The end of “prohibition by condition”: Castle Hill Apartments Limited Partnership v. Planning Board of Holyoke
It is a well settled proposition of land use law that site plan review is a valuable tool in the regulatory process, providing municipal planning boards and zoning boards with oversight over uses permitted as a matter of right under local zoning by-laws or ordinances. It is equally well settled that in the regulatory process, municipal land use authorities are authorized to impose reasonable conditions on projects subject to permitting, including under the site plan review process. There may, of course, be a substantial difference of opinion between a landowner and a municipality as to what constitutes a “reasonable” condition imposed on a use permitted as a matter of right undergoing site plan review.