Property owners lack legal authority to use private litigation to enforce their public trust rights. Only the Commonwealth may enforce public trust rights in Commonwealth tidelands and other waterfront areas. That important principle was reinforced in the Massachusetts Appeals Court’s July 10, 2018 decision in the case of Commercial Wharf East Condominium Assoc. v. Boston Boat Basin, LLC, 93 Mass. App. Ct. 523 (2018).
Many people embrace the state’s Open Meeting Law goal to have deliberations and decisions of local government boards, committees, and commissions open to public view. At the same time, most people have fully incorporated e-mail into their lives as an efficient means of communications. When serving on a conservation commission, planning board, zoning board of appeal, board of health, or other local board, committee or commission, the prolific use of email and laudable public policy can collide.
In the case of Grand Manor Condominium Association v. City of Lowell, the Supreme Judicial Court established with clarity an important rule as to when the statute of limitations begins to run for filing in court a claim for property damage under the Massachusetts Superfund statute, General .Laws, Chapter. 21E, Section 5(a)(iii). The SJC ruled that a claim for such damage due to contamination does not accrue until the plaintiff learns that the damage is not reasonably or feasibly curable.
Tiny House fever is sweeping the nation. The public seems to be head over (w)heels for the concept—small yet artistically crafted homes offering the key elements of a house in the space of a traditional garden shed.
We recently concluded a successful court case, captioned “Thyng v. Thomas P. Kelly, individually, et al,” in Norfolk Superior Court. We represented Scotty Thyng, a long-time local landowner in the City of Quincy.
Gregor I. McGregor of McGregor & Legere, PC and Pamela D. Harvey will Co-chair the 2018 environmental
law conference for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) on February 8. The place is
MCLE's Conference Center at 10 Winter Place in Boston near Downtown Crossing and the Common.
The Massachusetts legal education institute, known as MCLE, invites Gregor McGregor each year to present at its basic environmental law course his popular Power Point which outlines all state environmental, land use, and energy laws and related litigation. This includes Massachusetts statutes, common law, constitutional provisions, and agency rules.
Gregor I. McGregor of McGregor & Legere, PC co-chairs each year the Environmental, Land Use and Energy Law Seminar taking place in Vail, CO on January 3-7, 2018 at the National CLE Conference.
In an unequivocal victory for environmentalists and proponents of open space and outdoor recreation, the MA Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that Article 97 protection may be triggered for municipal land without formally recording a deed, conservation restriction, or other instrument in the chain of title. Article 97, enacted by the voters in 1972, is an important element of the state's Public Trust Doctrine protecting public land and water areas.
Gregor McGregor and Luke Legere were invited again this year to present to the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association (MMLA) their firm's annual review of environmental law developments for municipal attorneys.
A conservation commission may want to enforce the Wetlands Protection Act (hereinafter, the “Act”) and its wetland bylaw or ordinance (hereinafter, “bylaw”) against a project that was built a while ago without commission approval. The impetus might be a tip from a resident or new observation by a commissioner or agent. A recent decision of the Massachusetts Appeals Court provides important guidance and useful reminders.
The Appeals Court in Parkview Electronics Trust, LLC v. Conservation Commission of Winchester, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 833 (2016), reinforced the well-established principle that a local conservation commission can have regulatory authority under a wetlands bylaw or ordinance (hereinafter “bylaw”) that is independent from, and in addition to, its authority under the state Wetlands Protection Act (“Act”).
Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) has had a world-class healing garden. It was built and endowed over 60 years ago by popular author Olive Higgins Prouty of Brookline, MA in memory of her two daughters who died in childhood.
An annual National CLE Conference hosted by the Colorado Bar Association CLE program brings together hundreds of attorneys from all over the US for current developments and professional networking. Mr. McGregor has presented and co-chaired the environmental law seminar at the conference, most recently January 8-10, 2017 at Aspen Snowmass.
This list of important facts regarding the Boston Children's Hospital DofN Application was prepared by the Anne Gamble Ten Taxpayer group and The Friends of Prouty Garden.
On August 10, 2016 Governor Baker signed HB 4569 into law. It is titled, “An Act Relative to Job Creation and Workforce Development,” and appears as Chapter 219 of the Acts of 2016. Despite declining to approve two sections of the Bill, Governor Baker approved Section 48, which will have confusing implications for environmental regulation in municipalities, and likely lead to a slew of doubt, disputes, and even lawsuits.
Our firm is active with the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association (MMLA). We have been honored to present at the MMLA annual meeting a review of the year’s developments in environmental law and related land use, energy law, and litigation.
On August 9, 2016 Governor Baker approved HB 4565, “An Act Modernizing Municipal Finance and Government,” signing into law what is now Chapter 218 of the Acts of 2016. This newly enacted legislation tweaks, modifies, and streamlines several existing statutes governing cities and towns.
Following a two day trial, Hon. Robert Foster of the Land Court recently rejected an abutter’s claim to the portion of a Falmouth family’s lot where they plan to build an addition to their seasonal cottage. The Court found that the presumption of land ownership to low water, derived by the Colonial Ordinances, did not apply. The Court invoked the doctrine of adverse possession by color of title to find for the Falmouth family on an alternative claim.
On three days in June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided cases making new law on signs and free speech, fair housing litigation, and air pollution regulation, and. We look at them in turn, in brief.
Environmental law at the local level is surprisingly well established and comprehensive. It deals with the universe of environmental problems, needs and opportunities that have come before Town Meetings and City Councils over the years, leading to legislation enacted in the form of bylaws and ordinances. In addition, innumerable municipal boards and officials have long list of policies, rules and regulations they have promulgated within their statutory or charter powers. Then there are property law principles and constitutional provisions imposing limits or conferring rights of an environmental nature. In summary, these local environmental laws and principles can range from “A to Z” (namely Air Pollution to Zoning). Every community has the basics on the books. Most have tailored them to their needs. Some are being artful and creative. None have taken full advantage of the legal powers that are available to protect the environment.
The Appeals Court in Parkview Electronics Trust, LLC v. Conservation Commission of Winchester, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 833 (2016), recently rejected a challenge to the well-established principle that a conservation commission can have regulatory authority under a local wetlands bylaw or ordinance that is independent from, and in addition to, its authority under the state Wetlands Protection Act (“Act”). This is so as long as a commission relies on a provision of its local wetlands law that is more stringent than the Act and complies with the timeframes set forth in the Act. Otherwise a commission risks having its decisions under both state and local laws superseded by MassDEP in an appeal under the Act.
Calculate When Your Permits Expire If Issued Before or During the Covid Emergency: 462 Extra Days?
What the Lifting of the COVID-19 State of Emergency in Massachusetts Will Mean for Boards and Commissions
Legislature Revises Local and Regional Permitting Deadlines as COVID-19 Pandemic Continues
MassDEP and EPA Guidance on Waste Site Cleanups and Compliance during COVID-19 Emergency: Some Flexibility but Important Deadlines and On-Site Obligations Still Apply
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