You Asked: What's New With Greenwood Court Case

So, what is new with the court challenge to rezoning the vacant Greenwood Middle School.

The Boston Land Court case has been assigned to a Fast Track and is scheduled for a case management conference on April 24 at 11 a.m.

The conference is a chance for the parties to talk about scheduling.

Here is a defintion of a case management conference, as provided by uslegal.com There are various stages in litigation, such as the filing of a complaint, answers, the discovery process (interrogatories, subpoenae, depostions, etc.), and motions that occur before a trial is held or a decision is rendered. Each stage of the process has a scheduled timeframe in which it must be filed with the court or completed. When a complaint is filed and a case is assigned to a judge, the judge will often set forth a schedule for the submission or completion of the relevant pleadings, court appearances, and other matters."

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).

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.