Driscoll v. Gheewalla

In Driscoll v. Gheewalla, 441 A.2d 1023 (Me. 1982), the Court ordered a variance reinstated after the Superior Court had overturned it. Id. at 1025. Applicants had been granted a variance from the setback requirements so they could build on a larger portion of their lot, and the abutters brought an 80B appeal. Id. Although the ZBA did not explicitly make a finding that there could be no reasonable return without the variance, the Law Court stated that the record "implicitly supports such a finding." Id. at 1029. The Court did advise boards to clearly state legal conclusions and factual bases for decisions, but the absence of a specific finding did not prevent the Court from reaching the merits. Id. at 1030, n. 5.