This matter was commenced ten years ago with the filing of a complaint by plaintiff Thomas F. Williams ("Mr. Williams"), individually and as Trustee of the River Realty Trust, on January 8, 2010. In his complaint, Mr. Williams sought to overturn a December 2009 decision ("the 2009 Decision") of the defendant Town of Norwell ("Town") Board of Appeals ("ZBA") that had in turn overturned a decision of the local building inspector to issue Building Permit No. 14051 to Mr. Williams for property owned by him, as Trustee of the River Realty Trust, off of Stony Brook Lane and shown on the Town's Assessors Sheet 16D, Block 62, as Lot 62 ("Lot 62"). Following a trial, the court (Cutler, J.) dismissed Mr. Williams' appeal on January 11, 2013, concluding that Mr. Williams had failed to prove that Lot 62 qualified for protection under G.L. c. 40A, §6, fourth par. Williams v. Norwell Bd. of Appeals, 21 LCR 25 (2013) (Cutler, J.).
Mr. Williams appealed the 2013 decision to the Appeals Court. On September 11, 2014, the Appeals Court issued an order vacating this court's judgment of dismissal and remanding the case for further proceedings consistent with its memorandum and order. In an order dated June 21, 2016, this court (Cutler, J.) remanded this matter to the ZBA with instructions to reconsider the 2009 Decision in light of the findings and directives of the Appeals Court.
On October 20, 2016, the ZBA filed its Findings And Decision Of The Norwell Board Of Appeals, File No. 09-12, with the Town Clerk ("ZBA Decision On Remand"). By a vote of two to one, the ZBA determined to "reverse its prior decision revoking the Building Permit." On November 8, 2016, defendants Maura A. and Gregory T. Lareau ("the Lareaus") filed the present appeal of the ZBA Decision On Remand pursuant to G. L. c. 40A, §17. Thereafter, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, in which the sole issue raised was whether Lot 62 has the requisite lawful frontage to support the issuance of a building permit, either as a pre-existing nonconforming lot protected by G.L. c. 40A, §6 or as required by the Town's current zoning bylaw.
The court has determined in a decision of even date that summary judgment should issue annulling the ZBA Decision On Remand and annulling Building Permit No. 14051.
In accordance with the court's decision, it is hereby
ORDERED that Maura A. Lareau and Gregory T. Lareau's 2019 Motion For Summary Judgment is ALLOWED and Williams' Motion For Summary Judgment To Laureau [sic] Complaint After Remand is DENIED.
It is further
ORDERED that the ZBA Decision On Remand and Building Permit No. 14051 are annulled.
It is further
ORDERED and ADJUDGED that this Judgment is a full adjudication of the parties' claims in this case, and all prayers for relief by any party to this action that are not granted in the preceding paragraphs are denied.
SO ORDERED.
THOMAS F. WILLIAMS, Individually and as Trustee of the River Realty Trust v. THE NORWELL BOARD OF APPEALS and LOIS S. BARBOUR, PHILIP Y. BROWN, MICHAEL KIERNAN, THOMAS P. HARRISON, and DAVID TRUNER, as they are Members of the Board of Appeals of the Town of Norwell, and WILLIAM MCCAULEY, MAURA A. LAUREAU & GREGORY T. LAUREAU, and RICHARD THORNTON & DEBORAH THORNTON