Rinaudo v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Plymouth

Decision Date02 June 1981
Citation421 N.E.2d 439,383 Mass. 885
PartiesPeter F. RINAUDO v. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS OF PLYMOUTH et al. 1
CourtUnited States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

Melvin S. Louison, Brockton, for plaintiff.

Robert L. Shea, Town Counsel, Plymouth, for defendants.

Before HENNESSEY, C. J., and BRAUCHER, WILKINS, LIACOS and ABRAMS, JJ.

RESCRIPT.

The plaintiff appealed to the Superior Court the decision of the Plymouth zoning board of appeals (board) affirming the decision of the town building inspector refusing to extend or renew the plaintiff's building permits. G.L. c. 40A, § 17. The judge granted summary judgment for the defendants, and denied summary judgment for the plaintiff.

The building inspector denied Rinaudo's request for an extension or renewal of the building permits on the ground that Rinaudo had not commenced the work authorized by the permits within six months of their issuance. Pursuant to G.L. c. 40A, § 15, Rinaudo appealed and requested the board to order that the permits be reissued because the work on the project had begun seasonably. See G.L. c. 40A, § 6. The board denied Rinaudo's appeal. Its decision, upholding the building inspector's action, was issued 123 days after Rinaudo's appeal was filed.

Under G.L. c. 40A, § 15, as appearing in St. 1975, c. 808, § 3, "(t)he decision of the board shall be made within seventy-five days after the date of the filing of an appeal .... Failure by the board to act within said seventy-five days shall be deemed to be the grant of the relief ... sought ...." The language of c. 40A, § 15, obligates a board of appeals to act on an appeal within the statutory time period, otherwise the appellant prevails by default. The defendants admit that the seventy-five day time limitation is mandatory. See Casasanta v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Milford, --- Mass. ---, --- - --- a, 384 N.E.2d 1218. Cf. Cullen v. Building Inspector of N. Attleborough, 353 Mass. 671, 679-680, 234 N.E.2d 727 (1968) (interpreting the time limitation of the prior zoning act as "directory").

The town claims that the board of appeals lacked jurisdiction to hear Rinaudo's appeal, because the building inspector's denial of Rinaudo's request for an extension of the permits was made pursuant to the State building code, not the zoning act. We disagree. The dispute over the date of the start of construction arose in the context of a determination of whether Rinaudo's project conformed to the applicable provisions of the zoning...

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14 cases
  • Zuckerman v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Greenfield
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
    • April 30, 1985
    ...a remedy for the failure of a board to act "within seventy-five days" after an appeal is filed. Rinaudo v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Plymouth, 383 Mass. 885, 421 N.E.2d 439 (1981). In contrast, no remedy is specified for failure to file a decision "within fourteen days." The omission is sign......
  • Board of Aldermen of Newton v. Maniace
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
    • June 18, 1999
    ..." Capone v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Fitchburg, 389 Mass. 617, 622, 451 N.E.2d 1141 (1983), quoting Rinaudo v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Plymouth, 383 Mass. 885, 885, 421 N.E.2d 439 (1981). See Building Inspector of Attleboro v. Attleboro Landfill, Inc., 384 Mass. 109, 110, 423 N.E.2d 1009 (......
  • Capone v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Fitchburg
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
    • July 6, 1983
    ...the "softening influence of the Cullen case." The intent of the Legislature, as we recognized in Rinaudo v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Plymouth, 383 Mass. 885, ---, 421 N.E.2d 439 (1981), Mass.Adv.Sh. (1981) 1244, 1244, was to "[obligate] a board of appeals to act on an appeal within the stat......
  • Pasqualino v. Board of Appeals of Wareham
    • United States
    • Appeals Court of Massachusetts
    • September 27, 1982
    ... ... of their request for a variance from the minimum lot size requirements of the town's present zoning by-law and seeking a declaratory judgment stating that they are entitled to develop certain ... c. 40A, § 15 (as appearing in St.1975, c. 808, § 3). See Rinaudo v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Plymouth, --- Mass. ---, Mass.Adv.Sh. (1981) 1244, 421 N.E.2d 439 ... ...
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