Corcoran Management Co. v. Town of Framingham

16 Mass. L. Rptr. 519
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedJuly 3, 2003
DocketNo. 021836
StatusPublished

This text of 16 Mass. L. Rptr. 519 (Corcoran Management Co. v. Town of Framingham) 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
Corcoran Management Co. v. Town of Framingham, 16 Mass. L. Rptr. 519 (Mass. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

Hinkle, J.

The plaintiffs filed this breach of contract action against the defendant Town of Framingham after the Town stopped providing curbside trash pickup to 540 units of low and moderate income housing owned and managed by plaintiffs. This matter is before the court on the Town’s motion for summary judgment under Mass.R.Civ.P. 56. For the reasons discussed below, after a hearing, the motion for summary judgment is allowed.

BACKGROUND

The following is taken from the summary judgment record. The undisputed facts, and any disputed facts viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving parly, are as follows.2 Plaintiff Pelham Corporation (“Pelham I”) owns a 286-unit apartment complex in the Town of Framingham (“the Town”), and plaintiff Pelham II Corporation (“Pelham II”) owns a 254-unit apartment complex in the Town. Plaintiff Corcoran Management Corporation (“CMC”) provides exclusive management and leasing services for the apartments owned by Pelham I and Pelham II. The apartments were constructed in 1960 as low to moderate-income housing and at that time were known as Beaver Park, Beaver Gardens and Beaver Terrace. Beginning in the 1960s, the Town provided curbside trash pickup for the 540 apartment units at these complexes.

On September 18, 1990, the Town Planning Board held a public hearing under General Laws Chapter 121A, Section 6 on Pelham I’s application for approval as a Chapter 121A corporation and for the stabilization of property taxes for 482 units of existing low/moderate-income housing at Beaver Park, Beaver Gardens and Beaver Terrace (“the Application”). The Application states in part that “(b)ecause the Project currently exists as residential housing, there will be no significant increase or decrease in public services needed by the Project.” Exhibit G to the Application contains an operating pro forma for the project, entitled “Division of Operating Expenses,” which was submitted to the MHFA. This document lists “Garbage & Trash Removal” as an allocation expense which “will be paid in proportion to the relative percentages of Tenant and Landlord in the Apartment Buildings. That is, Tenant shall pay Tenant’s Percentage (as set forth in Section 6.3 of this Lease) and Landlord shall pay the balance.” The Planning Board approved the Application, determining that the units were part of a substandard area and required rehabilitation to comply with applicable building and sanitaiy codes.

Under Chapter 121 A, the apartment complexes are tax-exempt for 40 years, during which Pelham I and [520]*520Pelham II make fixed payments to the Town in the form of an urban redevelopment excise in lieu of taxes. By virtue of their Chapter 121A status, Pelham I and Pelham II paid 54% less to the Town for fiscal year 2002 than they ordinarily would have.

Pelham I and Pelham II administer benefits provided by Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (“MHFA”), now known as “MassHousing.” In the Pelham II complex, 218 of the units are Section 8 housing while 36 units are rented at market rate. Most units in the Pelham I complex involve subsidies from either the Housing Authority or the South Middlesex Opportunity Council. The Framingham Housing Authority (“FHA”) leases 58 units in the Pelham I complex under a 99 year lease dated August 25, 1989. Under this lease, FHA is required to pay its allocable share of operating expenses, including “costs incurred for rubbish removal from the Apartment Buildings and the Site.”

On January 26, 1990, the FHA and the Town executed a document entitled “Cooperation Agreement Regarding Payments in Lieu of Taxes to be Paid by Local Housing Authorities on State-Funded Low-Rent Housing Projects, Developed Under the 705 Program” (“the Cooperation Agreement”), concerning the 58 units in Pelham I leased by the FHA. The Cooperation Agreement provides in relevant part:

The Authority shall make annual payments (herein called “Payments in Lieu of Taxes” or P.I.L.O.T.) in lieu of [real and personal properly] taxes and in payment of Public services and facilities furnished from time to time without other cost or charge for or with respect to such housing . . .
The Municipality further agrees to furnish or cause to be furnished to the Authority and the tenants of such housing public services and facilities of the same character and to the same extent as are furnished from time to time without cost or charge to other dwellings and inhabitants in the Municipality.

On May 1, 1991, Pelham I and the Town entered into a “Contract Required by Section 6A of Chapter of Chapter 121A of the General Laws,” and Pelham II and the Town entered into a virtually identical agreement (“the 6A Agreements”). The 6A Agreements provide that under certain circumstances, Pelham I and II will make additional payments to the Town beyond the statutory excise tax. Neither agreement contains any provision relating to the provision of municipal services such as trash collection. Pelham I and Pelham II entered into Regulatory Agreements with the Department of Community Affairs on May 17, 1991 under Chapter 121A, Section 18C.

The rehabilitated apartment complexes, collectively known as the Pelham Apartments, are “garden style apartments” consisting of numerous buildings, each containing anywhere from three to ten apartment units, with each unit having access to the outside through its own front and back door.

Under Article II, Section 20.1 of the Town’s General Bylaws, the Board of Public Works (“BPWj is appointed by the Board of Selectmen. The BPWs role is to perform the statutory functions assigned to a Board of Public Works and to advise the Selectmen and the Town Manager in the areas of public policy and long-range planning of public works facilities and services. On June 28, 1999, the BPW formally approved Sanitation Policy # 1 (“the Policy”) at a public meeting. The Policy states: “The Town of Framingham will provide curbside trash removal service to dwelling units of four or under. All others will be required to seek alternative ways to remove trash from their dwelling units.” The policy of picking up trash only from dwelling units of four or under was in effect for many years before 1999 but had not been in writing. The Board of Selectmen adopted the Policy at a public meeting on August 12, 1999.

The Town then reviewed a list from the Assessor’s office of multi-family properties to determine which properties were ineligible to receive curbside trash pickup. The Pelham Apartments were not included on this list. Lists produced by the Assessor’s Office generally exclude tax-exempt properties such as the Pelham Apartments, unless the office is specifically requested to include such properties. Based on the list, the Town notified various property owners who had erroneously been receiving trash services that they were ineligible for trash pickup. For example, on September 9, 1999, the BPW sent a letter to the owner of an apartment building located at 168 Leland Street which stated in relevant part:

During a review of the Sanitation Division collection routes, it was found that the property you own at the above location has over 5 dwelling units. According to the Town of Framingham Sanitation Rules and Regulations, the Department of Public Works offers curbside collection only to properties which have four or less dwelling units . . . We will continue to collect at this location during the month of September to give you adequate time to arrange for a private collection hauler.

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Bluebook (online)
16 Mass. L. Rptr. 519, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/corcoran-management-co-v-town-of-framingham-masssuperct-2003.