Board reviews House Bill 5555 zoning variance law changes
Zoning Board reviewed House Bill 5555 changes to variance law. The Board discussed the state law, effective July 1, which revised zoning variance standards and nonconforming structure protections.
Zoning Board of Appeals · Meeting of August 25, 2026
DIGHTON — Zoning Board reviewed House Bill 5555 changes to variance law. The Board discussed the state law, effective July 1, which revised zoning variance standards and nonconforming structure protections. Attorney Marguerite Mitchell explained that the law extended the nonconforming use abandonment period from two to four years, required variance decisions to weigh petitioner benefits against neighborhood impacts using practical difficulty as the mandatory standard, permitted residential use variances except when commercial-related, and extended variance lapse periods from one to two years.
Mitchell advised the Board that sections 2410, 2420, 2430, 2450, 2460, and 5220 of the Town's zoning bylaws would require updates to comply with the new law, though no immediate legal deadline applied.
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Source: the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting of August 25, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.
Checked against the official minutes. It was corrected where it differed.
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