Welch v. Swasey
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Petition, filed December 21,1905, and amended February 19, 1906, for a writ of mandamus addressed to the members of- the board of appeal from the building commissioner of the city of Boston ordering the respondents to direct the building commissioner to grant to the petitioner a permit to erect on the lot of land numbered eight on Arlington Street in Boston on the corner of Marlborough Street in that city, owned by the petitioner as trustee, a certain building, described and…
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Petition, filed December 21,1905, and amended February 19, 1906, for a writ of mandamus addressed to the members of- the board of appeal from the building commissioner of the city of Boston ordering the respondents to direct the building commissioner to grant to the petitioner a permit to erect on the lot of land numbered eight on Arlington Street in Boston on the corner of Marlborough Street in that city, owned by the petitioner as trustee, a certain building, described and designated in an application and plans filed with the building commissioner, of the height of one hundred and twenty…
1Opinion of the CourtKnowlton, C. J.
The principal question presented by this case is whether the St. 1904, c. 333, and the St. 1905, c. 383, and the orders of the commissioners appointed under them, relative to the height of buildings in Boston, are constitutional. A jurisdictional question, if the petitioner is entitled to relief, is whether a remedy can be given him by a writ of mandamus.
The principal question may be subdivided as follows: First, can the Legislature, in the exercise of the police power, limit the height of buildings in cities so that none can be erected above a prescribed number of feet; second, can it…
2Cases cited32 opinions
- Jacobson v. MassachusettsSupreme Court of the United States · 1905
- Lawton v. SteeleSupreme Court of the United States · 1894
- Field v. ClarkSupreme Court of the United States · 1892
- Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Co. v. Illinois ex rel. Drainage CommissionersSupreme Court of the United States · 1906
- Dobbins v. Los AngelesSupreme Court of the United States · 1904
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3Cited by98 opinions
- Matter of Wulfsohn v. BurdenNew York Court of Appeals · 1925
- City of Des Moines v. Manhattan Oil Co.Supreme Court of Iowa · 1921
- State ex rel. Carter v. HarperWisconsin Supreme Court · 1923
- General Outdoor Advertising Co. v. Department of Public WorksMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1935
- City of Aurora v. BurnsIllinois Supreme Court · 1925
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