Greenwood Court Case Moving to Next Phase

The next phase of a court challenge to rezoning the vacant Greenwood Middle School will be distribution of the court transcipt to the two sides.

After the transcript is provided, both sides will have 30 days to file legal briefs, said Town Administrator Tom Younger. 

The parties can also request final oral argument, he said. 

The case got underway Jan. 10 in Boston Land Court.

Arthur MacLeod and at least 12 other plaintiffs maintain the rezoning — allowing substantial higher density — is "spot" zoning and impermissable.

The town of Swampscott denies that the rezoning is impermissable.

On the first day of the trial those providing testimony included neighbors who had filed the claim, and witnesses from the town’s side (Jill Sullivan and Angela Ippolito), Younger confirmed.

On the second day witnesses provided testimony from both sides. Mike McClung from the Finance Committee also gave testimony.

Once the Land Court judge makes his decision and enters the judgment, the parties have 30 days to file a notice of appeals to the Appeals Court, Younger said. 

"It is also very difficult to determine how long an appeal would take," the town administrator said.

Groom Construction is proposing to buy the old Middle School building from the town and tear it down. It would replace it with a 41-unit condominum building.

Developers have said that the building is deteriorating and has limited historical significance left, and to preserve it would cost much more than to demolish it. 

A number of Greenwood Avenue residents have said at local meetings that the development's traffic and density — 41 residential units — would destroy the neighborhood's character.