Supreme Judicial Court Rules View Easements May Not Be Limited to 30 Years

Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., April 2007

In Patterson v. Paul, SJC-09847 (March 30, 2007), the Supreme Judicial Court held that certain “view easements” intended to protect the view of one property owner by restricting development on the property of another may not be affected by a statutorily imposed limit on the duration of restrictions on land. 

G.L. c. 184, § 23 provides that “restrictions on land” are limited to a duration of 30 years.  This 30-year limit has been applied in past cases to prohibitions against operation of a competing business enterprise on a certain parcel and to the construction of any house higher than one story in a subdivision.  In Patterson, the owners of property subject to the view easements argued that they were also subject to such a restriction.  Because they were prevented from altering or developing portions of their property in any way that would affect the protected view of their neighbors, the property owners argued the view easement should be limited to the statutory duration of 30 years. 

The Court held, however, that the view easement was not simply a negative restriction.  The easement holders were also granted the right to enter onto their neighbors’ property on an annual basis to personally trim and maintain vegetation as necessary to maintain the protected view.  Because the “view easement” also included a right to physically enter the property—even if only on an annual basis for a limited purpose—it was not simply a “restriction on land.”  Therefore, the 30-year limit imposed by G.L. c. 184, § 23 did not apply, and the view easement may continue to exist in perpetuity, like an easement for access or any other purpose.

For more information, please contact Krista Hawley at khawley@bdlaw.com.