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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1936-10-30 224 BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING. OCTOBER 30, 1936. ' A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the Selectmen ' s Room, Town Office Building, at 8:00 P.M. Chairman Maddison and Messrs. Robbins, Kimball, and Glynn were present. The Secretary was also present. At 8:00 P. ". hearing was declared open upon the application of Charles W. Ryder for permission to maintain a convalescent home at 84 Cary Avenue, Lexington. The notice of the hearing was read by the Clerk. Mr. Robert L. Ryder spoke in favor of the petition. He stated that he had in mind trying to afford an opportuni`y to use a piece of property which C.W. Ryder owns; to put the property to some purpose which will show some return on the investment, to enable him to pay his interest and taxes . He felt that the property was suited for use as a convalescent home, and that it would not be objectionable to the neighborhood. He said that he had heard rumors that there were objectors. Mr. Ryder has been unable to use the property for anything on account of the Zoning Law, and it is no longer in demand for an individual home on account of its size. It was a lovely private home and it has all the qualities today that it had then. It is a private residence and was there before any of the present homes were built. Shorly after Mr. McIntosh purchased the property ( the owner previous to Ryder), it vas used for a sort of boarding house, and be believed that under the present Zoning Act it could be used as a boarding house again. However, Mr. Ryder felt that that would not be desirable, not nearly as desirable as the use `-o which he wishes to put it nov. Mr. Ryder has someone who is willing to go in there and lease the property. They are respectable people, and they expect to run a high-class convalescent home. The house is large enough for this, and the grounds are ample. Mr. Ryder said that he felt that his brother was justified in asking for this permit. The Board of Assess- ors has refused to abate the taxes which they are paying on a 12, 500. assessment, and the property cannot be used for any purpose at present. The Chairman asked Mr. Ryder to furnish more inform- ation as to the type of use the building was to be put to . Mr. Ryder said that the home was to be run by a per- son who is a trained nurse, and who knows how to run a home . She will have the usual patient who would want to take advantage of a home for the aged or convalescent. The Chairman asked if the Building was to be used as a sanatorium. Mr. Ryder replied in the negative, and said that that was not its purpose. He thought that it would be similar to the one run by Miss Bond on Waltham Street . 225 ' Mr. Glynn asked if Mr. Ryder thought that the pros- pective tenant would he willing to come before the Board and give more detailed information as to just what she wanted the place for, and Mr. Ryder said he had no doubt but that the woman would be willing to do this. He said that the woman came from Vermont , and was staying with her brother, who lives in Lexington. The Chairman asked Mr. Ryder under which section of the Zoning Law he thought the Board could act, and Mr. Ryder said that he thought the Board could act under Section 6B, under R1 Districts. Mr. Neil McIntosh stated that he would like to know more of the type of patients and the kind of a hospital it would become. He would li' e to see the fine old house put to some use . Before he owned the property it was owned by a Mr. Fairbanks, who raised gladioli there, and the place was used for business from 1917 through 1925. In 1926 McIntosh sold the property to Miss Minnie Garvin, who ran a boarding house there . Then the Mohawk Club took the property, and ran a business. He said that for the last twenty years it had been unfitfor a home. The house has twenty-four rooms, and unless one had large means and could keep several servants, he could not live there. He ' thought that any decent use that would not be detrimental should be allowed. If the property was going to be used in a proper way, he was in favor of granting the petition. Mr. Roberft Boleyn of Shade Street stated that he had tried to find out how far a convalescent home could go, and found tZat it could be used for mental cases , d.t ' s, or anything of that type. He said that he purchased his home in 1927, and after he bought his property McIntosh offered the Cary Farm to him. He purchased his home on the strength of the Zoning Laws, and said that Ryder knew that the place was in a residential district when he bought the place . He stated that he was utterly opposed to the granting of the permit. Mr. Glynn asked Mr. Boleyn if he was opposed to it under any conditions, or if he would still oppose it if it was properly operated. Mr. Boleyn said that he prob- ably would not be opposed to it in that case, but that he was prejudiced on account of past experience. Mr. William P. Knecht of 68 Shade Street said that he acquired his property last April and clocked up on the Zoning Laws before he purchased. He said that he moved to Lexington because he wanted a home for his three children, and living that close to an institution of that kind was ' not conducive to good living. He said that this type of an institution could be changed into a psychopathic home . He said that he sympathized with Mr. Ryder, but did not 226 think that the neigh ors should be asked to agree to this . He said that he would never have moved to Lexington if he thought that the Cary Mansion would be used for any- thing such as this. Mr. Glynn asked Mr. Knecht if he preferred to see the house used for taking boarders, and he said that he did rot wish to answer this, but he did object to its being used for a convalescent home . He said that if the property was used as a boarding house and they were bothered, that they would have recourse. Mr. Glynn asked Yr. Knecht if what he said was based on his belief that the place might become a nuisance. Mr. Knecht said that even as well-run as Danvers is that a man escaped last Sunday, and he did not think that the tax-payers should have to face such a r ,s�.. Before he moved here he understood that the Zoning Laws were strictly apheld. Mr. Ryder said that if Knecht checked up on the Zoning Laws he should have known that they allowed a convalescent home on the property, if allowed by the Board of Appeals . Mr . Knecht said that he did not check that point . Mrs. Robert Boleyn said that she objected to the petition because it meant a variance of the Zoning Law and she did not want a v .triance in her vicinity. Yr. Glynn said that he thought it .vould be interesting to hear the objections of the other persons in the group. Mr. X. A. Burrill of 55 Shade Street said that he had just moved here, and when he bought the property he was assured that he was protected by Zoning Laws, and he did not want to live so close to a sanatorium. if it was turned into a sanatorium he would feel tha'- he would have to move . The Chairman informed the group that some forty-two persons had signed a paper in opposition to the granting of the petition. Mr. Andresen of 84 Shade Street stated that he lived right opposite the Cary house, and several times when it was being operated as a club his family was awakened in the middle of the night. One time a car that came from the club was smashed up in front of his house. He was not so much opposed to the convalescent home, but was afraid on account of his previous experience. He said that patients would be walking around outside, and anything such as that did not make a good impression on children. He signed the paper in opposition because he felt that the Zoning Law should not be varied. The Chairman asked Andresen if he would still feel the same way if no mental or alcoholic cases were allowed. He said that if only ill or aged people were allowed, he could not object, as these people would be inside . 227 eThe Chairman stated that this was not a petition to change the Zoning Law, but was a petition to vary the application of it, and that the Board of Anne els might inflict such restrictions as it wished. Mrs . Knecht stated that she objected to rearing her family in the vicinity of an institution where people were either sick, aged, or mental. Mr. H V. Rivinius stated that he had just bought a house at 53 Cary Avenue, and that he objected to any change in the Zoning Law that will permit an institution. He thought that it would be detrimental to the raising of a family. Mr. S. Gaposchkin of 94 Shade Street said that he had been living in Lexington since March, and did not see any reason for allowing an institution in a residential area. Mr. G. A. Knox of 63 Shade Street said that if any- thing objectionable came into the neighborhood it would devaluate the property and create a nuisance. The Chairman stated that J. Willard Hayden wished to be recorded in opposition to the petition. Mr. Ryder said that he wished to call the Board' s atten�ion to one thing. He said that it was fairly definite that the people on Shade Street were opposed to his petition, and he appreciated their reasons , but felt that they were very much exaggerated. He could not see haw a person who was ill was particularly objectionable and he did not think they would have any ill effects on either children or grown people. He asked the Board to make inquiry as to a private school located in the Town of Lancaster, which is more of a residential town than Lexington. He said that the people who lived there were all fine, the so-called "blue-bloods". There is a home for deficient children right in the center of the Town and the residents have never objected to it. Mr. Ryder said that his brother-in-law operated the home . Mr. Ryder said that he could not conceive how a convalescent home could possibly effect the values of the houses in the vicinity. This is the only purpose that the property can be used for that he knew of. If the property cannot be used for this, his brother is not going to carry it forever, and they may have to turn it over to someone to run as a cheap boarding house, although they do not want to. Mg'. Robert Fawcett asked if the residents could have any guaranty that if the home was not a financial success that it would not be turned into a home for inebriates or mental defectives. The Chairman replied in the affirmative, and said that the Board could limit that . Mr . McIntosh asked if the permit could be revoked if the person did not adhere to the restrictions imposed in the permit, and the Chairman answered in the affirmative. He said that the Building Inspector would have to enforce the Zoning Law, although it mizht mean a court case. Mr. McIntosh said that he was in favor of granting 228 CTI the petition subject to such restrictions the Board might impose. One of the persons present asked if the objectors would be allowed to be present when the Board inter- viewed the woman who wanted to operate the convalescent home. The Chairman declared a recess, after which the Chairman informed the group that the Board was ready to adjourn the hearing to Friday evening, November 6th at eight o ' clock. He requested Mr. Ryder to ask his prospective tenant to appear at that time . The people retired. The records of the meetings held on October 20th and 23rd were approved. The meeting adjourned at 9 :00 P.P . A true record, Attest: G%^F Clerk. 1 I