The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concluded that the denial of a variance application for lakefront property, subject to the Watershed Management Act, did not result in a regulatory taking under the state constitution. The property owner, Blair, modified the property, which was within a 200-foot buffer zone from the lake, by removing trees to add a lawn and extend their beach area. Following an enforcement action by the State Department of Conservation and Recreation, Blair agreed to remove portions of the beach and the retaining wall and replant trees. After they completed the work, a subsequent application for a variance was denied. Although the denial might lower the owners’ property value, there was no regulatory taking under the Massachusetts constitution and no compensation was required since the owners retained the right to use their land and only a portion of their land abutting the public watershed was regulated.
Blair v. Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2010 WL 3328887 (Mass. 8/26/2010)
The opinion can be accessed here
