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...
Zoning
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...
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...
Most Recent Lawsuit Over Truro’s Kline House Dismissed
Is the litigation over Truro’s infamous “Kline House” finally over? Maybe. After years of litigation through multiple levels of the court system, concluding with a multi-million dollar settlement between the owners of the Kline House and the Town (for the history of...
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....
Expanded Subject Matter Jurisdiction of the Appellate Division of the District Court
The Appeals Court has concluded that the Appellate Division of the District Court Department of the Trial Courts has jurisdiction to hear a G.L. c. 40A, § 17 appeal from the District Court, based upon the extension of equity jurisdiction to the district courts over...
Massachusetts Senate Passes Zoning Overhaul
The Massachusetts Senate passed Senate Bill 2311, which would significantly alter zoning law in the Commonwealth, on June 9, 2016, after adopting a number of amendments. The Bill now goes to the House, where Speaker DeLeo has not committed to taking it up before the...