In its recent decision in Carroll v. Select Board of Norwell (pdf), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) reaffirmed that where town-owned land is held for a specific purpose, M.G.L. c. 40, § 15A dictates that it...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
The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) of Massachusetts recently ruled that the RV Camp proposed by Hume Lake Christian Camps’ (Hume) was predominantly religious in nature and therefore qualified for protection under the Dover...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
On June 2, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued its much-anticipated decision in Tracer Lane II Realty, LLC v. City of Waltham, SJC-13195, interpreting for the first time the statutory protection for...more
Two recent unanimous decisions from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirm the supremacy of the state’s marijuana laws over local zoning restrictions. The decisions also indicate a tendency of the Supreme Judicial...more
On February, 3, the highest court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) will hear two cases involving municipalities’ scope of authority in allowing adult-use cannabis businesses, Mederi Inc. v. City of Salem...more
Recently, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (the Law Court) issued a decision that could impact developers’ ability to apply for development permits if the developer proposes to use property over which the developer has only...more
In a rescript opinion issued yesterday in Gentili v. Town of Sturbridge (pdf), the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that a municipality’s acquisition of a prescriptive easement over private property is not an eminent domain...more
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....more
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...more
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...more