If Looks Could Kill … Your Wireless Siting Application
Previously, in connection with the home loan program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) we reported on the VA’s adoption of a temporary local variance allowing veterans to pay the commission of the real estate broker...more
In connection with its guaranteed home loan program, in June 2024 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adopted a temporary local variance allowing veterans to pay the commission of the real estate broker or agent assisting...more
Porter v. Bd. of Appeal of Bos., No. 22-P-974, 2024 WL 187241 (Mass. App. Ct. Jan. 18, 2024). The case of Porter v. Bd. of Appeal of Boston is the latest case that involves an eternal question posed by developers: how...more
Last month, we delved into the fundamentals of zoning as they relate to developers and builders. Now, let’s take a deeper dive into specialized zoning topics that merit closer examination....more
The Land Use Calendar will primarily cover appeals from decisions of local review boards such as zoning boards, appeals relating to development applications, and appeals from the enactment or amendment of zoning ordinances....more
Often times, property owners wish to develop their property in a manner that differs from what is allowed by their local zoning ordinance. When this happens, the property owner must seek and obtain a “variance” from their...more
After a series of bills became law at the end of the General Assembly’s session in June, significant changes are coming to Rhode Island’s land use and zoning laws beginning in 2024. Among its many changes made, the...more
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“FDEP”) issued on January 6th a document styled: Final Order Granting Variance (“Final Order”) - The Final Order was granted to Manatee County Port Authority...more
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is considering issuing an order and local variance for data centers located in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties. The DEQ is sponsoring and hosting an open...more
A new Missouri Missouri Western District Court of Appeals opinion demonstrates that the Missouri Public Service Commission has broad authority to lower utility costs to encourage development. Members of the development...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced on December 1st that it has approved Denver Water’s Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”) variance request for a program to reduce lead in drinking water. ...more
Typically, zoning variances “run with the land”, and absent a specific time limitation, they continue until properly revoked. See, St. Onge v. Donovan, 71 NY2d 507, [1988]. As a result, variances cannot be made to apply only...more
When requesting deviation from setback minimums or minimum lot size requirements, a developer must request an area variance. Even if the lots are zoned residential and the developer only wants to build a single-family...more
CASES OF NOTE - LIMITATIONS FACING PLAINTIFFS UNDER CHAPTER 40A - Doyle v. Zoning Board of Appeals of City of Attleboro, No. 20 MISC 000386 (DRR), 2021 WL 5037871 (Mass. Land Ct. Oct. 29, 2021)...more
Generally, many property owners assume that where a lot is held in single and separate ownership they are entitled to an area variance “as of right.” That is not entirely true. An exception to the single and separate...more
In Matter of O’Connor and Son’s Home Improvement, LLC v. Acevedo, et al., the petitioner, O’Connor and Son’s Home Improvement, LLC (“Petitioner”), owns a 120-foot by 57-foot parcel of property (the “Property”) located in the...more
A planned community developer needs to control operation and administration of the covenants and community association for some period of time to ensure orderly development and sale of project. The developer has invested...more
The Texas Property Code allows developers and their attorney wide discretion on the types of provisions that may be set forth in a set of governance documents for a community. In our experience, we have noticed that many...more
In 2017, 8 Bayberry Rd, LLC submitted an application to the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Bellport (“ZBA”) seeking several variances to convert an existing three-car garage into a squash court and work out area...more
Dear YouDig? I am retired and live with my wife in what I thought was a bucolic neighborhood in beautiful Ohio City, that is, until now. We heard through the grapevine that a new business was coming into our city and...more
Absent local legislation to the contrary, town and village zoning boards act solely as appellate bodies authorized to hear and decide appeals taken from decisions by local zoning enforcement officials (ZEOs) (see Town Law §...more
In Matter of Bernstein v Putnam Val. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, property owners sought to construct a hot tub on their residential property, located in a protected area known as a wetland buffer. The Wetlands Inspector for the...more
The Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division (Second Judicial Department) (“Court”) addressed in a January 20th Order a zoning issue associated with the storage of vehicles with mounted hydrovac equipment....more
In my last post, “Real Estate Alphabet Soup: U Is for Unities,” I continued my primer on the “alphabet soup” of real estate. This post continues to stir the “alphabet soup” with the letter “V.”...more
In July of 2016, Lisa and Robert Gerbino (hereinafter “Gerbinos”) made an application to the Town of East Hampton Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) for setback relief to allow an existing patio that was built without a permit...more