Standing in Zoning Appeal Conferred by Local Bylaw

The Appeals Court has determined that standing to appeal a special permit determination is conferred on an abutter by virtue of a local bylaw.

In Sweenie v. Planning Board of Groton, the Appeals Court found that although the abutters failed to bring evidentiary substantiation of their claim that "the replacement and expansion of the underground storage tanks could potentially harm their drinking water" drawn from nearby residential wells and contaminate ground water by spillage during the replacement and by leakage, the local bylaw provided standing to raise the concern.

The Court concluded that the abutters derived standing from the bylaw which provides, in part, that, with respect to the storage tanks in a water resource area "the Board of Appeals shall give consideration to the simplicity, reliability and feasibility of the control measures proposed and the degree of threat to water quality that would result if the control measures failed."

The full text of the case can be found HERE.