Grogan v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of East
About This Legal Opinion
A zoning decisions required granting a conservation easement. Landowner sued claiming unjust taking. Court held for town.
Membership Required
This resource is a Land Trust Alliance member benefit for the staff, board and volunteers of land trust and affiliate member organizations, and Alliance donors at the Protector level.
Explore related resources
In the Matter of Girard v. Town of East Hampton
The appellate court affirmed in a very brief opinion, holding that the Town's zoning requirement of a conservation easement was arbitrary and capricious.
Prime v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Norwell
The bulk of the case concerns various zoning ordinances, but the appellate court did hold, in passing, that the neighboring landowners did not have standing to enforce the conservation easement.
Naser v. Town of Deering Zoning Board of Adjustment
The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's interpretation of the ordinance, finding that counting the acreage subject to the conservation easement as developable was neither 'realistic' nor 'feasible,' as required by the statute.
Bluestein v. Town of Sullivan’s Island
Neighbors sued to trim vegetation on Town owned land under a restrictive covenant. SC Supreme Court reversed summary judgment for the Town and remanded in 2020.
Deerfield River Co. v. Wilmington Power and Paper Co.
The court held that when the purpose of a taking is to provide a town electricity at the town's request, it is a public use.
Johann v. Town of East Hampton
Citizens filed suit to block a land sale claiming that the Town had expressly or impliedly dedicated the property as a park, which could not be sold without approval of the state legislature. The court held that even if special injury had not been established, plaintiffs would have standing.
O'Mara v Town of Wappinger
Finding no state case law on the enforceability of a zoning regulation imposed through a subdivision process, the Second Circuit certified this question to the New York Court of Appeals, which found such a regulation enforceable under New York law.
Murray v. Webster
This case relates to a challenge of a town's abandonment of a public road and the parties entitled to notice of the discontinuance hearing. The court held that the town acted in accordance with the law by not granting any of the abandoned road or giving notice to trespassers on adjacent property.
McCulloch v. Town of Milan
To date, this is the only reported case in which a landowner has claimed racial discrimination as a version of selective enforcement in a conservation easement violations context. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Town.
Southbury Land Trust, Inc. v. Andricovich, 757 A.2d 1263
As with many violations cases, the trial and appellate courts cited to the town's zoning code to support its conclusion that the conservation easement allowed the construction of a separate dwelling.