City of Grosse Pointe Park v. Detroit Historic District Commission

Mich. Court of Appeals, No. 298802, April 19, 2012 (unpublished): A state historic preservation review board to deny demolition approval was reasonable where the board found expert testimony supporting demolition to be unconvincing.

The City of Grosse Pointe Park (GPP) sought to demolish two buildings built in 1918-20 that it owns in Detroit. The demolition required City [...]

Bronowiski Mulligan Irrevocable Trust v Bridges

RI Supreme Court, No. 2011-20-Appeal, (PC 06-4651), April 10, 2012: Landlord should be awarded cost of repair for tenant’s damage to wallpaper of restored historic house, plus attorney’s fees, based on unambiguous wording of lease.

The plaintiff landlord alleged that the defendant tenant breached his lease agreement by painting over expensive historical wallpaper inside the landlord’s restored [...]

New Albany Historic Preservation Commission v Bradford Realty

Ind. Court Of Appeals, No. 22A01-1108-PL-365, March 22, 2012: Owner in historic district not entitled to actual notice of potential designation of district; replacement of original wood siding with vinyl siding is “conspicuous change” requiring Certificate of Appropriateness; designation was not inverse condemnation.

The New Albany Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and the City of New Albany (collectively, [...]

KOWALCHIK v. BROHL (Brohl II)

Court of Appeals of Colorado, Division A, No. 11CA2634, March 15, 2012: Resolution of litigation regarding Colorado conservation easement tax credits between Dept. of Revenue and the original donor of the easement as tax matters representative is binding on transferees of the CE credits; transferees are not necessary parties to such disputes and need not be [...]

Morosco v. Historic Review Commission of Pittsburgh

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, No. 2106 C.D. 2010, February 24, 2012: An individual without any particular harm beyond the common interest lacks standing under PA law to appeal Pittsburgh historical commission’s decision allowing demolition of a historical building. Unreported opinion.

The Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission (HRC) granted a Certificate of Appropriateness allowing demolition of an historic building [...]

Long Green Valley Ass’n v Bellevale Farms, Inc. Revised

Maryland Court of Special Appeals, No. 0228, February 14, 2012: Revised decision holds the purchased non-perpetual agricultural preservation easement at issue does not create charitable trust in Maryland, but abutter has rebuttable presumption that it has standing to bring mandamus action regarding enforcement of the easement by a state entity.

The decision issued February 14, 2012, revises [...]

KOWALCHIK v. BROHL

Colo. Court of Appeals, Div. A, No. 11CA2634, February 2, 2012: Grants request for interlocutory appeal of four issues of law of first impression in Colorado regarding tax treatment of purchase of conservation easement tax credits. A later opinion will address the merits.

In the case at trial, the plaintiffs collectively donated fourteen conservation easements over two [...]

Montgomery Preservation, Inc. v Montgomery County Planning Board of Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission

Court of Appeals of Maryland, No. 36, September Term, 2011, Jan. 24, 2012: Holds that a county Planning Board’s recommendation to the county Council against including a certain building in the county’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation did not become a “final appealable administrative agency decision” suitable for judicial review on a mandamus action when the [...]

Long Green Valley Ass’n v Bellevale Farms, Inc.

The Court’s opinion in this case was revised on February 14, 2012. A revised Digest post discussing the decision is [...]

Killorin v Zoning Board of Appeals of Andover

Mass. Appeals Court, No. 10-P-1665, October 14, 2011: Holds the enforceability beyond 30 years of land use restrictions set by a government agency, such as incident to the grant of a zoning special permit, is not limited by state statute that limits enforceability of restrictions on their face unlimited as to time.

The Massachusetts statute, M. G.L. [...]

Miller v. City of Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, No. 219, September 6, 2011: Upholds a Maryland historic district commission’s decision that reconstruction to match an original porch, removed many years before from a home in a historic district, was rehabilitation, not new construction, and therefore commission could require use of wood rather than fiberglass columns.

The Millers sought approval [...]

Land Owners United, LLC v. Waters

Court of Appeals of Colorado, Division VII, No. 10CA1006, August 18, 2011: Affirms district court order requiring state to disclose records about an investigation of conservation easements appraisals used to obtain Colorado tax credits.

The Colorado Division of Real Estate and the Board of Real Estate Appraisers (collectively the Board), in connection with a statewide investigation of [...]

Westchester Land Trust v Town of Lewisboro and Wolf Conservation Center

NY Supreme Court, Westchester County, Index no. 23534/10, July 13, 2011: Summary judgment order by trial court that conservation easement from Town to land trust prohibits the creation of fenced enclosures or “habitat” for the keeping of wolves.

The conservation easement was granted by the Town as a condition to receiving a grant from Westchester Land Trust [...]

Northampton Township v Parsons

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2057 C.D. 2010 July 12, 2011: Restriction to “recreational use” in Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (Declaration) does not allow structure or use for basketball court.  Unreported opinion.

Land acquired by a Township in part with county funds was subject to the Declaration stating the land would be used only “for wildlife [...]

City of Columbus v Bahgat

Ohio Court of Appeals, 10th Appellate Dist, 2011 Ohio 3315, June 30, 2011: Requirement that replacement windows in historic district “match the original windows, like-for-like” would not confuse a person of ordinary intelligence and therefore is not unconstitutionally vague, does not constitute an unconstitutional exercise of the City’s police powers.

Defendant Bahgat replaced divided light wood frame [...]

Turchi v Philadelphia Board of License and Inspection Review

Commonwealth Court of PA, 1273 C.D. 2010, 1274 C.D. 2010, April 18, 2011: City Board of License and Inspection Review must defer to the Historical Commission’s interpretations of words in city Historic Preservation Ordinance.

The Philadelphia Board of License and Inspection Review (Board) reversed a decision of the Philadelphia Historical Commission (Commission) approving a permit for the [...]

Matter of Ithaca City School Dist. v. City of Ithaca

App. Div. of NY Supreme Court, 3rd Dept., 2011 NY Slip Op 01551, March 3, 2011: Holds local landmarks preservation commission can’t prevent demolition of historical landmark owned by schools district because school district is a “state agency” under NY law.

The school district (District) sought to demolish the 1932 Markles Flats Building it owned that had [...]

David v. Martins Point Property Owners Association

Court of Appeals of South Carolina, Unpublished No. 2011-UP-086, March 1, 2011: Enforces a private negative deed covenant imposed for conservation purposes and enjoins construction of a dock at a community lot in a subdivision. (Opinion has no precedential value under SC rules.)

A small limited partnership (“LP”) developed Martins Point with the express goal “to preserve [...]

Montgomery Preservation v. Park and Planning Commission

MD Court of Special Appeals, No. 1176/09, Feb. 25, 2011: Held the circuit court properly refused to review the County Planning Board’s recommendation to the County District Council against designating a building as a historic site.

Montgomery County’s Historic Preservation Commission, at the request of the Silver Spring Historical Society, recommended to the Maryland-National Capital Park and [...]

Rosenfeld v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Mendon

Mass. Appeals Court, 78 Mass. App. Ct. 677, Jan. 28, 2011: Court held for the first time that an abutter has standing to seek enforcement of a deed restriction that does not refer to the abutter’s land or identify it as a benefited parcel.

The restriction, which ran with the land, was granted as a condition to [...]