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Sullivan's Permitting & Land Use Practice Group and Litigation Department have released the next issue of their Zoning and Development Newsletter.

The publication aims to provide our firm's clients and others interested in land use and permitting issues with an update on notable developments in the law that might be relevant to their projects.

This edition summarizes the following:

  • A Superior Court decision entering summary judgment in favor of our client and against plaintiffs’ challenge to the adoption of a PDA zoning amendment in Boston;
  • Three Land Court decisions construing protections afforded by the Dover Amendment (namely, protections for solar energy, educational, and childcare facilities);
  • An Appeals Court decision construing the Mechanic’s Lien Statute to prohibit courts from deducting costs attributable to the non-use of equipment from mechanic’s liens;
  • An Appeals Court decision underscoring that courts may reach different findings from special permit granting authorities, even where the evidence presented in both proceedings is the same;
  • A Land Court decision ruling that a special permit for a multi-family housing project required a supermajority (rather than bare majority) vote of the special permit granting authority because the project did not provide affordable housing on-site;
  • An Appeals Court decision underscoring the bright line rule against overloading easements; and
  • Two decisions construing and applying the Derelict Fee Statute.