Dan Hill has more than 20 years of experience in land use and environmental law. Dan is a recognized expert in the permitting of mixed-income housing developments under Chapter 40B. He regularly works with municipalities and resident groups to ensure that development projects follow environmental protection regulations, safety and health standards, and conform to local planning objectives. Dan represents public and private clients before local boards and commissions, the state’s trial and appellate courts, federal district court, the Housing Appeals Committee, and other state administrative agencies.
Dan was trial and appellate counsel for the plaintiff in a landmark Chapter 40B case, Reynolds v. Stow Zoning Bd. of Appeals, in which the Massachusetts Appeals Court annulled a comprehensive permit for a proposed 37-unit apartment project due to public health concerns with the project’s septic system. Dan was also permitting and trial counsel for the plaintiffs/abutters in a Land Court case that annulled a special permit for the construction of a pharmacy in Winchester, Massachusetts, which violated numerous zoning bylaw requirements. In 2016, he defended the decision of the Dighton Conservation Commission denying approval of a massive Chapter 40B project that would have harmed sensitive wetlands, including five certified vernal pools.
Dan graduated from the University of Vermont (1996), and from Northeastern University School of Law (1999). He started his career with the firms Kopelman & Paige, PC and Anderson & Kreiger, LLP, before founding Hill Law in 2008. He currently serves on the Planning Board in his hometown of Wayland, and was its Chairman from 2017–2019.
