Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/01/1999

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Page 2-- May 10, 1999 Z.B. ~ Parking -- Steamship authority leases land to provide extra parking for island-goers MASSACHUSETI'S (4/9/99) -- The Massachusetts Legislature created the Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority to provide transporta- tion from the mainland to the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The Legislature granted the authority the power to do whatever was necessary or convenient to provide adequate transportation. Since the authority's creation in 1960, demand for its services had more than quadrupled. Providing parking on the mainland for travelers who didn't want to take their vehicles across was always a problem. The authority owned and leased additional property on the mainland and provided shuttle bus ser- vices from these lots to the steamship terminal. Despite the additional lots, parking facilities were still inadequate on peak summer weekends. On one Fourth of July weekend in particular, the route to the terminal became "an extended parking lot" because the authority's lots had filled up. In response to the dilemma, the authority leased from Plante six acres to use for weekend overflow parking. The' town building inspector issued Plante an order to' stop using the prop- erty for commuter parking because the use violated the town's zoning bylaws. When efforts to resolve the controversy were unsuccessful, the town sued Plante, alleging he had violated the town's zoning bylaws by leasing the site for parking and bi filling and clearing the lot in v/olation of the approved site plan. The court issued an order prohibiting the authority from using Plante's property as a parking lot pending the outcome of a trial. The authority appealed, and the appeals court vacated the order. The town appealed. It argued that even though the demand for ferry service had significantly increased, the steamship authority didn't have the power to violate local zoning taws. DECISION: Affirmed, order vacated. The steamship authority was immune from local zoning regulations when it performed essential government functions. Case returned to the lower court for further proceedings. The authority was a public entity directed by the Legislature to provide adequate transportation from the mainland to the islands. The Legislature granted the authority the power to do whatever was necessary or convenient to do this. The authority's choice to provide off-site partdng was directly and inextri- cably linked to its mission. Therefore, it could lawfully lease the property without complying with local zoning laws. Citation: Town of Bourne v. Plante, Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, No. S.1C-079] 0 (1999). see also: Ballantine v. Falmouth, 294 N.E. 2~1524 (1973). /2+