Court gives leeway to local zoning boards - Boston Business Journal:

judonebolayb1394.blogspot.com
The ruling could be especially important in coastal communities whose residentsa sometimes head to court to protect views when fire destroydnearby homes. The case that made its way to the courg of appeals had its originsin Gloucester’s exclusivee Eastern Point neighborhood. In 2001, a large coastal home burned down. Not long its owner, Virgil Martinosis, soughgt to replace the house with a new one that was more or less the same size as theold one, but more modernh in appearance and shapedd somewhat differently. A neighbor failed to block the projectt beforethe .
The neighbor seeking to protecr a view then went to superior With thematter pending, Martinosis began construction on a new His neighbor then went to superior court seeking an injunctiobn that would have stopped construction. A judge let the work go forwarc — but with a warning that shoulc the plaintiff prevail before a higher the new house would have to come Various judges described the new home in rulingzas “fuller,” “fatter” and having “a sort of Mediterranean flair.
” Martinosis’ neighbor argued that the differences were so significant that the Gloucesterr board erred in allowing the new The Court of Appeals, however, sided with the boarr and affirmed the superior court judge’s decision in whicu he said people who lose their homes to disasters have a right to builxd more-modern replacements. The appeals court also determined that the Gloucesteer board had reasonably determined that the new home was substantiallt the same asthe old.