Opinion ID: 2347740
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Development under construction on January 1, 1970

Text: The defendants' final claim to exemption under section 488 in relation to Hillview Heights Section 2 is that the development was under construction on January 1, 1970. In enacting this particular statutory provision, the Legislature neglected to qualify the extent of activity required for a development to be under construction. We believe, however, that a developer must expend a substantial amount of money or effort towards the completion of a development before the project is entitled to an exemption. The test of substantiality, moreover, involves an assessment of the amount of money or effort expended in relation to the amount required to complete the development. Aries Development Co. v. California Coastal Zone Cons. Com'n, 48 Cal.App.3d 534, 122 Cal.Rptr. 315 (1975); Gosselin v. City of Nashua, 114 N.H. 447, 321 A.2d 593 (1974); Edelbeck v. Town of Theresa, 57 Wis.2d 172, 203 N.W.2d 694 (1973); Hempstead v. Lynne, 32 Misc.2d 312, 222 N.Y.S.2d 526 (1961). In the present case, the president of Saco Construction, Inc. testified that the ultimate development costs of Hillview Heights Section 2 would be between $1,500,000 and $4,000,000. The record fails to reveal the amount of money expended for the road and utility work which had occurred on HH2 as of January 1, 1970. We believe, however, that the money spent on these minor construction efforts was clearly insubstantial in relation to the anticipated costs of the residential development. The defendants assert, however, that the extent of construction involved in the present proceedings is similar to that of the recent case of State v. R. D. Realty Corp., Me., 349 A.2d 201 (1975). In that case, a developer cleared five miles of rough roads and constructed a cottage and a small airplane landing strip on a residential subdivision. We held in R. D. Realty that these development efforts constituted sufficient construction to warrant an exemption under § 488. Assuming that the level of construction achieved in Hillview Heights Section 2 on January 1, 1970 is equal to that of R. D. Realty, we, nevertheless, believe that the facts of that case are not controlling. The developer in R. D. Realty intended merely to sell vacant lots to the public. In contrast, the developer in the present case embarked upon a much more costly undertaking: the construction of approximately 80 homes equipped with utilities and paved roads. Saco Construction, Inc. would accordingly have to expend a greater construction effort than the subdivider in R. D. Realty before Hillview Heights Section 2 could be considered to be under construction within the meaning of the Site Location Law. We hold, therefore, that Hillview Heights Section 2 is not exempt from regulation under the Site Location Law, and that there was no error in the ruling of the Superior Court Justice to that effect.