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50 Pepp. L. Rev. 443 (2023)
Variances: A Canary in the Coal Mine for Zoning Reform?

handle is hein.journals/pepplr50 and id is 459 raw text is: Variances: A Canary in the Coal Mine for Zoning Reform? John J. Infranca and Ronnie M. Farr* Abstract There is perhaps no area of land use law where practice departs more from legal doctrine than the realm of zoning variances. Ac- cording to the legal doctrine, variances are to be granted sparingly, providing a safety valve that alleviates unique hardships encoun- tered by a property owner. In practice, variances are granted at high rates often around ninety percent of applications are ap- proved and, in some jurisdictions, in high volumes. In such cases, variances effectively serve as a rezoning, enabling jurisdictions to permit otherwise prohibited uses and allow growth and development to occur without addressing needed zoning reforms. By allowing neighbors the opportunity to weigh in on the smallest of changes, with little attention to the relevant legal doctrine, they also create significant uncertainty, delay, and cost for property owners. This problem is particularly acute in the City of Boston, where the city grants thousands of variances each year. In this symposium contribution, we share the results of an empirical study of variance decisions in Boston. We compare Boston to three neighboring * Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School; J.D. Candidate, Suffolk University Law School. The authors thank attorneys Thomas Broom, Larry DiCara, and Sammy Nabulsi for their insights on the variance process in Boston. Thanks to the Pepperdine Law Review and Shelley Saxer for hosting us for their symposium, A Faster Way Home, and to Vicki Been, Sara Bronin, Chris Elmendorf, Paavo Monkkonen, Moira O'Neill, Chris Serkin, and Ken Stahl for comments and sug- gestions. Rachel Cloutier, Joseph Ruggiero, and Kevin Harrington provided excellent research assis- tance. Any errors and all expressions of opinion are our own. 443

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