"1st Look" at the Recent Legal Developments in Nonconforming Uses & Structures
Overview of the impact of recent key cases and amendments

- Product Number: 2170254RBC
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CLE Credits, earn up to:
2 substantive credits, 0 ethics credits CLE Credit Note -
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Product Description
Product Description
You need a solid understanding of zoning in order to represent clients who deal with real estate. One of the more confusing areas in zoning law pertains to preexisting nonconforming structures and uses—when they are protected, how the protection can be lost, and how protected preexisting nonconforming structures and uses can be extended. And a host of recent developments have just changed the lay of the law in the land.
Hear the expert panelists analyze recent cases in this thorny area, including:
- Palitz v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Tisbury, 470 Mass. 795 (2015), which addresses the proposed reconstruction and expansion of a preexisting nonconforming single family home;
- Almeida v. Arruda, 89 Mass. App. Ct. 241 (2016), which addresses a proposed change to a nonconforming use;
- Chiaraluce v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Wareham, 89 Mass. App. Ct. 290 (2016), which addresses abandonment of the protections afforded to preexisting nonconforming structures;
- Cain v. Board of Appeals of Wilmington, 89 Mass. App. Ct. 1114, rev. denied 474 Mass. 1107 (2016), which addresses the merger doctrine and how it may defeat the protections afforded to preexisting nonconforming structures; and
- Corey v. Rector, 2016 WL 3926501 (Land Court July 18, 2016), a Land Court decision that reversed a special permit granting authority’s determination that proposed changes to a preexisting nonconforming residential structure would not be substantially more detrimental to the community than was the existing nonconformity.
The panelists also address:
- Sections 29 and 30 of Chapter 219 of the Acts of 2016, which extend the time to commence construction following the issuance of a building permit and the time it takes for special permits to lapse; and
- Chapter 184 of the Acts of 2016, which amends G.L. c. 40A, § 7 to provide, under certain circumstances, the protection afforded under G.L. c. 40A, Section 6 to structures that were built at least 10 years ago, regardless of whether they were preexisting nonconforming structures when built—and the various implications this amendment may have on structures that are subject to it.
Bring your questions and join the dialogue!
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