Town of Newbury v. Landrigan

Summary

The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed a ruling that the respondents’ conduct and that of prior owners merged two adjacent nonconforming lots into a single parcel. Because the respondents conveyed the property as separate lots without planning board approval, the court held that they unlawfully subdivided the property under RSA 674:35 and RSA 676:16. The court upheld injunctive relief and a $2,000 fine.

Holdings

1. Owners may effectuate the merger of contiguous, nonconforming lots independently of a town ordinance by conduct that results in abandonment or abolition of the individual lot lines.
2. Because the respondents owned a single parcel when they separately conveyed lots 3 and 4, the conveyances constituted an unlawful subdivision under RSA 674:35 and RSA 676:16 absent prior planning-board approval.
3. The superior court's finding that the lots had merged was supported by ample evidence and was neither legally erroneous nor unsupported by the record.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the conduct of the respondents and their predecessors merged two contiguous, nonconforming lots by abandoning or abolishing the individual lot line.
2. Whether the respondents' separate conveyances of the historically merged lots constituted an unlawful subdivision requiring planning-board approval under RSA 674:35 and RSA 676:16.
3. Whether the superior court's factual findings concerning the chain of title, recorded plans, expert testimony, and treatment of the property were supported by the evidence.

Disposition

affirmed