Honan v. Baird

The Massachusetts Land Court denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a special permit and variances for conversion of a single-family home in Winthrop to a two-family home. The court found that the abutting property owner’s allegations regarding potential harms from water deflection and flooding were sufficient to demonstrate standing under the Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act, which imposes burdens to affirmatively allege and demonstrate standing on parties challenging certain land use decisions. The plaintiff contended, among other things, that the zoning actions could cause property damage and threaten his personal safety by allowing construction of a two-family home without proper drainage and by directing flooding to the plaintiff’s property “without taking into consideration projections for future sea level rise and useful life of the structure.”