Thorpe v. Zoning Bd. of Review of Town of North Kingstown
| Decision Date | 31 May 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-434-M,82-434-M |
| Citation | 492 A.2d 1236 |
| Parties | Gill E. THORPE et al. v. ZONING BOARD OF REVIEW OF the TOWN OF NORTH KINGSTOWN et al. P. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This is a petition for certiorari wherein the petitioners (the Thorpes) seek review of a judgment of the Superior Court affirming a decision of the Zoning Board of Review of the Town of North Kingstown (zoning board of review), which denied the Thorpes' application for a variance of side-lot requirements to accommodate the construction of a solar greenhouse. The zoning board of review denied the petition without giving any reasons therefor, either findings of fact or conclusions of law. The Thorpes filed a complaint with the Superior Court for the county of Washington in order to appeal the decision. The trial justice, after submission of briefs, affirmed. We grant the petition.
This court has stated on numerous occasions that a zoning board of review is required to make findings of fact and conclusions of law in support of its decisions in order that such decisions may be susceptible of judicial review. Most recently in Zammarelli v. Beattie, --- R.I. ---, ---, 459 A.2d 951, 953 (1983), we commented upon a decision of a zoning board of review that tersely denied an application to modify side-lot requirements without giving any reasons therefor:
In May-Day Realty Corp. v. Board of Appeals of Pawtucket, 107 R.I. 235, 239, 267 A.2d 400, 403 (1970), we held that the minimal requirements for a decision of a zoning board of review would be the making of findings of fact and the application of legal principles in such a manner that a judicial body might review a decision with a reasonable understanding of the manner in which evidentiary conflicts have been resolved and the provisions of the zoning ordinance applied. We further stated that unless these minimal requirements are satisfied, judicial review of a board's work is impossible.
We have applied this principle not only to zoning boards of review but also to any municipal board or...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Correia v. McCoy, C.A. No. P08-00651 (R.I. Super 1/5/2009)
...in which evidentiary conflicts have been resolved and the provisions of the . . . ordinance applied." Thorpe v. Zoning Bd. or Review of North Kingstown, 492 A.2d 1236, 1237 (R.I. 1985). This Court acknowledges that when a zoning board's decision is conclusional and fails to apply the proper......
-
R.I. Grows LLC v. Booth
...County v. City Council of City of Newport, 155 A.3d 688, 693 (R.I. 2017) (quoting Thorpe v. Zoning Board of Review of North Kingstown, 492 A.2d 1236, 1237 (R.I. 1985)) (requiring "'the making of findings of fact and the application of legal principles in such a manner that a judicial body m......
-
James P. Tavares Construction, Inc. v. State Contractors' Registration Board
... ... After ... further discussion and review the [B]oard voted to have staff ... and ... preponderance.'" Town of Burrillville v. R.I ... State Labor ... v. Zoning Bd. of Review of Pawtucket , 102 R.I. 327, 230 ... [law] applied." ... Thorpe v. Zoning Bd. of Review of North Kingstown, ... ...
-
Wall v. Minifie, C.A. No. 2003-0130 (RI 9/20/2004)
... ... MARTIN in their capacity as Members of the Zoning Board of Review of the City of Newport ... the structure was set two feet off of the north, side lot line. (Tr. at 11.) However, a staff ... that it is "beyond repair," and that "[t]he town had ordered it to be boarded up when we purchased ... of Review of the Town of North Kingstown , 818 A.2d 685, 690, n.5 (R.I. 2003) (quoting ... may be susceptible of judicial review." Thorpe v. Zoning Board of Review of North ... ...