Wister v. Town of Mount Desert, 2009 ME 66

Summary

The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine held that Alberta Wister had standing to appeal a zoning board decision because she made a prima facie showing that she was an abutter. The court further held that the Mount Desert Zoning Board of Appeals had authority under 30-A M.R.S. § 4353 to grant a variance from a town-wide driveway setback requirement. The judgment vacating the variance was vacated, and the matter was remanded with instructions to affirm the board's decision.

Holdings

1. Wister had standing to challenge the variance because her statement that she was an abutter, identification of her property's location, and objection to construction below her house established a prima facie showing of standing, which Moore did not rebut.
2. A municipal board of appeals may consider and grant a variance from a setback requirement contained in a land use ordinance of town-wide application when the municipal ordinances authorize variance requests to be considered under 30-A M.R.S. § 4353.
3. The ZBA's finding that strict application of the driveway setback requirement would cause undue hardship was supported by substantial evidence.
4. The ZBA did not err or abuse its discretion by granting a variance covering the entire proposed driveway.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Wister had standing to appeal the ZBA's variance decision to the Superior Court.
2. Whether the ZBA had jurisdiction under 30-A M.R.S. § 4353 to grant a variance from a driveway setback requirement contained in a town-wide land use ordinance.
3. Whether the ZBA's finding that strict application of the setback requirement would cause undue hardship was supported by substantial evidence.
4. Whether the variance was impermissibly broader than necessary because it covered the entire proposed driveway.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded