We Help You Make Informed Decisions
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) confirmed that its move away from the common law requirement of mutual consent for easement relocation was broad and included the ability to alter not only the location but the dimensions of easements. The SJC's decision...
In these early months of 2014, as we inch from winter toward spring, there have been a few interesting zoning and land development stories from around Massachusetts. Let's take a brief look at just a few. As reported in several news outlets, such as the Patriot...
Rule 1:28 decisions (unpublished decisions rendered by the Massachusetts Appeals Court) often contain concise synopses, if not reminders, of settled areas of law. Although they are not binding precedent in other cases (at best, they offer persuasive value), Rule 1:28...
Landowners who purchase and combine multiple, adjoining lots can sometimes find themselves in a quandary if there is an existing easement that benefits only one of those lots. To illustrate, picture three adjacent lots: A, B, and C. When these lots were initially...
When it comes to site plan review, perhaps too many zoning attorneys know all too well the following scenario.A client comes in with plans to build her dream house. The proposed single-family home-an as-of-right use in the zoning district-meets all dimensional and...
For developers, satisfying off-street parking requirements is just one part of the planning and design process for new construction or development. In essence, it is the developer that ultimately becomes responsible for ensuring that the demand for parking spaces is...
We normally don't post news items from outside Massachusetts, but this ongoing saga is just too interesting that we had to share. Plus, considering it's summer, it just makes for good "beach" reading. Multiple news sources from the New Jersey shore area have been...
A recent Land Court case, while not binding authority, reminds us yet again of how much the forming of a valid contract for the sale of land hinges on the language communicated by and between the parties during the offer and acceptance phase.Here are the basic facts...
The age of Massachusetts lends itself well to preservation easements. These kinds of easements, also referred to as preservation restrictions, create tax and other benefits for owners of historic properties in exchange for certain restrictions that will protect and...
In January we featured a short post about City of Arlington, Texas v. FCC, 668 F.3d 229 (5th Cir. 2012), an interesting case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, involving administrative law and the Chevron doctrine. Incidentally, the secondary, underlying...