BJ’s Wholesale Club tried to wedge a gas station into the front of its store in Greenfield, Massachusetts, but when the local Zoning Board refused to approve the plan, BJs sued the town in Superior Court. They lost that case in April of 2002, yet pursued their legal case to the state’s Appeals Court. That higher court ruled in late February, 2004 that the Greenfield Zoning Board was within its legal right to turn the gas station down, stating that “the effect on traffic of a permissive use is a legitmate consideration under the zoning act…There was testimony which the (superior court) judge was entitled to credit, that traffic congestion from lines of customers seeking discount gasoline prices would result in pressure on adjoining streets, that would, at a minimum, inconvenience the public. The judge could also reasonably infer from the evidence that conditions of this nature would jeopardize the safety of motorists or pedestrians.”
I was pleased to be part of this case, defending the decision of the Zoning Board of Greenfield, and testifying in court against BJs. The town won this case, but the chair of the Zoning board said the down side was that the town had to pay the legal bills to defend its position. The Zoning Board said the costs to the town were “substantial.”