[Massplanners] Request for Posting

[George Proakis]

Bill,

I think there is plenty of circumstances to suggest that you CANNOT do this.

In particular, I’d start with the appeals court determinations on considering the character of an applicant and their performance on other projects beyond the one in front of a board.  In the Dowd vs. Dover case, the appeals court specifically indicated that mixing the actions of an applicant on one development with their permits on another was not allowed See:  http://masscases.com/cases/app/5/5massappct148.html

Now, Dowd was a special permit case, not a subdivision. But, still, the circumstance remains that both SP and subdivision control are about land and not the character of a particular applicant. And, most applicants put different projects into different legal ownerships anyway. I don’t see a court upholding a situation where you tell one trust or LLC they can’t do a project because the person who runs it is not completing another project. 

There are plenty of ways to push a project into compliance (take their bond, etc.), but I don’t think this strategy would work.

Just my $0.02.  I’m not a lawyer, but I think that’s where you’d end up.

-George Proakis (Somerville, MA)



> On Oct 7, 2021, at 5:08 PM, Kenney, William via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:
> 
> Can you please post this inquiry? –
>  
> I’ve been asked to search for an ordinance, regulation or policy statement providing that, as a condition to approval of a Definitive Subdivision Plan, or to the issuance of building or occupancy permits for a particular project, it must be verified that the proponent is not in default under any conditions of any other approved Definitive Plan in the community? More simply stated: is there a basis for telling a developer it may not proceed with work on a particular project if work on a previously initiated project has not been completed? 
>  
> Bill Kenney, AICP
> City Planner
> City of Fall River
> 508-324-2561
>  
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