Opinion ID: 2074706
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Duffys' Right to Intervene

Text: The Milders argue that only the town has standing to enforce its zoning ordinances, and in this case the town opted to enforce its zoning code by initiating an action in municipal court. The fact that the town did not appeal the adverse decision, they seem to suggest, ends the matter and the Duffys should not have been granted intervenor status by the hearing justice. Although we have said that only a town may initiate a suit to enjoin violations of local zoning ordinances, an exception to this rule applies when it can be established that the town solicitor does not adequately represent the interests of abutting landowners. Town of Coventry v. Hickory Ridge Campground, Inc., 111 R.I. 716, 720-21, 306 A.2d 824, 827 (1973). In these situations, abutting landowners are allowed to intervene as of right. Id. It is significant that here it was not the town that initiated the Superior Court litigation to determine the rights of the parties under the zoning ordinance, but the Milders. It also appears beyond dispute that the Duffys and the town at all times had different interests. The town's complaint in municipal court dealt primarily with the corral area and also the number of horses on the property, which the town alleged improperly expanded the prior nonconforming use. [15] However, the Duffys fiercely contested the Milders' right to have any horses on lot No. 24. In view of the facts in this case, including but not limited to the divergent interests of the Duffys and the Town of East Greenwich, it is our opinion that the hearing justice did not err when he permitted the Duffys to intervene. B