McGee v. Board of Appeal

Legal background. Under a special zoning enabling act applicable to Boston, St. 1956, c. 665, §§ 2 et seq., as amended by St. 1993, c. 461, §§ 2 et seq. (the Boston act), the Boston zoning commission adopted the code. See Emerson College v. Boston, 393 Mass. 303, 304-306 (1984). Section 9 of the Boston act authorizes the board to grant variances. Section 11 allows a party aggrieved by a decision of the board to obtain judicial review. These provisions much resemble analogous sections in G. L. c. 40A, the zoning act applicable generally to cities and towns in the Commonwealth. We therefore…