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BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING
September 16, 1938
A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the Select-
men' s Room, Town Office Building, at 8 :00 P M Messrs.
Glynn, Ferguson, Robbins and Locke were present. In the ab-
sence of the Chairman, Mr. Glynn was elected Chairman Pro-tem.
At 8:00 P. M. hearing was declared open on the application
of Warren B. Lawrence for permission to store and sell trailers
at 916 Waltham Street, Lexington The notice of the hearing
was read by Clerk Robbins.
About ten persons were present at the hearing.
Mr. Lawrence said that he wished to store and sell a
limited number of trailers on the premises . He said he did
not plan to cover the whole property with trailers as there
would be only seven or eight there. The Chairman Pro-tem
asked if it would be the same as a place where new cars were
sold, and he replied in the negative and said it would be
more like a place where second-hand cars were sold. They
would have to be stored outside. The Chairman Pro-tem asked
Mr. Lawrence if he had an interest in the garage across the
street, and he said he did not . Mr. Lawrence said that on
the property there was a small roadside stand but it is too
small to be successful and he would like to use the lot for
* the sale of trailers in order to get some income . The Chair-
man Pro-tem asked what the hours of business were to be and
Mr. Lawrence said that they probably would remain open until
nine o' clock at night. The Chairman Pro-tem asked if they
intended to any business on Sunday, and Lawrence said that
they did if it was allowed. Mr. Ferguson asked how large
the lot was and Lawrence said there was a frontage on Concord
Avenue of about 400 feet and on Naltham Street of about 600
feet.
Mrs Isabella Fardy stated that she lived across the
street and was in favor of the granting of this petition. She
said that she once owned the land now owned by Lawrence .
Mr. Duncan Barker of 447 Concord Avenue stated that he
was not in favor of the granting of this petition. He admitted
that he lived down beyond the Sellars place on Concord Avenue
and could not see the corner.
Mr. John F . Daley, owning the property on the corner
opposite the Lawrence property, said that while he was not
especially opposed, he wanted to know what the plans were .
He wondered if this would not be establishing a precedent.
He questioned the Sunday business and wondered what effect
this use would have regarding real estate in the vicinity.
ahe property he owns has been in the family for 75 years.
'F The Chairman Pro-tem asked if he intended to have any signs
displayed, and Lawrence said that there would be one or two
small signs
.w
227
' He said this was not a personal protest but he did not want
any depreciation reciation in the value of his real estate. The Chair-
man Pro-tem asked if he felt that there would be a deprecia-
tion. Mr. Daley said he felt it would not be an asset, but
knowing Mr. Lawrence for so long, he was reluctant to oppose
the petition. He asked if this would benefit the town as a
whole Mr. Lawrence thought that that corner was going to
develop as a business corner. He said his house was almost
as near as the Daley house .
The Chairman Pro-tem asked Mr. Lawrence if he had thought
of putting up a building and he said that he had not as he
did not know how well the business would go.
The Chairman Pro-tem informed the group that a letter
had been received from the West Lexington Civic Improvement
Association stating that it was opposed to the granting of
the petition.
Mr. and Mrs . Charles E. Teeter, Jr. of 463 Concord Ave.
were present . Mr Teeter said that he appreciated Mr.
Lawrence' s position and was sorry that he must oppose the
petition from the point of view of its effect on the section
as a whole and also from his own personal position. He said
he had a piece of land between Concord Ave . and the new
highway and hoped to sell part of it. He had remodelled an
old house and they hoped that houses of a desirable type
II would be built on the remainder of the land, and then the
town would get revenue because of taxes. Most people would
enter his land from Concord Avenue and if there are a lot
of trailers there, he thought the impression would be un-
favorable.
The Chairman Pro-tem read a letter received from one
Lily C . Johanson representing the Cutler Farm on Concord Ave . ,
opposing the petition.
No other persons wishing to be heard, the hearing was
declared closed at 8:17 F. M. and the people retired.
The records of the meeting held on September 9th were
declared approved.
The Board in private session considered the application
of iiarren B . Lawrence and felt that an activity or develop-
ment of the kind might very easily lead to unsightly premises
which would depreciate the value of any residential property
and that it would not be consistent with its previous decisions
that garages receiving permits to operate should not store
cars or other equipment outside of their buildings .
Upon motion of Mr. Robbins, seconded by Ir. Ferguson,
it was unanimously voted to deny the petition in the following
form:
228 crD
The Board of Appeals, acting under General Laws Uhapter
40, Sec. 27, having received a written petition addressed to
it by W B . Lawrence, 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 September 16, 1938.
One Associate and three members of the Board of Appeals
were present at the hearing. A certificate of notice is
hereto annexed. At this hearing evidence was offered on behalf
of the petitioner tending to show:
That he wished to store and display for sale automobile
trailers at 916 Waltham Street, at the .corner of Concord Ave. ,
using only that portion of the property which was within
the C . 1 District;
That he expected to have 7 or 8 trailers in storage at one
time;
That there was no building upon the property within which they
could be housed, nor was it his purpose to erect any such
building;
That the business of displaying and selling them would be
carried on until approximately nine P. M. in the evening, and
that he would wish to continue sales on Sundays.
Evidence was offered on behalf of citizens opposing
the granting of the said petition tending to show:
That in their opinion such a use would tend to depreciate
the value of their residential property in the vicinity.
At the close of the hearing the Board in private session
on September 16, 1938 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.
2. That the exception 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
difficulty 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.
229
Pursuant to the said findings, the Board hereby denies
the said petition of W. B. Lawrence for permission to store
and sell trailers at 916 Waltham St. , Lexington.
The Board hereby makes a detailed record of all its
proceedings 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,
including that herein summarized, and directs that this record
immediately 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 APPEALS OF LEXINGTON
(Appointed under G. L. Ch. 40, sec. 27)
A. N. Maddison
Charles E. Ferguson
Howard W. Robbins
Errol h. Locke
C . Edward Glynn
I, Howard " Robbins, Clerk of the Board of Appeals of
Lexington, appointed under General Laws, Chapter 40, Section
27, hereby certify that I sent by postage certificate of
mailing on the 2nd day of "eptember, 1938, to Harry A. and
Irving W. Penniman, Jessie P. McCormack, Charles E. and Laura
M. Teeter, Duncan E. Barker, John A. and Hazel L. Sellars,
Pauline E. Howard, John Dias, Frank Dias,Ethel L. and John
F. Daly, Home Owners Loan Corp., Robert L. Goinsalvos,
Jeanette M. Lawrence, Harold P. Symons, William F. Greer,
Ambrose A. Ballou, Gustaf Nottebart, Mary A. Mitchell,
Lillian N Grassby, LauraT .Mills, Henry C . Packard, Mable S.
Thompson, Antonio J. Lima, Isabella Fardy, Mary R. Lawrence,
Leneler F. Pope, Margaret Wright, Giovanni Hicci, Joseph
and Antoinette Ricci, Alfred L . and Edith L. Short, Robert
E. Connors, Catherine F. Little, Eva F. Isakson, William B.
and Mable M. Peterson, Erie S . and Agnes D. Peterson, and
also advertised in the Lexington Minute-Man on September 1,
1938, a notice of which the following is a true copy.
Howard W. Robbins
Clerk, Board of Appeals .
230
inamml
August 30, 1938
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 (g) of the Lexington
Zoning By-Law with respect to the premises at No. 916 Waltham
Street, owned by Warren B. Lawrence of Lexington by permitting
the following: Storage and Sale of 'Trailers.
W. B . Lawrence (Signature)
352 Concord Ave. (Address)
Lexington.
NOT ICE
Lexington, Mass .
Aug. 31, 1938.
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 Warren B. Lawrence and located at
916 Waltham Street, Lexington, the storage and sale of
trailers, under the Lexington Zoning Law or in accordance
with Chapter 40, Section 27, of the General Laws and amendments.
The hearing will be held on September 16th, 1938, at
8:00 P. M. in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, Lex-
ington, Mass.
ARTHUR N. MADDISON
Chairman, Board of Appeals.
The meeting adjourned at 8:55 P M.
A true record, Attest:
, z
le3'k.
1
231
BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING
October 7, 1938.
A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the
Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, at 8:00 P. M. Chair-
man Maddison, Messrs. Glynn, Ferguson, Kimball and Robbins
were present. The Secretary was also present.
At 8:00 P. M. hearing was declared open on the application
of the Ross Realty Corp. for permission to maintain two real
estate signs on Mass . Avenue and 'good Street advertising the
land on which they are located. Notice of the hearing was
read by Clerk Robbins.
Mr. Jeremiah O'Hearn appeared representing the petitioner.
He stated that the idea was to develop the strip of land
located on Mass . Avenue between Old County Road and Wood
Street. They would like to put two signs up and they would
have to be rather large signs in order to be seen as they
would have to be put in a hollow. they plan to put one sign
placed diagonally on the top of the hill facing Concord, and
one sign placed diagonally near Wood Street facing Lexington.
This is so people going each way could see the signs. The
Chairman asked how much it was planned to develop there and
Mr. O'Hearn said that for the present time it was planned
to develop only the front strip along Mass. Avenue which was
probably 1800 feet in length. The Chairman asked if one sign
placed properly would not be visible, and Mr. O'Hearn said
* that he did not believe that it would. Yr. Ferguson asked
if the signs were to be lighted up at night and Mr. O 'Hearn
said that he did not know but did not think so. The Chairman
asked how far from the ground the signs would be, and O'Hearn
said that they would have to be on posts about 8' high.
There being no other questions, Mr. O'Hearn retired.
No one appeared in opposition.
The petition of the Ross Realty Corp. for a permit for
two signs on Mass. Ave . between Wood Street and Old County
Road was considered, and no one opposing the granting of the
petition, the Board, after considering the matter, unanimous-
ly voted to grant the permit in the following form:
BOARD OF APPEALS PERMIT
The Board of Appeals, acting under General Laws, Chapter
40, Sec. 27, having received a written petition addressed to
it by the Ross Realty Corp. , a copy of which is hereby 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
* People coming from Concord probably would pass right by it,
although people going toward Concord could see it .
232 ca
recent local tax list and also advertised in the Lexington
Minute-Man, a newspaper published in Lexington, which hear-
ing was held in the Selectmen' s Room, in the Town Office
Building on the 7th day of October, 1938.
All of the members of the Board of Appeals were present
at the hearing. A certificate of notice is hereto annexed.
At this hearing evidence was offered on behalf of the peti-
tioner tending to show:
That it desired to place two signs on the land owned by
it on Mass. Avenue between Wood Street and Old County Road;
one to be placed so that it could be seen coming down the
hill from Concord, the other so that it could be seen approach-
ing the land from Lexington; the signs to be 8' wide by 4' high.
No one appeared in opposition.
At the close of the hearing the Board in private session
on October 7th, 1938 gave consideration to the subject of the
petition and voted unanimously in favor of the following
findings:
1. .hat in its judgment the public convenience and
welfare will be substantially served by the making of the
exception requested.
2. That the exception requested will not tend to impair
the status of the neighborhood.
3. That the exception requested will be in harmony with
the general purposes and intent of the regulations in the
Lexington Zoning By-law.
4. That owing to conditions especially affecting the
said parcel but not affecting generally the Zoning district
in which it is located, a literal enforcement of the provisions
of the Lexington Zoning By-law as to the locus in question
would involve substantial hardship to the petitioner and
that desirable relief may be granted without substantially
derogating from the intent or purpose of such Lexington
Zoning By-law.
Rursuant to the said findings, the Board hereby unani-
mously decides that the application of the said Lexington
Zoning By law is hereby varied so far as may be necessary
to permit the Ross Realty Corp. to erect and maintain two
signs on its land on Mass. Avenue between Wood Street and
the Old County Road, 8' wide by 4' high, and not exceeding
8' in height from the ground; one on the Wood Street end
of the lot and the other on the Old County Road portion of
the lot; the one nearer Wood Street to be placed at least
100' from Wood Street and 40' from the line of Mass . Avenue;
the other sign to be at least 20' from the line of Mass . Ave.
233
The Board hereby makes a detailed record of all its
proceedings relative to such petition and hereby sets forth
that the reasons for its decision are its findings herein-
before set forth and the testimony presented at the said
hearing, including that herein summarized, and directs
that this record immediately following this decision shall
be filed in the office of the Town Clerk of Eexington and
shall be open to public inspection and that notice of this
decision shall be mailed forthwith to each party in interest.
BOARD OF APPEALS OF LEXINGTON
(Appointed under G. L. Ch. 40, Sec. 27)
A. N. Maddison
C. Edward Glynn
Edward N. Kimball
Charles E. Ferguson
Howard W. Robbins
I, Howard W• Robbins, Clerk of the Board of appeals of
Lexington, appointed under General Laws, Chapter 40, Section
27, hereby certify that I sent by postage certificate of
mailing on September 26, 1938, to John Sullivan, Yetta F. C .
and Wilma A. Brown, Francis and Hugh Thompson, Toros H. Bashian,
Mrs . Mary E Lowe and Ross Realty Corpttn, and also advertised
in the Lexington Minute-Man on September 22, 1938, a notice
of which the following is a true copy.
Howard w. Robbins
Clerk, Board of Appeals.
September 19, 1938.
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 9A of the Lexington
Zoning By-law with respect to the premises at Mass. Ave. and
Wood Street, owned by Ross Realty Corp. of Lexington, Mass. ,
by permitting the following: Maintenance of two 8' x 4' signs
advertising the land on which they are located.
Ross Realty Corp. (Signature)
by Albert A. Ross, Treas .
Lexington, Mass . (Iddress)
234
NOTICErel
Lexington, Mass.
Sept. 21, 1938.
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 the Ross Realty corp. and located
on Mass. Avenue and Wood Street, Lexington, the maintenance
of two signs, 81 x 4/ , advertising the land on which they
are located, under the Lexington Zoning Law or in accordance
with Chapter 40, Section 27A of the General Laws and amend-
ments .
The hearing will be held on October 7th, 1938, at 8:00
P . M. in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, Lexington.
Arthur N. Maddison
Chairman, Board of Appeals .
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 F. M.
A true record, Attest :
1/ ` J 1