It used to be two lots, but now it’s one: in a recent the decision, Cain v. Bd. of Appeals of Wilmington, No. 15-P-575 (Mass. App. Ct. Mar. 25, 2016) (1:28 Decision), the Appeals Court has reiterated that, although a local zoning bylaw may provide greater protection...
Zoning
Sometimes a Municipal Board is “Arbitrary and Capricious”
The Land Court has overturned the denial of a special permit to a commercial nursery in Falmouth in GSTVS, LLC v. Falmouth Planning Bd., 14 MISC 486885 (Mass. Land Ct. Mar. 21, 2016), finding that that Board erred in its factual findings – a somewhat unusual...
SJC Oral Arguments in Skawski: Housing Court or Land Court Permit Session?
Today the Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments in the matter of Skawski v. Greenfield Investors Property Development, LLC, SJC-11926, which concerns the jurisdiction of the Housing Court and Land Court permit session over certain large-scale developments. The...
Kline House in Truro is One Step Closer to Demolition
The seemingly never-ending litigation involving what is still known as the Kline house in Truro moved one step closer to final resolution when the Appeals Court recently issued a decision upholding a Land Court decision concerning revocation of building permits and...
Another (Zoning) Bylaw Bites the Dust
“What do these mean? By what standards are they to be judged? How can they be applied, in practice, in anything other than an almost totally-subjective manner?” These are questions most municipalities do not want to have directed at their bylaws, especially their...
“The Wall Comes Down” – Good Fences Don’t Necessarily Make Good Neighbors, Part IV
It seems the end is nigh for the Thetford, Vermont zoning dispute involving the 60-foot-by-24-foot partition erected by Ruth Dwyer to block her view of her neighbor, Patrick Perry’s house. She objected to seeing her neighbors mow their lawn, the light from their...
Constructive Notice and Grandfather Protection in Leominster
Constructive notice and grandfather protection – all in a day’s work for the Land Court, which analyzed the application of both Zoning Act and the local zoning bylaw to a proposed home on a Leominster lot. In Niall v. Guaranteed Builders & Developers, et al....
Springfield Green-Wood-Chip Power Plant Gets Go Ahead from Appeals Court
The Appeals Court has affirmed a Land Court decision overturning two decisions by the Springfield Zoning Board of Appeals which had revoked building permits issued to Palmer Renewable Energy, LLC, for construction of a biomass power plant that burns “green wood chips”...
“Let’s Talk About The Wall” – Good Fences Don’t Necessarily Make Good Neighbors, Part III
More in the continuing saga of the Thetford, Vermont zoning dispute involving the 60-foot-by-24-foot partition erected by Ruth Dwyer to block her view of her neighbor, Patrick Perry’s house. She objects to seeing her neighbors mow their lawn, the light from their...
Farm Weddings: An Illegal Rural Tradition?
If your friends and family have been telling you for years that your farm would be an idyllic wedding spot, make sure you check your town’s zoning bylaws before you set up the big top and roll out the lace bunting. In its recent 4-1 decision of Forster d/b/a...