Copeland v. Town of Nantucket

24 Mass. L. Rptr. 268
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedMay 13, 2008
DocketNo. NACV200700012
StatusPublished

This text of 24 Mass. L. Rptr. 268 (Copeland v. Town of Nantucket) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Copeland v. Town of Nantucket, 24 Mass. L. Rptr. 268 (Mass. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

Spurlock, Charles T., J.

INTRODUCTION

This matter arises from the Planning Board of the Town of Nantucket’s (“the Planning Board”) grant of a special permit for a cluster development in Nantucket, MA (“the Town”). The plaintiffs appealed under G.L.c. 40A, 17, alleging that the Board’s decision did not comply with the Town’s zoning bylaws. Pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. 56, the defendants move for summary judgment. The defendants argue that they are entitled to summary judgment because (1) the plaintiffs lack standing to complain about potential water contamination in Miacomet Pond; (2) the cluster development meets the requirements under the Town’s zoning bylaws; and (3) approval of the septic systems to be installed in the cluster development are not within the jurisdiction of the Planning Board. In opposition, and on cross motion, the plaintiffs argue that the special permit was erroneously granted. The plaintiffs contend that the (1) the Board’s decision does not comply with the Town’s zoning bylaws; (2) the septic system of the cluster development endangers the plaintiffs’ wells; and (3) no adequate traffic study has been submitted. For the foregoing reasons, the defendants’ motion for summary judgment is DENIED in part and ALLOWED in part. The plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment is DENIED.

FACTS

The undisputed facts are as follows. Additional undisputed facts will be discussed when considering the parties’ legal contentions. Bluefin Partners LLC (“Bluefin”) applied for a special permit proposing a nineteen (19) buildable lot cluster subdivision (“cluster development”) on a 28.83-acre tract of land. Before granting Bluefin’s application, the Planning Board reviewed documents over a period of approximately 8-9 months. The Board held meetings on July 24, 2006; September 25, 2006; December 11, 2006; January 8, 2007; February 12, 2007; and March 12,2007. The Board rendered its decision on March 12, 2007 in an eight-page memorandum. In addition to the application, the documents considered and reviewed by the Board included two site analyses, drainage calculations, and development plans. At each hearing, the plaintiffs were present and were represented by counsel. Through counsel, the plaintiffs made multiple oral and written submissions to the Board. The plaintiffs also submitted evidence to the board through profes[269]*269sional engineers. The Board was fully aware at the time of its decision that a sand and gravel mining operation was ongoing at the site of the cluster development. The Board granted the special permit pursuant to Nantucket Zoning Bylaw, 139-7(B).

DISCUSSION

The parties spend much time debating the 40A standard of review, specifically the degree to which the review conducted is de novo and the weight that is to be given to the Board’s decision below. The current motions before this court are for summary judgment, and “fact finding has no place on a motion for summary judgment.” Boston Seaman’s Friend Society, Inc. v. Rifkin Management, Inc., 19 Mass.App.Ct. 248, 249, review denied, 394 Mass. 1101 (1985). The question before the court on a summary judgment motion is whether the moving party, viewing at the evidence in a light most favorable to the non-moving party, is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law on the particular issue presented.

Summary judgment is appropriate when no material facts are in dispute and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Mass.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of triable issues. Pederson v. Time, Inc., 404 Mass. 14, 17 (1989). A party moving for summary judgment who does not bear the burden of proof at trial may demonstrate the absence of triable issues by either submitting affirmative evidence negating an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case or by showing that the nonmoving party would have no reasonable expectation of proving an essential element of its case at trial. Kourouvacilis v. General Motors Corp., 410 Mass. 706, 716 (1991).

I. Standing with respect to Miacomet Pond

To have standing, each plaintiff must be a “person aggrieved.” A plaintiff is a “person aggrieved” if he or she suffers a “definite violation of a private right, a private property interest, or a private legal interest.” Harvard Square Defense Fund, Inc. v. Planning Bd. of Cambridge, 11 Mass.App.Ct. 491, 493, rev. denied, 405 Mass. 1204 (1989). See Circle Lounge & Grille, Inc. v. Bd. of Appeal of Boston, 324 Mass. 427, 430 (1949); Riley v. Janeo Cent., Inc., 38 Mass.App.Ct. 984, 985 (1995) (requiring a “plausible claim of particularized injuiy”). The majority of the plaintiffs are abutters, who enjoy a presumption of standing. Watros v. Greater Lynn Mental Health and Retardation Assoc., 421 Mass. 106, 111 (1995).

The defendants argue that the plaintiffs lack standing to complain about potential water contamination in Miacomet Pond because it is public land and any contamination is not an infringement of a public right. Standing with respect solely to Miacomet pond is a moot issue. The mere fact that the plaintiffs may not have standing based on the potential contamination of Miacomet Pond is irrelevant because they have standing as abutters to the cluster development, which enables them to challenge the Board’s decision. Watros, 421 Mass. at 111.

II. The requirements under Nantucket Zoning Bylaw, 139-7(B) 1. 139-7(B)(2)

The purpose of a cluster development is twofold; it must promote “the more efficient use of land in harmony with its natural features . . . and maintain the delicate ecological balance that exists ...” Nantucket Zoning Bylaw 139-7(B)(1). The Board may grant a special permit to build a cluster development if the following criteria are met: (a) the proposed development is in- harmony with the purpose and intent of 139; (b) it meets standards for public health, safely, convenience and welfare as set forth in the Planning Board’s Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land and the Nantucket Board of Health Regulations (60.00) Governing Minimum Lot Size for Unsewered Lots; and (c) it will better protect the ecological integrity and aesthetic quality of the area in which it is proposed than would a conventional subdivision. Nantucket Zoning Bylaw, 139-7(B)(2).

The Board found that the proposed cluster development met all the requirements under Nantucket Zoning Bylaw, 139-7(B)(2).

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Related

Pederson v. Time, Inc.
532 N.E.2d 1211 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1989)
Boston Seaman's Friend Society, Inc. v. Rifkin Management, Inc.
473 N.E.2d 702 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1985)
Commonwealth v. Levin
417 N.E.2d 440 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1981)
Kourouvacilis v. General Motors Corp.
575 N.E.2d 734 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1991)
Circle Lounge & Grille, Inc. v. Board of Appeal
86 N.E.2d 920 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1949)
Watros v. Greater Lynn Mental Health & Retardation Ass'n
421 Mass. 106 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1995)
Riley v. Janco Central, Inc.
652 N.E.2d 631 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1995)

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Bluebook (online)
24 Mass. L. Rptr. 268, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/copeland-v-town-of-nantucket-masssuperct-2008.