On October 21, 2022, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (“EOHED”) issued final guidelines to the Commonwealth’s 177 MBTA communities for compliance with M.G.L. c. 40A, § 3A...more
On December 23, 2023, the Town of Uxbridge entered into an Agreement for Judgment with retail marijuana licensee Caroline’s Cannabis, LLC to refund $1,171,633.60 in excess community impact fees paid to the town, which...more
An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind (St. 2022, c. 179, § 84) required the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to establish a demonstration project in which 10 municipalities were selected to adopt...more
On October 21, 2022, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (“EOHED”) issued final guidelines to the Commonwealth’s 175 MBTA communities for compliance with M.G.L. c. 40A, § 3A...more
In Hume Lake Christian Camps, Inc. v. Planning Board of Monterey, 492 Mass. 188 (2023), the SJC was tasked with deciding whether the Dover Amendment precluded the Town of Monterey from denying approval of a recreational...more
Last year, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources promulgated regulations at 225 CMR 24.00 for the Municipal Fossil Fuel Free Building Construction and Renovation Demonstration Project as authorized by St. 2022, c....more
In 2020, the legislature amended the Zoning Act, G.L. c. 40A, et seq., to include language which would require a plaintiff appealing a decision to approve a special permit, variance or site plan to post a surety or cash bond...more
Recently, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) provided additional resources to assist municipalities in submitting a district compliance application. MBTA communities with inclusionary zoning...more
On March 15, 2023, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell issued an advisory clarifying the requirements imposed on the 177 cities and towns impacted by the 2021 MBTA Communities Zoning Law (codified at M.G.L. c. 40A, § 3A). In...more
In a previous blog post, we had advised that extensions for outdoor dining and sale of alcoholic beverages to-go were set to expire on April 1, 2023. On March 23, 2023, however, the Legislature passed House Bill 3458,...more
On January 19, 2023, Representative Kevin Honan filed new legislation entitled “An Act to Safeguard Municipal Permitting” targeted at addressing special permit protections and timelines for previously approved projects. This...more
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts lawmakers temporarily authorized on-premises consumption licensees to expand their outdoor dining premises and offer to-go and delivery sales of alcoholic...more
On October 21, 2022, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (“EOHED”) issued final guidelines to the Commonwealth’s 175 MBTA communities for compliance with M.G.L. c. 40A, § 3A...more
On October 6, 2022, the Framingham City Council (“Council”) voted to refer proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance set forth in ORDER 2022-084-001 to the Planning Board for readvertisement and hearing, which is scheduled...more
In a further effort to create and preserve affordable housing, the Massachusetts House of Representatives recently advanced House Bill 4637, “An Act Relative to Real Estate Transfer Fees and Senior Property Tax Relief” (“H.B....more
The City of Boston and the Boston Planning and Development Agency (“BPDA”) have put forward a new proposal, known as the zero net carbon building zoning initiative, which would require that newly constructed buildings over...more
After surviving a challenge to Attorney General Healey’s certification this summer, the “Changes to Alcohol Retail Licensing Initiative” will appear on the ballot this November as Massachusetts Question 3....more
In Armstrong v. Sec’y Energy & Envtl. Affairs, SJC-13210 (Mass. July 12, 2022), the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) invalidated the April 2018 Boston Planning and Development Agency’s Municipal Harbor Plan for the Harbor Garage...more