1937-04-30 - Laserfiche WebLink

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a Mr. Arthur F'. Mason of Watertown Street said that he rep- resented George W. Norton, the owner of the Peacock Farm, who has been a resident of Lexington fDr some forty years. Mr. Mason said that Mr. Childs called on Mr. Norton when he first started the filling station proposition and Ptr. Norton under- stood that the filling; station proposition and Mr. Tlorton understood that the filling station was going to be on the other side of the Turnpike and he did not object. kfterwards when he found that it was to be right opposite his driveway, he did nbject. Mr. Mason said that at the first board of Appeals hearing before the Board, he objected on behalf of Mr. Norton. At the Town Meeting, Childs' attorney made a statement that Mr. Norton was in favor of this location which was absolutely wrong, and he considered that misrepre- sentation. Mr. Childs applied for a filling station and that had gone through. They did not want to object to every- thing, but a salesroom would mean the selling of cars which would be on display and would mean that people would be coming there to trade cars. They would not want an automo- bile graveyard at their front door and there is no question but that there will be used cars there that have been traded in and left. Mr. Beason said that they very strongly opposed the granting of this permit for the maintenance of a sales- room. ' Mr. Neil H. Borden stated that he followed Mr. Mason as one of the two people most intimately affected by this matter outside of Mr. Childs. What Mr. Childs is asking for is their loss. It is a question of a privilege being given one man in contrast to what is being taken away from others. He said that this matter had been bandied back and forth so much that it had got to be an old story. Mr. Borden said that as a person being most affected, he had been in a very bad position all along and he thought that the matter should be determined upon the merits of the question. The FlanninE Board presented a plan for the development of the highway and they thought that it was a good plan and they got the best of expert advice in laying it out. the Town voted to permit a filling station to go in at this location and he accepted that. They then tried to save as much of that plan as they could and they presented the idea of the T.1 zone designed to keep the highway free from all business other than that ess- ential to the hi�iway. They thought gasoline stations were essential to the highway but they did not want them on corners. The filling station is going in at the corner of Watertown Street and the new highway, and to permit any other business to be combined with it, tends to increase the danger hazard. Mr. Borden said that a showroom meant a salesroom and if it did not Mr. Childs would not want it to go in there. He did not think that it was for the best interests of the Town to allow it. Mr. Borden said thatthere was another phase to be considered, which was the protection of real estate values