Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title VII Chapter 40A
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40A, § 14 (2026)

Boards of appeal; powers

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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Section 14. A board of appeals shall have the following powers:—

(1) To hear and decide appeals in accordance with section eight.

(2) To hear and decide applications for special permits upon which the board is empowered to act under said ordinance or by-laws.

(3) To hear and decide petitions for variances as set forth in section ten.

(4) To hear and decide appeals from decisions of a zoning administrator, if any, in accordance with section thirteen and this section.

In exercising the powers granted by this section, a board of appeals may, in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, make orders or decisions, reverse or affirm in whole or in part, or modify any order or decision, and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken and may issue or direct the issuance of a permit.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 19 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1970–2024 · leading case: Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers of New York, Inc. v. Bd. of Appeal, 909 N.E.2d 1161 (Mass. 2009).
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Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers of New York, Inc. v. Bd. of Appeal, 909 N.E.2d 1161 (Mass. 2009). · cites it 2× “The act requires that a board create “a detailed record of its proceedings” and set forth “clearly” the “reason for its decision and of its official actions.”
Butts v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 464 N.E.2d 108 (Mass. App. Ct. 1984). · cites it 2× “580, 585 (1981), we can determine what the Legislature meant by these terms by reference to G. L. c. 40A, § 14, inserted by St. 1975, c.”
Omnipoint Commc'ns MB Operations, LLC v. Town of Lincoln, 107 F. Supp. 2d 108 (D. Mass. 2000). “See Mass. Gen.L. ch. 40A, § 14; Town of Lincoln, Zoning By-Law (as amended March 27, 1999) (hereinafter, the “By-Law”), §§ 20.”
Kiss v. Bd. of Appeals of Longmeadow, 355 N.E.2d 461 (Mass. 1976). “114 , 116 *155 (1955): “Thus the board of appeals created by [G. L. c. 40A, § 14] is authorized to ‘hear and decide requests for special permits’ and to grant variances in certain circumstances.”
Shalbey v. Bd. of Appeal of Norwood, 378 N.E.2d 1001 (Mass. App. Ct. 1978). “” We read that sentence as permitting, by negative implication, the appearance of a member in proceedings before the board so long as the member doing so does not represent any party in interest.”
Grenier v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 814 N.E.2d 1154 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004). “5 Gove and the Greniers then brought an action pursuant to G. L. c. 40A, § 14, claiming that the zoning restrictions constituted a regulatory taking of lot 93, compensable under art.”
Carstensen v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, Cambridge, 416 N.E.2d 522 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981). “40A, § 17. See Neuhaus v. Building Inspector of Marlborough, ante 230 (1981).”
Davidson v. Bd. of Selectmen of Duxbury, 260 N.E.2d 695 (Mass. 1970). “With respect to the zoning matter, the board of appeals, and with respect to this licensing matter, the selectmen, were (as boards) each bound to conduct a public hearing.”
Leominster Materials Corp. v. Bd. of Leominster, 677 N.E.2d 714 (Mass. App. Ct. 1997). “On May 5, 1995, pursuant to G. L. c. 40A, § 14, and article IV, § 22-23 of the city’s zoning ordinance, LMC appealed from this determination.”
Sleeper v. Old King's High. Reg'l Historic Dist. Comm'n, 417 N.E.2d 987 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981). “See G. L. c. 40A, § 14(3), prior to St. 1975, c.”
Plan. Bd. v. Koenig, 12 Mass. App. Ct. 1009 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981). “See G. L. c. 40A, § 14. Cf. G. L. c. 41, §§ 81K-81GG.”
Cumberland Farms, Inc. v. Plan. Bd. of Bourne, 851 N.E.2d 1108 (Mass. App. Ct. 2006). “” For purposes of this analysis, the powers of the zoning board under § 1320 of the local bylaw mirrors the authority in G. L. c. 40A, § 14. Of course, if the building permit had been granted, another aggrieved person may have sought enforcement and thereafter pursued a § 8…”
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Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40A, § 14(3): 2 cases
Sleeper v. Old King's High. Reg'l Historic Dist. Comm'n, 417 N.E.2d 987 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981). “See G. L. c. 40A, § 14(3), prior to St. 1975, c.”
Sleeper v. Old King's High. Reg. Hist. Dist., 417 N.E.2d 987 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981).
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