HomeMy WebLinkAbout1939-08-04 28
BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING
August 4, 1939 .
A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the Select-
men's Room, Town Office Building at 8:00 P.M. Acting Chair-
man C. Edward Glynn, Mr. Charles E. Ferguson and Associate
member Winthrop H. Bowker were present. The Secretary was
also present.
At 8:00 P.M. hearing was declared open upon the application
of Charles I. Graggforpermission to use the premises at 18/20
Waltham Street for the extraction by laboratory process of essences.
Mr. Gragg and Mr. George M. Paris appeared before the Board.
Mr. D. J. O'Connell was also present.
Mr. Ferguson read the notice of the hearing.
Mr. Gragg said that they had been negotiating for the
possible lease or purchase of the building, but had made no
definite arrangements as yet. He presented pictures of the
producing aparatus. He said that they had not definitely
made up their minds that this was the location they wanted,
but if they decided it was, it would be an enterprise for
the production of extracts to be sold all over North and South
America. The extracts are highly concentrated and are
manufactured by a process that requires no heat or heavy
power. The only mechanical device used is 4 small stirring
device. This would be 1/8th horse power. £he rest of the
process is carried on in glass tanks, consisting of putting
highly concentrated extracts and other ingredients into it
and allowing them to percolate. Its own action makes the
extract. Mr. Gragg said that it was quite necessary that
they have facilities for testing the extracts and sampling
them. .For that purpose they planned to use a small set of
bottling machinery. The machine makes no noise, could not
be heard outside and would hot be running continually.
SYhen the machine was running, about twelve to twenty-four
cases per hour would go through. These products would be
used for three purposes - testing within the plant, sending
out as samples, and for local sale to eonsumers.
The Chairman asked how this product was sold, and Mr.
Gragg said that it usually was sold in four to six-gallon jugs.
He asked how the jugs were filled and Mr. Gragg said they
were filled by hand. He said that the essential thing was
the extracting and that the bottling was secondary. He
presented a copy of the instructions to be sent to the
bottlers who buy the extracts. He said that Mr. Paris would
probably go to bottlers to help the companies get started.
The Chairman asked if there were any particular odors
connected with this, and Mr. Gragg said there was a slight
aromatic odor within the building, but none outside. There
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will be no acid or foul odors. One can smell gingerale-
mint, or something of that sort inside only.
The Chairman asked if any of the products they used
were of a volatile nature, and Mr. Paris said they would have
some alcohol, but not more than forty or fifty gallons at
a time. Chairman Glynnasked if they would use any acids,
and Paris replied in the negative.
The Chairman asked if it was their intention to lease
the building, and Mr. Gregg said they would like to lease
with option to buy. - he Chairman asked if they believed the
premises to be large enough, and Gregg said that the pre-
mises were more than sufficient for a very large volume of
business. He said their problem at first would be how to
fill up the space and have the place look busy; they have
no expectation of needing to expand.
The Chairman asked if alcohol would be the only in-
flammable ingredient, and Mr. Paris said that it would.
Mr. Bowker asked if they would use any special chemicals,
and Mr. Paris said they would not. The Chairman asked if
there would be any distillation, and Mr. Paris replied in
the negative.
No one else appeared in favor of the granting of the
petition.
Mr. Daniel J. O'Connell said that he was opposed to the
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granting of the petition. He said that if there was a man-
ufacturing plant located in this section it would deteriorate
the value of the surrounding property. He said he did not
want to restrict business, but he believed this use would
do material damage to the neighborhood. He said that it
would be impossible to carry on this business without having
odors outside. He said that at best, it should be a quali-
fied permit. He said he would have no objection to the use
if it was as nice as it was painted. He said that if there
was a place around here that was hetn7 put to a similar use
in a similar location, he would like to see it.
Mr. Gragg said that they thought about the problem in
the same way that O'Connell had, and it there was anything
injurious to the Town, they would not consider this . He
said there was no dark side of the picture. Some of this
equipment has been set up in his woodshed for his own education
and Mr. Paris showed him how the plant would operate. He said
he would be glad to have O'Connell go up to his house and
see the equipment. He said he was positive it would be no
more of nuisance than the pest office.
The Chairman said there was some question as to the poss-
ibility of granting what is a light manufacturing use in that
district. He said he was not sure how this would be considered.
He asked how much of a cost there would be for moving the
machinery, if the permit was granted on an experimental basis,
and it was necessary to move. Mr. Gregg said one small truck
could move it out in half a day. He said the only question
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would be on what terms they could make with the landlord in
fixing up the building. He thought it would be economically
unwise to move in six months, say. He said that if it dev-
eloped that the people nearby or anywhere in town objected,
they would prefer to move the business. He said they did
not want to have anything that was unpleasant.
The Chairman asked if they had arranged any lease so
far, and Mr. Gragg said they had not for two reasonss they
are still looking at. other locations, and Mr. Brookings did
not want to talk terms until he had some idea of whether of
not the thing was going ahead.
The hearing was declared closed at 8:26 P.M.
The records of the meeting held on July 14th were declared
approved.
At 8:30 P.M. hearing was declared open upon the application
of Daniel J. O'Connell for permission to construct a
theatre in the rear of 1775 Mass. Ave., Lexington.
The notice of the hearing was read by Mr. Ferguson.
Mr. O'Connell said that this was the same application as
before, then the chief objection was that he had not shown
adequate parking space. He said that the old grain mill had
been removed and that the building in. which the restaurant is
would be removed. Mr. O'Connell showed the Board a letter
from the Boston & Maine R. R. to the effect that the land in
the rear of the Hunt Building would be available for parking.
He presented a plan of the theatre. The Chairman asked if
this was a different plan from the one shown last year, and
O 'Connell said he did not have a definite plan before.
The Chairman asked how many cars could be parked in the
area available for parking, and O'Connell said he could take
care of one hundred cars comfortably. He said that the
theatre would have a capacity of about 950 persons. Mr. Wm.
Roger Greeley was present, and he said that after figuring it out,
he thought that 150 cars could be parked in the parking area.
The Chairman asked if the parking space would be free to
patrons of the theatre, and Mr. O'Connell replied in the
affirmative, but said that persons could not park there unless
they were attending the theatre. He said that he could
have the Rubin and Seligman land. The Chairman asked if he
would purchase the 12,600' from Rubin and Seligman, and
O'Connell said that he could. The railroad will not sell,
but will give him a long-time lease for the life of the
theatre upon any terms he wishes.
Mr. Ferguson asked how wide a driveway he would have, and
O'Connell said it would be twenty feet wide.
Mr. Bowker asked how they would regulate it so that
people other than those attending the theatre would not use
the parking area, and O'Connell said he would have an attendant
there.
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The Chairman said he assumed that Mr. Greeley was the
architect, and Mr. O'Connell said that he was. He said that
the building would not be gaudy, but would be right type.
No other persons appeared in favor of the granting of
the petition.
Mr. William Viano said that he wanted to oppose the petition
as he felt that the Town was not large enough to support a
theatre of this size.
The Chairman asked what he based his opinion on, and
Viano said he based it on his experience in operating the
theatre here . He thought that one theatre was enough to
• take care of 20,000 people. Arlington has a population of
40,000 and has two theatres.
The Chairman asked how the bookings were made. Viano
said that regardless of the size of the town one could not
run pictures until they were available. He said that first
run pictures can not be run for thirty days after the com-
pletion of the run in Boston within twenty-five miles. He
said that the Winchester Theatre had not been a success be-
cause they cannot get pictures any sooner than the rest.
The Chairman asked if the only reason for his objection
was that he felt that this theatre would compete with his
own house, and Viano said that the size of the town did not
warrant another theatre.
Mr. Fred Viano asked how many cars O'Connell could park
and the Chairman said that he could park about 150. Viano
said that he doubted that, and believed that he could not
park more than fifty cars. He said that the Colonial Gar-
age had a floor area of 110' x100' , and all they can park
there are forty ears. He said he did not believe we
needed another theatre, but if one was allowed, he wanted to
see a decent one put up.
No other persons appeared in opposition.
Mr. Bowker said he would like to see a plan showing the
whole layout, including the parking areas, and O'Connell said
he would submit such a plan.
Mr. Glynn asked if the Board could have the letter from
the railroad, and Mr. O'Connell said he would see that the
Board got it.
The hearing was declared closed at 9:00 P.M.
Mr. John M. Whouley appeared before the Board. He said
he was a partner in a roadside stand located at the corner of
Marrett Road and Waltham Street. The Building Inspector in-
formed him that they had two signs that were larger than the
ordinances allow. He said that one of the signs was there
before his occupancy, and the same ordinances applied then,
but the sign was allowed to remain. After they had occupied
the stand for three or four months, the Building Inspector
informed them that the sign was not in accordance with the
Zoning and Building Ordinances. He said they felt it was
imposing a hardship on them to force them to remove the sign,
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and he would like a variance of the ordinance. He felt that
the Building Inspector had been discriminatory. He felt hB
would be doing himself and his partner an injustice if he
did not ask for a permit to leave the signs as is.
The Chairman said that the only question came on the size
of the signs. He asked if there was any particular reason
why they should be an exception to the by-laws of the town.
Mr. Whouley said he thought that roadside stands needed signs
for advertising.
Mr. Longbottom said that he was continually discovering
signs that were erected illegally, and many times they have been
up quite a while before they come to the attention of the auth-
orities. He said that the regulations were adopted by the Town,
presumably because it is a residential town and the people do
not want business signs to be too noticeable.
Mr. Whouley said that he did not build the first sign,
but was mislead by it, and had the second one built, at an
expense of 1)100.00. He retired.
Mr. Longbottom said that When he first became Building
InspectOr, there were a great many signs that were illegal, and
he got after them. Most of them took down the signs, but
Mr. Whouley refused to take his down. Both the gas stations
across the street took down their signs. Mr. Longbottom
retired at 9:15 P.M.
It was decided to hold over the Brookings and O'Connell
applications.
The Board considered the appeal of John F. Whouley from
the decision of the Building Inspector, that signs he was
maintaining on premises at the corner of Marrett Road and
Waltham Street were in excess of the size allowed by the
Building Code. It was the unanimous decision of the Board
not to grant a permit for the maintenance of these signs, and
so to notify the applicant.
Upon motion of Mr. Ferguson, seconded by Mr. Bowker, it
was voted to deny the petition of Vincent N. Bellizia in the
following form (Messrs. Robbins and Locke witching to be re-
corded in opposition, also)
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 incent N. Bellizia 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 Roam, in the Town office
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Building on November 25, 1938.
IITwo Associates 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: The petitioner
failed to appear before the Board in person or by representa-
tive and no evidence was offered.
Evidence was offered on behalf of citizens opposing the
granting of the said petition tending to show:
No persons appeared in opposition and no evidence was offered
in opposition.
On August 4, 1939, The Board in private session gave
consideration to the subject of the petition and voted un-
animously in favor if 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 mot 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 peition of Vincent N. Bellizia for the reason
that the applicant has not appeared before the Board and
has offered no evidence as to why the premit should be granted
to him,
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, in-
cluding that herein summarized, and directs that this record
immediately following this decision shall be filed in the off-
ice 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.
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BOARD OF APPEALS OF LEXINGTON
(Appointed under G. L. Ch. 40, sec. 27)
C . EDWARD GLYNN
CHARLES E. FERGUSON
WINTHROP H. BOWKER
ERROL H. LOCKE
HOWARD W. ROBBINS
A
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 mail-
ing on the 4th day of November, 1938, to Dennis McNamara, Thomas
G. Dale, Francesca LaCava, Daniel J. Brown, Louise M. Brogna,
Eunice E. Holton, Andrea and Antonio Bacigalupo, vincent N.
Bellizia , and also advertised in the Lexington Minute-Man
on November 3rd, 1938, a notice of which the following is a
true copy.
HOWARD W. ROBBINS
Clerk, Board of Appeals.
October 26, 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 No. 232 Cedar Street,
owned by Vincent N. Bellizia of Lexington by permitting the
following: Maintenance of a Riding School and Stable.
Vincent N. Bellizia (Signature)
232 Cedar Street (Address)
Lexington, Mass.
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NOT I C E
Lexington, Mass.
Nov. 2nd, 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 Vincent N. Bellizia and located at 232
Cedar Street, Lexington, the maintenance of a riding school
and stable, under the Lexington Zoning Law or in accordance
with Chapter 40, Section 27A of the General Laws and amendments.
The hearing will be held on November 25th, 1938, at 8:10
P.M. in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, Lexington.
ARTHUR N. MADDISON
Chairman, Board of Appeals.
The meeting adjourned at 9:50 P.M.
A true record, Attest:
Clerk, r,u ` .,"