Article 97 Prior Public Use Doctrine Public Use Restrictions
October 7, 2024 by Michelle O'Brien | Leave a Comment
The Nahant Preservation Trust, the town of Nahant, and certain Nahant residents have suffered another loss in their years-long legal battle to stop Northeastern University from expanding its Marine Science Center, located on East Point in Nahant. The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently affirmed the dismissal of the legal actions, finding that the plaintiffs had no […]
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Easements Land Use Restrictions
January 19, 2023 by Michelle O'Brien | Leave a Comment
A Kingston couple was dealt a significant blow days before Christmas when the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) set aside a jury verdict awarding them $3.5 million in damages for errant golf balls hitting their property. In Tenczar v. Indian Pond Country Club, Inc. (pdf), the SJC ruled that the trial judge erred in his jury […]
Restrictions
December 5, 2017 / December 6, 2017 by Donald R. Pinto, Jr. | Leave a Comment
In its decision today in Berger v. 2 Wyndcliff, LLC (pdf), the Massachusetts Appeals Court answered an important question about extending common-scheme real estate restrictions beyond the presumptive statutory limit of 30 years. As to restrictions imposed as part of a common scheme applicable to four or more contiguous lots, M.G.L. c. 184, § 27 states in relevant part that an […]
Affordable Housing Restrictions Zoning
December 4, 2017 by Daniel Bailey | Leave a Comment
In its recent decision in 135 Wells Avenue, LLC v. Housing Appeals Committee (pdf), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) confirmed that a property restriction held by a municipality cannot be overridden by the municipality’s zoning board of appeals – or by the state’s Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) – when acting on an application for a comprehensive […]
Article 97 Restrictions
November 8, 2017 by Michelle O'Brien | Leave a Comment
In a decision of interest to municipalities, conservation groups, and land use experts, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently decided that a public playground in the City of Westfield is parkland protected by Article 97 of the Amendments of the Massachusetts Constitution. Art. 97 provides, in part, that property “taken or acquired” for conservation […]
Easements Restrictions
September 22, 2017 / October 10, 2017 by Donald R. Pinto, Jr. | Leave a Comment
In its decision this week in Perry v. Aiello, the Massachusetts Appeals Court addresses an interesting question: whether a 1947 grant of easement-like rights created an affirmative easement, which can be perpetual, or a disfavored restriction whose duration is limited by sections 26-30 of M.G.L. c. 184. The case involved a dispute between two storied Boston institutions: DeLuca’s Market, a high-end grocery […]
