Phillips & Angley Blog

Local governments rely on the practice of zoning when they plan their urban areas. Without zoning laws, a town might be a mishmash of commercial, industrial and residential areas, causing traffic congestion, inconvenience and possible health hazards. However, zoning is far from an exact science, and sometimes landowners have a good reason to seek to free their property from a zoning law.

This situation often comes up where a nonconforming use predated a zoning law. For example, a commercial building might have existed in the same spot for 70 years when a new law zones the area only for residential use. In this case, the local zoning board may deem the commercial building to be a lawful nonconforming use. However, even in this case, the zoning board would investigate what kind of effect the commercial building has on area residents.

In a busy and crowded place like Boston, space is at a premium. It's places like this where express and implied easements are more common. This is because, with space at a in such high demand, there are more 'common' spaces. Implied and express easements are often in place in situations in which many people are seeking access to a place, and space is limited. So how do you know if the property is subject to an express or implied easement?

In layman terms, an express or implied easement arises in a situation when a property owner's land is needed to access other property, whether public or private. For example, an alleyway owned by the property owner could be subject to an implied easement if it is needed to access a nearby parking garage. Express easements are put into writing, while implied easements are assumed even when no document proving the easement has been put into place.

There is a lot of excitement when thinking about opening a new area of your business, relocating or starting a business from scratch. Every business has different needs, but most all will require some sort of space, commercial real estate, in which to conduct business operations. Commercial real estate is different from residential real estate in many ways. Depending the complexities of the business or industry one is in, there could be regulations that can affect the business further.

That's why selecting a space for commercial real estate, one needs to consider all the ways the business could be affected by that location. For example, land use and zoning is a priority that should be considered before even looking at a property. If a space is commercially zoned that's a great start. However, depending on your business operations, it may not be enough to sustain operations.

There can be many ways to honor your loved one after they pass away. Depending on the interests of the person and what was important to them, many like to donate to a certain cause. For one a Massachusetts family, a recent report noted that they agreed that nothing was more important to their passed loved one than a 60-acre parcel of wooded nature. In her honor, it's been donated by means of an easement.

The main goal of the land donation was to ensure that the land is never built on, say for a commercial housing development, for example. According to the family, the land was the spot for their family cabin, and was purchased by earlier generations in the 1920's for the purpose of enjoying nature and getting away from the city. The easement ensures that they and any future owners with be prohibited from developing the land.