Land Use Zoning
September 23, 2019 by Donald R. Pinto, Jr. | Leave a Comment
In a noteworthy decision today, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) reaffirmed that the exemption in the state’s Zoning Act, M.G.L. c. 40A, for uses deemed to be “for educational purposes,” is construed very broadly. That exemption, which appears in Section 3 of Chapter 40A and is known as the Dover Amendment, provides in relevant part […]
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Land Use Urban Renewal
September 12, 2019 by Paula Devereaux | Leave a Comment
In 2012, the City of Somerville, the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA), and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development approved the Union Square Revitalization Plan (the Plan), an urban renewal plan to be administered by the SRA under M.G.L. c. 121B. A taxpayer group and a landowner (Pishev) appealed the approval of the Plan, […]
Tree Law
January 31, 2019 / January 31, 2019 by Alexander Pringle | Leave a Comment
Imagine owning your dream house. You have your pool, your barbeque area, your big lawn for the kids to play on. You’ve worked your whole life for this, and now you have it. It’s perfect. Well, except for your neighbor’s overgrown 100-foot tall sugar oak. It’s so massive it blots out the sun. Your yard […]
Zoning
June 13, 2018 by Gareth Orsmond | Leave a Comment
As municipalities assert more control over development, zoning bylaws become more complex. And as mechanics, programmers, and lawyers all know, when there are many parts, there are many more opportunities for things to go wrong. Hence, the value of troubleshooting. Provincetown learned this the hard way. In Sinaiko v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Provincetown, […]
March 2, 2018 / March 2, 2018 by Gareth Orsmond | Leave a Comment
Earlier this year, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a relatively straightforward decision concerning heliports, home rule authority, and preemption – Roma, III, Ltd. v. Board of Appeals of Rockport (pdf). The decision held that a municipality could exercise its home rule authority to regulate private heliports and other non-commercial aircraft landing areas, and that […]
Condominiums
October 23, 2017 by Donald R. Pinto, Jr. | Leave a Comment
It’s not unusual for condominium documents to set aside parts of the development’s common area for the exclusive use of particular units. This device allows the developer to offer a degree of privacy in decks, driveways, garages, attics, and similar spaces that are affiliated with, but outside of, a unit. But how exclusive is an exclusive use area? The Massachusetts Appeals Court answered this question in a recent decision. […]
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 […]
SLAPP Suits
May 23, 2017 / May 23, 2017 by Donald R. Pinto, Jr. | Leave a Comment
The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) today issued two decisions which together make important changes in how Massachusetts courts apply the often troublesome SLAPP statute, M.G.L. c. 231, § 59H, enacted in 1994. While of general application, the SLAPP statute often surfaces in disputes over real estate development. Today’s decisions are dense and will require further study, but at first glance Blanchard v. Steward […]
