In Att’y Gen. v. Town Milton, the court ruled that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”) Communities Act, G. L. c. 40A, § 3A (“Section 3A”), is constitutional, and that the Attorney General has the authority...more
Kearsarge Walpole LLC v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Walpole involved a dispute over where a large-scale solar array could be placed in Walpole, Massachusetts. In Kearsarge, a solar developer (Kearsarge), along with Norfolk...more
Fleming v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Oxford, 103 Mass. App. Ct. 1128 (2024)
In Fleming, the Massachusetts Appeals Court grappled with some scaley zoning issues arising out of personal ownership of 460 reptiles. In this...more
CASES OF NOTE -
FINALIZE BUILDING PLANS EARLY ON TO AVOID DELAYS -
St. Paul's Foundation v. Ives, 29F.4th 32, 33 (1st Cir. 2022) -
A recent decision out of the First Circuit Court of Appeals emphasizes the...more
In Gund, et al. v. Planning Board of Cambridge, et al., No. 15-P-1339 (Mass. App. Ct. July 19, 2017), neighbors of the former Sullivan Courthouse in Cambridge challenged special permits granted by the Cambridge Planning Board...more
In a recent decision, the Land Court clarified that Massachusetts state law does not require local zoning boards to make detailed factual findings when approving an extension or alteration to a pre-existing nonconforming...more
The new Land Court Rule 14 went into effect on January 1, 2017. The Rule was proposed by the Justices of the Land Court in connection with their collaborative work with the Supreme Judicial Court’s Alternative Litigation...more
On August 4, 2016, Governor Baker signed into law H3811, “An Act relative to nonconforming structures.” The new law, which became effective on November 4, 2016 and is retroactive, amends the Section 7 of the State Zoning Act...more