Also known as: special permits · special use permit
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A zoning approval authorizing a land use that the ordinance permits only after administrative review confirms the use satisfies specified standards. The approval process evaluates whether the proposed use will create particular harms or requires case-by-case conditions even though the use is listed as allowable in the district.
Santiago Sanchez applied for a special permit to open a supervised residence for adults with intellectual disabilities in a residential zone. The board denied the application after neighbors submitted letters expressing fear of the residents' mental condition. The denial rested solely on that prejudice rather than any difference in traffic or density impacts from other approved congregate housing.
Stephen Shaw owned two oceanfront lots and sought a special permit to build single-family homes after new coastal regulations restricted development. The state agency refused the permit because the lots would be submerged at high tide under the new rules. Shaw argued the denial eliminated all economically viable use of the land.
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Scott Summers and other low-income plaintiffs sought to build multifamily housing but the town required a special permit that officials routinely withheld. The town had used the special permit process along with other devices to block projects serving moderate-income and minority residents. The plaintiffs claimed the pattern prevented construction of needed housing.
Samuel Soto submitted plans for a commercial building and applied for the required special permit. City officials rejected the application because the design did not match their unstated aesthetic preferences. The court found the lack of published standards left the board with unguided discretion.
Stella Shapiro operated a private residence where consenting adults gathered. Local officials demanded a special permit for the gatherings and threatened enforcement when none was obtained. The challenge asserted that the permit requirement improperly targeted personal relationships.
Sabrina Shah owned shoreline property and applied for a special permit to fill wetlands for a home site. The county denied the permit to preserve the land in its natural state under shoreland zoning rules. Shah claimed the denial prevented any reasonable use of the parcel.
A special permit authorizes a use the zoning ordinance already lists as allowable in the district once administrative standards are met. A variance instead grants relief from a prohibition that would otherwise apply.
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Denial violates equal protection when the board acts solely on community prejudice against residents with intellectual disabilities rather than on legitimate land-use factors such as traffic or density. Rational basis review still requires a legitimate governmental interest.
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No. Opposition resting only on stereotypes or fear about the identity of future residents supplies no legitimate governmental interest. The board must ground its decision in objective zoning criteria.
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No. The requirement receives rational basis review unless the denial substantially burdens religious exercise under RLUIPA. Courts examine whether the board applied neutral standards or singled out the religious use.
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…Living Center, supra , we held that it was irrational for a State to require a home for the mentally disabled to obtain a special use permit when other residences—like fraternity houses and apartment buildings—did not have to obtain such a permit. And in Romer v. Evans , we disallowed a state statute that "impos[ed] a broad and…