'Farmhouse Fixer' star Jonathan Knight SUED by Trustees of Reservations after six years of feud over historic land
ESSEX, MASSACHUSETTS: ‘Farmhouse Fixer’ star Jonathan Knight is reportedly caught in a lawsuit filed by the Trustees of Reservations, Massachusetts’ biggest land trust, for allegedly violating conservation land restrictions on one of the star’s properties in Essex. Knight apparently owns six acres of plot in the area with conservation land restrictions that prohibit development for the preservation of the historic land over a hundred years old. Knight’s plot is part of a 100-acre farm called Bothways Farm that’s been divided among other owners who must adhere to maintaining its “agricultural nature," reported Boston Magazine.
The reality TV star has been in a back-and-forth dispute with the trustees for nearly six years after he tried to move a house on the land back about 120 feet. Knight had claimed he wanted to move the house further from the road since he found the area noisy. But the Trustees of Reservations disapproved of the star’s decision and told him he couldn’t go ahead with the project. Finally, Knight ended up relocating the house to another piece of land that was not under conservation land restrictions. But his troubles allegedly did not subside even then. After he tried to replace the building with a barn that would be converted into a house, the Trustees slapped a lawsuit on Knight, as per the source outlet.
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According to Boston News 25, the ‘Farmhouse Fixer’ star said, “I sat in my kitchen with the Trustees and my lawyer, and we discussed building a barn that would be converted into a house because in the restriction it just talks about structures. It doesn’t talk about their use.” He also elaborated on the issue, stating, “They said it would be a simple process. It would just be a vote in on the board, and they don’t think it would be that much of a big deal.” And continued saying that the trustees accused him of intending to rent out the house, saying, “That meeting never happened. Then they come back to me and say, ‘We don’t trust you. You’re going to rent it out to Airbnb and all this crazy nonsense.”
Knight told Boston 25 News that the original argument was over the meaning of the phrase “substantially in the same location,” written in the conservation restriction. “What is substantially the same location?” he asked, according to the news station. As per the lawsuit, the Trustees claim the reality star knew the rules and still tried to develop the land in a way that went against the land’s restrictions. In response, Knight claimed that while he knew about the limits, the Trustees frequently changed the rules. He claimed, “So for the past six years, we’ve been negotiating with them, and it just goes nowhere. And then they push the goalpost somewhere else, and it’s just constantly going. Nothing gets resolved.” He added, “Sometimes it just gets to be a little too much.”
The trustees say that they viewed legal action as a last resort and were only trying to “protect” the historic land. Their statement read, “We appreciate the owners’ love for the property and have worked diligently over the last six years to maintain an open line of communication with them, but it is the Trustees’ legal responsibility to protect the land as spelled out in the conservation restriction.” They also claimed that these restrictions are enforced on all land owners, writing, “Also, we enforce the rights and obligations of owners of all properties subject to this specific Conservation Restriction equally according to the plain language of the Conservation Restriction.” The statement also said, “We will not make exceptions that run afoul of our responsibilities to protect land that’s been under our care for nearly half a century.”
Knight’s land is currently managed by his friend Scott Harmon. Harmon and Knight have stated to the news outlet that they hope to resolve the issue soon.
