dismissal of Zoning Appeal
Johnson & Borenstein has successfully challenged a zoning appeal on standing grounds as well as the merits. In Zuk v. Pairseau, 2018 Mass. LCR LEXIS 15 (Land Ct. Feb. 8, 2018), an abutter appealed a decision of the Town of Danvers Board of Appeals approving a...
Land Court Says Hull Zoning Bylaw Doesn’t Allow Weekly Rentals
In an interesting decision that could have ramifications for the short-term rental of property, the Land Court in Lytle v. Swiec, (Mass. Land Ct. May 23, 2017), held that the Hull Zoning Board was correct in upholding the decision of the Building Commissioner that the...
Kline House in the (Zoning) Hot Seat Again
Looks like Truro’s infamous “Kline House,” now owned by Tom and Kit Dennis of Springfield, may be back in Court despite a $3 million settlement between the owners and the Town. Several neighbors recently requested that the Town’s Building Commissioner to enforce the...
$3,000,000 Payment Means Truro’s Kline House Can Stay
Remember the Kline house in Truro? Near the Edward Hopper house? The one constructed under permits that were issued because the conversion of an existing single-family home into a “habitable studio” and construction a new 8,000+ square foot summer home, situated 200...
“Build First, Ask Permission Later” Not The Best Plan
Sometimes “act first, ask permission later” isn’t the best course of action, as evidenced by a recent Land Court decision concerning a change to a Gloucester multi-family home. The entire factual history is set forth in detail in the Court’s decision in Gattineri v....