GREEN ACRES— Once a property, actually then used for park purposes, receives Green Acres funding, even when its listing on the municipality erroneously listed the property on its application the associated Green Acres restrictions cannot be administratively lifted.
FORECLOSURES—Where a mortgage has been assigned but the assignment has not been recorded and has been lost, the mortgagee of record is a proper plaintiff in a foreclosure action.
ZONING; WETLANDS; LETTERS OF INTERPRETATION—A zoning board can’t consider whether a wetlands Letter of Interpretation issued by the Department of Environmental Protection was supported by the evidence because such a letter is dispositive of the issue.
ZONING; VIOLATIONS; PENALTY—A fine is cruel and unusual punishment only if it shocks the conscience or is fundamentally unfair and a fine calculated to disgorge profits earned by violating a zoning ordinance does not rise to that level.
ZONING; VARIANCES; WAIVER—Seeking a large and diverse group of variances and waivers does not impermissibly transform an application into a de facto re-zoning.
ZONING; VARIANCES; TELECOMMUNICATIONS—A land use board may base its use variance decision that no coverage gap exists on statements, within a cellular telephone carrier’s own advertising literature, that the carrier has full coverage throughout the county.
ZONING; VARIANCES; PROCEDURE—There is no mandatory two-step procedure for adopting and then memorializing a land use resolution and it is not necessary for each board member to acknowledge on the record that he or she read, understood, and agreed with the memorialization so long as there is an indication that he or she participated in the related deliberations.
ZONING; VARIANCES; NON-CONFORMING USES—While, under certain circumstances, aesthetic improvement can be a qualifying “special reason” to support the granting of a use variance, a board need not grant a variance based upon that reason, especially if the property can be used as is or can be brought into conformance with the applicable zoning ordinance.
ZONING; VARIANCES; NON-CONFORMING USE—In considering issuance of a variance that would “legalize” a non-conforming use, a zoning board should give equitable consideration to the length of the non-conformity and any lack of harm to the surrounding neighborhood.
ZONING; VARIANCES; HISTORIC STRUCTURES—Where there is no evidence that an applicant intends to demolish an historic structure if a variance is not granted, it is not proper to grant the variance based upon the mere possibility that the structure might otherwise be demolished.