Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 138, § 16C (2026)

Licenses for premises located near schools or churches

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 16C. Premises, except those of an innholder and except such parts of buildings as are located ten or more floors above street level, located within a radius of five hundred feet of a school or church shall not be licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages unless the local licensing authority determines in writing and after a hearing that the premises are not detrimental to the educational and spiritual activities of said school or church; but this provision shall not apply to the transfer of a license from premises located within said distance to other premises located therein, if it is transferred to a location not less remote from the nearest school or church than its former location. Any applicant who has been denied a license under this section shall have the right to an appeal under section sixty-seven.

In this section a church shall mean a church or synagogue building dedicated to divine worship and in regular use for that purpose, but not a chapel occupying a minor portion of a building primarily devoted to other uses, and a school shall mean an elementary or secondary school, public or private, giving not less than the minimum instruction and training required by chapter seventy-one to children of compulsory school age. This section shall not apply to an extension of licensed premises provided said extension does not exceed fifty feet.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases, 1964–1997 · leading case: Arno v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 384 N.E.2d 1223 (Mass. 1979).

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Arno v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 384 N.E.2d 1223 (Mass. 1979). · cites it 4× “Arno, challenges G. L. c. 138, § 16C, 1 as an improper, standardless delegation of legislative authority, and as violative of the establishment of religion clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Samel v. City of Pittsfield Licensing Bd., 377 Mass. 908 (Mass. 1978). · cites it 3× “, located within 500 feet of the premises, filed a timely written objection to the issuance of the license, pursuant to G. L. c. 138, § 16C. On June 10, 1974, the Pittsfield licensing board (board) voted to deny the application on the ground of the church’s objection.”

Cleary v. Cardullo's, Inc., 198 N.E.2d 281 (Mass. 1964). “500); (b) because the Brattle Street premises are within 500 feet of two churches, see G. L. c. 138, § 16C (inserted by St. 1954, c.”

Jasper v. Michael A. Dolan, Inc., 242 N.E.2d 540 (Mass. 1968). · cites it 2× “The bill alleged that the license was invalid because (1) the premises were within 500 feet of a church in violation of G. L. c. 138, § 16C, and (2) the exercise of the license on the premises would be illegal under the zoning laws.”

Grendel's Den, Inc. v. Goodwin, 495 F. Supp. 761 (D. Mass. 1980). · cites it 2× “It is undisputed that both the local and state authorities have refused to grant Grendel’s request solely because of the opposition filed by the Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Parish Church (the Church) under the provisions of Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 138, § 16C. That statute states in…”

Grendel's Den, Inc. v. Larkin, 582 F. Supp. 1220 (D. Mass. 1984). “Section 16C provides, in pertinent part; Premises, except those of an innholder and except such parts of buildings as are located ten or more floors above street level, located within a radius of five hundred feet of a church or school shall not be licensed for the sale of…”

First Church of Christ v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 207 N.E.2d 880 (Mass. 1965). “The case was subsequently tried on the merits, and the respondent appealed from an order of the Superior Court that “judgment be entered quashing . . . [its] decision . . .”

Dubois v. Bd. of Selectmen, 319 N.E.2d 735 (Mass. App. Ct. 1974). “So far as appears from the amended bill, no written objection had been filed by a church or school under G. L. c. 138, § 16C, as amended through St.”

Baser v. Spaulding, 386 N.E.2d 1306 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). “The validity of the license depends on whether G. L. c. 138, § 16C, as amended through St.”

Cohasset Heights, Ltd. v. Bd. of Health, 6 Mass. L. Rptr. 629 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1997). · cites it 2× “In Samel, the plaintiffs applied for a wine and malt beverages license under G.L.c. 138, §16C. After a written objection by a neighboring church, the Pittsfield Licensing Board denied the application.”

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