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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1938-05-06 140 BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING ' May 6, 1938 A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the Select- men 's Room, Town Office Building, at 8:00 P. M. Chairman Maddison, Messrs. Ferguson, Glynn, Kimball, and Associate Member William H. Driscoll were present. The Secretary was also present. In the absence of Mr. Robbins, Mr. Kimball was elected Clerk Pro-tem. At 8:00 p. N. hearing was declared open upon application of the Lexington Trust Company for permission to erect and maintain a "For Sale" sign 4 ' x 6' in size, advertising the property at 3 Eliot Road, Lexington. The notice of the hearing was read by Clerk Pro-tem Kimball. Mr. Clarence S. Walker, representing the Lexington Trust Company, appeared in favor of the granting of the petition. He stated that the Trust Company was desirous of selling the property at the corner of Eliot and Pelham Roads . At the present time, they have a small "For Sale" sign on Mass . Ave. at Pelham Road, 2' x 3' . It does not properly describe the property, and might be construed to refer to the lot on which it stands . The bank would like to erect a larger sign set back twenty-five or fifty feet. They have not made any definite decision as to what the dimensions of the sign would be. It would read "For Sale" , and would describe the property as been a thirteen room house and containing 110,000 feet of land. It would be a good looking sign. The Chairman asked Mr. Walker why he thought the Board of Appeals had any authority to grant permission to erect and maintain such a sign. He said that the Zoning Law permitted real estate signs on property on which the sign was to be lo- cated. Mr. Walker said that he wished to alter that . The Chairman replied that the Board could not alter the Zoning Law. Mr. Walker stated that he had been mis-informed, then. He said he was told by one of the Selectmen that the bank could erect a larger sign by permit from the Board of Appeals . The Chairman said that a larger sign could be erected on a sub- division, but that this was not a sub-division. There is one lot, with one house . The Building Inspector was present at the hearing. He remarked that perhaps the bank would be willing to split up the land. Mr. ','talker said that if someone wanted to buy the house alone, then of course they would sell it. There are three tracts of land, acquired at three different times. There are three separate parcels and three separate deeds. 141 The Chairman said that he did not think that that would constitute a sub-division, as that to his mind was a plot of land divided into lots with streets, showing the division of the separate lots. Mr. Walker asked if the only thing to do was to change the Zoning Law, and the Chairman replied in the affirmative. No one appeared in opposition and the hearing was de- clared closed. At 8:15 P. M. hearings were declared open upon the application of the New. England Water Supply Corp. for per- mission to erect and maintain two buildings to house water pumping equipment on Westview Street . The notices of the hearings were read by the Clerk. Several persons appeared at the hearing, including Mr. Percy G. Crocker, treasurer of the company, who appeared in favor. He said that the U. S. Government had had a great deal of trouble in finding water for the Bedford Hospital. His company has spent about 0,000. driving wells, trying to find water in Bedford, but had been unsuccessful. Last August they found water on this land in Lexington, only a few hundred yards over the Bedford border. They took an option on the land, and did not realize that there would be any infraction of the Zoning Law. He said that the plant was almost entirely automatic, and only one man would be needed to take charge. The company intends to run a pipe line along the Boston & Maine railroad to the hospital. The government will start in paying for the plant the first month it is in operation. They will supply no one but the hospital. Mr. Crocker said that the pump houses would be eight feet long, twelve feet wide, and seven feet high. One pump house will be only eleven feet from the street line, and he said that he did not realize they were so near the line, but they had to put it there as the pump is there. The other is fifty or seventy-five feet back. Mr. Crocker said that his company would like an exemption from the Zoning Law so that it could go ahead with its work. He said that this was a government proposition, although the company had not appealed to the government for help. The Town of Bedford has made no provision for supplying water after the 1st of May. Mr. Glynn asked how far the work had progressed, and Crocker said that the two wells were driven, and they were ready to put up the houses . He said that they overlooked the question of zoning completely; the first they heard of it was from the Building Inspector. At first they did not even know they were in Lexington. They planned to plant trees, shrubs, etc . , to beautify the pump houses. He thought that instead of a de- triment, the houses would be an asset to the community. Mr. Glynn asked how deep the wells were, and Crocker said that they were fifty-two feet deep (521 ) . Letter was received from John A. Lyons of 1314 mass. Ave. stating that hehad no objection to the erection of the above- mentioned sign. 142 rj Mr. Glynn asked if the company expected to get enough water to supply water to the hospital for an indefinite period. Mr. Crocker said that the contract with the govern- ment called for a supply of three hundred gallons of water a minute, and they can pump eleven hundred gallons a minute. They are pumping 700,000 gallons of water per day for the N. E. Chemical Co. in Woburn now, and the water level has not been changed at all. Mr. Kimball asked what the speed of the pump was, and Mr. Crocker said that it had 1750 rev- olutions per minute. There is very little noise, though, and one could not tell from the outside whether or not the pump was in operation. Mr. Glynn asked if the wells were already driven, and Crocker said that the wells were driven and the motors and pumps were ordered, but not in. He said that the delay had been a very serious question with them. The men were thrown out of work. Mr. Glynn asked if the motor was connected through to the pump with a shaft, and he replied in the affirmative . The Chairman asked if the pump could be moved back, as the Zoning Law calls for a twenty foot set back. Crocker said that the only way to remedy the situation would be to run an underground shaft. Mechani- cally that would not be very good, and it would mean taking the matter up with Washington. The wells are located where they are because of the strata underneath. Mr. Glynn said that this would no doubt take a considerable amount of water from the underground water. Mr. Crocker said that 85% of the fresh water was underground, and the amount that these wells will take is really very samll. He said that his company was perfectly sure that it could supply all the water for the Metropolitan district without going forty miles away from Boston. Mr. Glynn asked if the question of locating the well twenty or twenty-five feet away from where it is now would make any difference, and Mr. Crocker said that it would. In Bedford they found a great deal of clay and sand. It is a question of the strata, and where you can get the best water. They analyzed the water before they took the contract, and the government also analyzed it and found it satisfactory. Mr. Glynn asked if he meant to state that it was just in this one spot that this particular strata was. Mr. Crocker said that he did not know just how many spots they had tested, but there were a great many. They did not find the proper strata on the Linehan land, hear where the pumps are to be located. He said that it was possible, however, that if they went down ten feet more they might find just what they wanted. Mr. Glynn asked the size of the apperture inside the cement. Mr. Crocker said that the casing tapered from 52" down to 48"; that is all excavated, then a screen 20" across goes in; outside the screen broken gravel is filled in. The well itself goes down thirty feet, and the construction of the well is quite complicated. 143 Mr. Kimball asked again how many test wells were driven before they decided on this location. Mr. Crocker said that he did not know, as he was not there. Their men were looking around Bedford for two and one-half months,and he imagined when they did find a location they were so glad to find it that they stopped making the tests . Mr. Glynn asked how much of an investment the company had in the wells as they stand now, and Mr. Crocker said that they had paid $14,000. to the Layne Bowler Company so far for what has been done. He said that the N. E. Water Supply Corp. puts up the money, but does not do the construction work. He said that the pipe line would run up into real money. Mr. Kimball asked if they intended to landscape the houses when they got through, and Mr. Crocker said that they did. They intend to have copper shutters rather than windows. Mr. Samuel Kalesky, attorney, said he represented three of the neighboring land-owners : Messrs. Melanson, Hurts do, and Defelice. He asked if the N. E. Water Supply Corporation was a Massachusetts Corporation, and Mr. Crocker replied in the affirmative. Kalesky asked it it was incorporated under the business laws of this Commonwealth, and Mr. Crocker answered in the affirmative. Kalesky asked if there were regular stock- holders, etc. , and Crocker said that there were . Kalesky said that this was purely a business venture, then. Mr. Charles A. Linehan said that his family had owned land in this section for sixty or seventy years, and that portion of the land which was taken by this company was waste land, and there was a pit behind it which was never used. Mr. Crocker said that the water would be drawn fifty feet below the grround, and would be taken from an area five miles square. Mr. Kalesky asked upon what he based his figure that there were billions of gallons of water there, and Mr. Crocker said it was based on the water shed. Mr. Paul Bowler appeared before the Board. He said that more water fell on the gravel pit per year alone than would be taken out of the ground for the Veteran's Hospital . He said they would draw ninety million gallons of water per year, and that would represent the rain fall over ninety acres of land per year. It would make no perceptible difference in the water level. Mr. Kalesky asked how he could guaranty the abutters that their water level would not be lowered and their soil made dry. Mr. Bowler said that the water level would not be effected; indeed, one could not tell in the pit itself that there was any lowering. Mr. Kalesky asked what would happen in the dry period. Mr. Bowler said that the reservoir was forty feet deep, of which 33 1/3% was void. There is a ten foot depth of water under that area, and in one acre of ground there is 3,000,000 of water stored. There are two hundred acres of ground in the gravel pit, or perhaps three hundred. The water in storage is replenished by each rainfall. Mr. Kalesky asked what there was to prevent them from getting the same results elsewhere Mr. Bowler said that 144 there was a natural filter bed on account of the sand, and it is a better business proposition because of the purity of the water. Mr. Kalesky asked Melanson if he ever had the condi- tion before, and he replied that he had been there for sixteen years, and the water had never been muddy. His well is 9i feet deep Mr. Glynn asked what kind of strata they went through in their borings. Mr. Bowler said that he could not tell offhand, but they had a log. They did not take any water until after a depth of thirty-five feet. Kalesky said that Melansen's water was disturbed when they were down to a depth of about thirty feet. Mr. Bowler said he considered it impossible that it should be disturbed. He said that the water did not travel from the thirty foot level up to the nine foot level. Mr. Kalesky stated that he represented Belford W. Melan- son, Joseph DeFelice, and Gustavo Hurtado. He stated that he came as counsel with this thought in mind: There is no inten- tion in opposing the granting of the petition to demand from the petitioner anything except what is fair and just. He said that Mr. Crocker said that they were not aware of the Zoning Laws . He said that they were really asking to conduct a business in a residential zone. They merely applied for per- mission to erect and maintain two buildings. They have to carry on a business there. He said his clients were merely asking for the protection they were entitled to. There is a feeling that the drawing of this water from the ground in the quantity the company intends to is going to ihpair their propert•' insofar as the drinking water is concerned and as to the flow of the water on their lands. Melanson has owned his property for sixteen years, Hurtado for fourteen years, and Defelice for thirty-five years . They have a right to have that protection that goes with the ownership of their property. Kalesky said that in the construction of the wells, Melansen's drinking water was made dirty, and Mr. Bowler said that could not be; but if Melanson was telling the truth, it did happen. Defelice owns a house within 100 feet of the wells, which house is occupied by his son. The son is unable to drink the water lately; it has a peculair taste which it never had before. Hurtado has not had any tangible trouble. However, he raises Italian cabbabe which requires very moist ground, and at present his land is ideal for this. He fears that the drawing of this water will affect the fertility of his land. Kalesky said that anything that could be done to assure the people that their rights would be taken care of would be satisfactory, and they would have no objection to the wells. He said that his reason for being at the hearing was not to hold the company up for money. Kalesky called the Board' s attention to the fact that if it was satisfied that s substantial hardship was going to be suffered, it had certain rights. He said that the Board could not find that the petitioner was going to suffer a sub- stantial hardship in this case. He said that the company ].45 should have known when they purchased the property and started the work that it was in violation of the law. The company cannot say that a refusal would be a hardship, as it caused it themselves. Even though they made a mistake, they cannot claim a hardship. He said that the Board would have to consider the legal aspect, and the protection which the abutters should have in the use of their own property. Mr. Glynn asked Kalesky if he felt that his clients ppo- bably would have redress through the courts if they did suffer through this. Kalesky replied in the negative. He said that one hundred years ago the Supreme Court handed down a decision that any person had the right to use his own land as he desired-- up to the sky, and down below the ground--(with the exception of any local ordinances) even though by driving wells he drew water from his neighbor' s land, provided he did not do so mal- iciously. (Citation-Mary Greenleaf v. Nathaniel Francis-18 Pickering, Ch. 117) . Mr. Glynn asked how much land Melansen had, and he replied that he owned about ten acres; Hurtado said he owned one house about five hundred feet from the wells; Defelice said that the house he lived in was about two hundred feet from the well. He owns about forty-five or fifty acres of land. Mr. Glynn asked Hurtado if he had had trouble with his well. Iie replied that he had Town water, but was afraid that his land would be effected by the drawing of the water. He said that a man who had had experience along these lines told him that his land would be dry in two years. Mr. Glynn asked Defelice what his fear was. His son stated that he had had trouble with his well lately, but did not know whether the driving of the wells caused it or not. The water is dirty and tastes badly. Mr. Linehan asked if Melansen' s water had continued to be affected and he said that it had not, that the disturbance lasted only three days . Mr. Bowler said that a well nine feet or fifteen feet deep would not be approved by the State Board of Health anyway. He said his company did not want to injure anybody, and was ready to make good in the way of supplying wells, etc. , within the bounds of reason. He said that the matter of water was of small moment, as it could be taken care of easily. Mr. Glynn asked Mr. Crocker if he had a log of the strata, and he said that he had. Mr. Glynn said that he thought the Board should be furnished with that log, and Mr. Crocker said he would be pleased to supply it. The Chairman said that the fact that one well was only ,eleven feet from the street line was bothersome; he wondered if borings were taken near that well which would indicate that the water was suitable in a nearby location far enough back from the street. Mr. Bowler said that they could not very well move the well, as it was a question of ten or fifteen thousand dollars. 146 Melanson asked if it was necessary for the company to locate the wells in this locality, and the Chairman said he gathered that it was. Melanson said that, in his opinion, it was not necessary to locate the wells there. Mr. Kalesky wanted to know if the Board had any objection if his clients and the company could get together and make some sort of an amicable adjustment, and the Chairman said there was no objection so far as he personally was concerned. The group retired. No one else desired to be heard and the hearing was declared closed. The Chairman suggested that the Supt. of Public Works attend the next meeting of the Board; and further that this question be held over until next Friday evening, May 13, 1938. The Board discussed the application of the Lexington Trust Company and the Chairman was requested to discuss the matter with the Town Counsel. Letter was received from Mrs. Norman A. Downs, Girl Scout Commissioner, thanking the Board for its decision on the petition regarding the Scout house at 2 Lincoln Street . The records of the meeting held on April 15th, as amended, were approved. The meeting adjourned at 10:15 P. M. A true record, Attest : Clerk Pro-tem. - p• �ilj