| Palazzolo was not a land-use victim
Timothy J. Dowling, Washington, D.C.; Chief Counsel for the
Community Rights Counsel, was counsel for amici planners and local
officials in Palazzolo
The National Law Journal, April 16, 2001
In your March 20 issue, Marcia Coyle portrays Anthony
Palazzolo as just another landowner who wants to make reasonable use of
his property. The trial court found, however, that Mr. Palazzolo's
proposed development would be a nuisance because it would threaten drinking
water supplies and reduce commercial and recreational fish populations.
No one else has been allowed to destroy the ecologically
vital wetlands surrounding Winnapaug Pond on such a massive scale.
Mr. Palazzolo seeks preferential treatment at the expense of the public
good. There undoubtedly are cases in which landowners become
unfairly entangled in the land use process and subsequent
litigation. This isn't one of them. The real story is not the
cost of litigation to a landowner with a reasonable claim against the government,
but the cost imposed on the citizens of Rhode Island and the courts by the
relentless pursuit of a baseless claim.
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