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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1935-06-28 137 BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING JUNE 28th, 1935 . A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the Select- menrs Room, Town Office Building, at 8 P. M. Messrs Maddison, Ferguson, Glynn, Kimball and Robbins were present. The Secre- tary was also present. The hearing was declared open at 8 P . M. on the application of Bessie Baker, 563 Marrett Road, Lexin-ton, to vary the ap- plication of Section 9 (f) of the Zoning By-Law with respect to the premises at 553 Marrett Road, by permitting the maintenance of a roadside stand to sell vegetables grown by her on her own property. Mrs. Baker stated that she was renting the property owned by Russell Bray at 563 Marrett Road and that she had already planted vegetables on the property. She stated that the land on which the stand which she wishes to operate is located, is owned by Mr John Waugh of Cambridge and was formerly owned by the Misses Anna A. and Louise M. Hannaford. She stated that Mr. Waugh had Niven her permission to ise the land which he owned and furnished the Chairman with a written statement which Mr. Waugh had made as follows: "I allow Mrs. Baker to use the land owned by me on Marrett Road , Lexington, to plant on until fall, 1935. Also to use the small building without charge" . She thought that she would like to add to her income by maintaining a stand to sell vegetables. The Chairman asked if Mrs . Baker leased the land from Mr. Waugh and he was informed that she did not lease the land, she was merely given he privilege of using it until fall, 1935. The Chairman inquired how large her garden was and she said that it was a good-sized garden, but gave no dimensions, merely stating that she had planted both on the Bray and Waugh proper- ties . The Chairman asked Mrs . Baker what she planned to sell and she stated that she wished to sell all kinds of vegetables . Mr. Glynn inquired if there was a roadside stand now built on the pjoperty. Mrs. Baker informed him that there was a stand there now but that she intended to make repairs to it. She said that she understood that all vegetables sold would have to be grown by her. Mr. Glynn asked if she wished to display any signs . Mrs . Baker asked the Board if it would be against the rules of the Board or the Town if she were to erect a sign and stated that she thought a small sign with the words "Vegetables for sale" might be desirable. The Board informed her that a small sign under six square feet in area was permissable. The Chairman asked if there was a driveway to the stand and Mrs . Baker stated that there was a circular drive. No other persons spoke in favor of the petition. 138 C31 Miss Anna A. Hannaford of Middleby Road, Lexington, spoke in opposition to the granting of the petition. Miss Hannaford stated that she had been operating a roadside stand on the prop- erty in question for twenty-five years and was therere c�$ 1� d pattdipin $gb4E Vge1P1tB!n "'e'4� tinto effect s e appeare be ore he oa d f elec �men and s e was granted a permit to do business even though her property was outside of the business area, with the provision that the permit w as never to be used after the Hannaford family died out. She stated that the area involved had a frontage of 275 feet and was 3B0 feet deep. Her sister, Louise M. Hannaford, had paid 43000. for the property and two years ago Mr. John Waugh took a mortgage in the amount of 5;1200. Some time in January of this year, Waugh foreclosed the mortga -e and claimed, therefor, that he was the owner of the property. Miss Hannaford stated that her sister had six months in which to redeem the property and that this time is not yet up, and that she was endeavoring to procure 01200. in order to red.4em it. When Waugh took a mortgage on the property, Miss Hannaford gave him the deed to the place and Waugh promised to erect a new stand and even furnished a plan of the same . Some time ago however, during the night, he erected a small shack, and according to the Hannaford sisters, this building was erected without a permit. The Chairman informed Miss Hannaford that that matter did not affect this Board. Miss Louise M. Hannaford stated that she objected to the granting of the permit; that she still had right of redemption and was endeavoring to get the property back; that she felt that the Board should not grant the permit until the question of the title was definitely settled. Mr. 2homas Heaney of 570 Marrett Road stated that he believed that there was an error in the notice of the hearing that he had received and the Chairman explained that there had been a cler- ical error. Mr. Heaney stated that he lived within 100 feet of the property in questionand was the nearest abutter and hn objected to the granting of the petition. The Chairman inquired if Heaney would object if the .Hanna- ford' s were making an application, and Heaney stated that he could not object, that they already had a permit long before the Zcning Law went into effect. Louise M. Hannaford stated that the land nearest the Bray property was owned by one Josephine Merton, a secretary in the office of Mr. John Waugh' s attorney. The Chairman asked if there were any more persons desiring to speak and as there were not, he declared the hearing closed and stated that the matter would be taken under advisement. The Chairman stated that Mrs. Baker did not ha=re a lease 139 on the property and therefor could not be regarded as the owner and that the matter would be entirely different if furs . Baker had a lease. He stated that on a foreclosed mortgage, the mortgagee has the title to the property, but the mortgagor has six months in which to redeem the property. He thought that inasmuch as the stand was built before the Zoning By-Law went into effect and the permit hal been granted, it really should go with the land and not with the owner. Mr. Ferguson stated that before a decision was reached, he thought he would like to see how much land the Baker' s were going to cultivate for if they were going to farm only* a very small area, he did not feel that the permit should be granted. The Board felt that there was a qLestion as to the owner of the property and that if a permit were granted to Mrs. Baker at this time and if the title reverted back to the Hannaford' s, that Mrs . Baker would have been put to unnecessary expense . The Board voted unanimously to deny the petition in the following form: The Beard of Appeals, acting under General Laws, Chapter 40, sec . 27, having received a written petition addressed to it by Bessie Baker. a copy of which is hereto annexed, held a public hearing thereon of which notice was mailed to the petitioner and to the owners of all property deemed by the Board to be affected thereby as they appear on the most recent local tax list, and also advertised in the Lexington Minute-Man, a newspaper published in Lexington, which hearing was held in the Selectmen' s Room, in the Town Office Building on June 28th, 1935. All of the members of the Board were present at the hearing. A certificate of notice is hereto annexed. At this herring evidence was offered on be- half of the petitioner tending to show: That she occupies the property formerly known as the Bray property adjoining 553 Marrett Road; she presented a letter from John Waugh who claimed to he the owner of the property on Marrett Road, giving her permission to plar1 thereon until fall, 1935, to raise vegetal-les and to use the small building on his land; that she raised produce on both properties and desired a permit for a roadside s1- and to sell the same. Evidence was o* fered on behalf of citizens opposing the granting of the slid petition tending to show that there was some question as regards the ownership of the property at 553 Marrett Road. At the close of the hearing the Board in private session June 28th, 1935 gave consideration to the subject of the petition and voted unanimously in favor of the following findings : 1. That in its judgment the public convenience and welfare will not be substantially served by the making of the exception requested. 140 2. That the except on requested will tend to impair the status of the neighborhood. 3. That the exception requested will not be in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the regulations in the Lexington Zoning By-Law. 4. That the enforcement of the Lexington Zoning By-Law as to the locus in question would not involve practical diffi- culty and unnecessary hardship and the relief requested may not be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantially derogating from the intent and purpose of such Lexington Zoning By-law. Pursuant to the said findings,. the Board hereby denies the said petition of Bessie Baker for permission to maintain a road- side stand to sell vegetables grown by her on her own property. There is considerable question in the minds of the Board, as the petitioner is not, in the opinion of the Board, the owner of the property at 553 Marrett Road; further that she has no lease of property given for a consideration. Furthermore from the evi- dence offered at the hearing, there seems to be more or less question as to the title of the property at 553 Marrett Road. Z'he Board hereby makes a detailed record of all its pro- ceedings relative to such petition and hereby sets forth that the reasons for its decision are its findings hereinbefore set forth and the testimony presented at the said hearing, includ- ing that herein summarized, and directs that this record im- mediately following this decision shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk of Lexington and shall be a public record and that notice of this decision shall be mailed forthwith to each party in interest. BOARD OF AI -LALS OF LEXINGTON (Appointed under G. L. Ch. 40, sec. 27 ) Arthur N. Maddison C . Edward Glynn Edward W. Kimball Charles E. Ferguson Howard W. Robbins I, Howard W. Robbins, Clerk of the Board of Appeals of Lex- ington appointed under General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 27, hereby certify that I sent by postage certificate of mailing on the 13th day of June, 1935, to Marie A. Miller et al, George W. & Helen B. Saran°, Edward J. & Margaret Y. McNamara, Frank E. Bou- gie, Mary M. King, Joseph Warren Co-op. Bank, Lexington Lumber 141 Company, Carl A. Thayer, Waltham Co-op. Bank, Katherine Whit- tier, Sylvia H. Aker, Augusta C. Holm, Gladys Harvey, Theresa A. Connor and Anna A. Sennott, Johanna Hultman, Edgar F. & Emily R. Scheibe, Neil McIntosh, Irene F. Webb, Richard Whit- temore, Charles E. & Lillian E. Goodridge, Charles W. & Robert L. Ryder, Margrethe Kargaard, Russell S. Bray, Louise M. Hannaford, Robert J. Fawcett, Robert P. Trask, Robert L. Innis and Dougal McLennan, Charles W. & Mary A. Fittz, Jose- phine R. Martinage, Thomas J. & Jennie Heaney, Frank A. & Mary Napoli, Highland Trust Co. , Bessie Baker, and also ad- vertised in the Lexington Minute-Man on June 13, 1935, a notice of which the following is a true copy. Howard W. Robbins Clerk, Board of Appeals. June 12, 1935. Lexington Board of Zoning Appeals Town Office Building Lexington, Mass. ' Gentlemen: The undersigned hereby petition the Lexington Board of Appeals, appointed under General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 27, to vary the application of section 9 (f) of the Lexington Zoning By-law with respect to the premises at Marrett Road owned by John Waugh of Cambridge, Mass. , by permitting the following: Roadside stand to sell vegetables grown by me on my own property. Bessie Baker (Signature ) 563 Marrett Rd. (Address ) Lexington, Mass. NOT I C E Lexington, Mass. June 12, 1935. The Board of Appeals will hold a hearing on the matter of varying the application of the Zoning Law by permitting on the premises owned by Louise M. Hannaford as of January 1st, 1935, and located at 553 Marrett Road, Lexington, a roadside stand to sell produce grown on the property, under the Lexington Zoning Law or in accordance with Chapter 40, Section 27A of the General Laws, and amendments. 142 The hearing will be held on June 28th, 1935, at 8:00 P.M. in the Selectmen's Room, •'own Office Building, Lexington, Mass. Arthur N. Maddison, Chairman, Board of Appeals. The records of the meeting held on June 21st, 1935, were approved with corrections as noted by the Chairman. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 P. M. A true record, Attest: `4C (C0r2 lerk.