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Zoning Bulletin June 25, 2012 1 Volume 6 1 No. 12 <br />educational purpose of proposed <br />development is secondary <br />Citation: Regis College v. Town of Weston, 462 Mass. 280, <br />2012 WL 1815663 (2012) <br />MASSACHUSETTS (05/22 /2012) —This case addressed the <br />issue of whether a private college's proposed development of <br />residential and educational facilities for older adults qualified for <br />protection from local zoning laws under the state's Dover <br />Amendment. <br />The Background /Facts: Regis College ( "Regis ") is a private <br />college located in the town of Weston, Massachusetts (the <br />"Town "). In 2005, Regis proposed a development called "Regis <br />East." Regis East was to, be across the street from Regis' main <br />campus, on a site of approximately 60 acres. Regis East was to <br />be comprised of eight buildings with a total 766,600 square feet, <br />60% of which were to be residential units. Residents at Regis <br />East were to: be an average of 75 years of age at the time of their <br />arrival; be required to pay an entrance fee of between $700,000 <br />and $1 million; and, while at Regis East, live in 1,300- square- <br />foot apartments and be required to enroll in a minimum of two <br />courses per semester. <br />In proposing the Regis East development, Regis petitioned the <br />Town's zoning board of appeals (the "ZBA ") for relief from <br />certain of the Town's municipal zoning regulations that would <br />otherwise preclude construction of the Regis East development. <br />Regis asked the ZBA to find that Regis was exempt from these <br />zoning regulations under the Dover Amendment (G.L. c. 40A, § <br />3, second par.). <br />The Dover Amendment is a state law that, among other things, <br />exempts from certain local zoning laws land or structures that are <br />to be used by nonprofit educational institutions for "educational <br />purposes." <br />The ZBA denied Regis' petition for exemption. <br />Regis appealed to land court. Finding there were no material <br />issues of fact in dispute, the land court judge ultimately granted <br />summary judgment, on the law alone, to the Town. The judge <br />concluded that Regis' proposed use of Regis East did not fall <br />within the protection of the Dover Amendment because Regis <br />East's educational purpose "seem[ed] subordinate to [Regis'] <br />desire to provide elderly housing and/or a source of revenue." <br />© 2012 Thomson Reuters 3 <br />