Goldhirsh v. McNear

By appeal from a Land Court judgment in these consolidated cases, we are required to determine whether a carriage house, which was converted to a single-family structure, is entitled to the protection afforded residential structures by the second “except” clause of the first paragraph of G. L. c. 40A, § 6, and the similar by-law provision. We conclude that the building is entitled to that protection, but, because the defendant board failed to consider whether the owners’ changes to the residential structure would increase its nonconforming nature, we reverse the judgment.

1. The history of the…