In Re Chamberlin

Petitioner Chamberlin sought from the Washington County Court a declaratory judgment that his Duxbury junkyard is a pre-existing, non-conforming use under the zoning ordinance of that town. He had been granted a variance by the Duxbury Zoning Board of Adjustment in 1973, but the appellant, his neighbor, appealed this grant to the Washington Superior Court and was awarded a summary judgment.

Interestingly enough, the case below was tried without introducing the Duxbury ordinance into evidence. The finding that it was adopted in March, 1971, is unchallenged, however, and for our purposes we will…