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Zoning Bulletin July 25, 2016 1 Volume 10 1 Issue 14 F <br /> Standing—Individual Members of <br /> Various Town Boards Bring <br /> Challenge to Building Inspector's <br /> Zoning Determination on Proposed <br /> c <br /> Development <br /> Individual members claim standing to bring the <br /> challenge as "municipal officers" thus without <br /> need to show personal aggrievement <br /> Citation:Ellis v. 41berghini, 2016 WL 2986055 (Mass. Land Ct. 2016) <br /> MASSACHUSETTS (05/20/16)—This case addressed the issue of <br /> whether individual members of a planning board, town's advisory land <br /> use committee, or town meeting, are "municipal officers" under Mas- <br /> sachusetts statutory law(G.L. c.40A, § 17)such that they had standing to <br /> challenge a town building inspector decision "without the necessity of <br /> showing that their interests have been harmed by the decision." <br /> The Background/Facts: NEEP Investors Holdings LLC ("NEEP <br /> Investors") owned property in the Town of Burlington (the "Town"). <br /> NEEP Investors sought to build a proposed six-story, 170 room "Resi- <br /> dence Inn by Marriott" hotel (the "Marriott") on the property, to be <br /> constructed by NEEP Hotel Realty LLC (",NEEP"). Under the Town's <br /> zoning bylaw, if the Marriott was considered a "hotel" or "full service <br /> hotel" it could be built at its location "of right." If, however, it was <br /> considered to be a "residence hotel/motel," it would be prohibited from <br /> being built. <br /> In accordance with Massachusetts statutory law,G.L. c. 40A, §§ 13-15 <br /> and the Town's zoning bylaw, the Town's building inspector was autho- <br /> rized to review building permit applications and determine whether the <br /> proposed use and structure were zoning compliant, subject to appeal and <br /> review by the Town's zoning board of appeals.Here,the Town's building <br /> inspector ruled that the Marriott was a"hotel,"not a residence hotel, and <br /> issued the permit. <br /> Approximately one month later, a member of the Town's Planning <br /> Board obtained a copy of the Marriott's building plans and noticed that <br /> they included a two-burner cooktop in each of theguest rooms. Based on <br /> that, the Planning Board member then concluded that the Marriott was <br /> not a "hotel"but rather a prohibited"residence hotel." All of the other <br /> Planning Board members agreed, and the Planning Board filed an appeal <br /> of the issuance of the building permit to the Town's Zoning Board of Ap- <br /> peals ("ZBA"). <br /> ©2016 Thomson Reuters 5 <br /> is <br /> I <br />