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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1939-08-25 36 ZL BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING August 25, 1939 A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, at 8:00 P. M. Messrs. Glynn, Ferguson and Locke were present. The Acting Secretary was also present. At 8:00 P. M. hearing was declared open on the appli- cation of Elizabeth P. Kenworthy for permission to construct a dwelling at 53 Wachusett Drive, Lexington, which would not have the required ten feet from the lot line. Mr. Locke, Clerk pro-tem, read the notice of the hearing. Mr. Frank H. Faulkner, the builder, appeared in favor of the granting of the petition. He stated that the houses that have already been built in the locality are all set back about 35 feet from the street, and they would like to keep this house in line with the other buildings. They could get the house on the lot in compliance with the reg- ulations if the house was only set back the twenty feet required from the street line, but they thought it would make a better appearance and that the neighbors would be more satisfied if the house was set back in line with the others. Mr. Glynn asked Mr. Faulkner how close the house would come to the lot line and Mr. Faulkner said it would be eight feet on one side and 9* feet on the other side. Mr. Longbottom, the Building Inspector, was present at the hearing and said that he thought the house would look better if it were set back in line with the other dwellings. He said he thought the petition should be granted. Mr. F. W. Pierce of 47 Wachusett Drive asked why this hearing was necessary, and Mr. Glynn informed him that the Building Inspector could not grant a permit if the house came within ten feet of the lot lines and the owner could appeal to this Board. Mr. Pierce said that there was a vacant lot between his house and the house in question. He bought his property in good faith and felt he had been shamefully used by the owners of the development. He felt that anyone buying a lot now should be subject to the same restrictions he was. He felt that if the house could not be put on the lot in accordance with law, some other arrangement should be made. Mr. Glynn said that the question the Board of Appeals had to deal with was whether it would be better for the appearance of the neighborhood to have the house set back in conformity with the houses already built and make an exception of a foot or so on each side line, or to see that the town regulations were strictly enforced and have the house jut out beyond the other houses. 87 Mrs. Paul Mather asked if there would be room enough between the lot lines so that a truck Could get to the back of the house. She felt that if there was not, it might make the house unsaleable and therefor lower the value of the land in the neighborhood. Mr. Pierce said that he thought from the form that was already on the property, the house would be nearer than eight feet to the lot line, but Mr. Faulkner said that a Civil Engineer had given them the lines of the property and that it would not be nearer than eight feet. Mr. Pierce said he did not like to see houses crowded closely together. He thought the garage was to be put in the wrong place, and thought it could be put in back of the house. Mr. Locke asked if the house were set on a different angle on the lot it would be possible to have the ten feet side lines and Mr. Faulkner said that they had tried to do so, but it was not possible. Mr. Caouette was present and said that the house next to the one in question was owned by a Mr. Shields . He said they had been distrubed by the house being built so close, but he felt that it would not look right to have the house set out nearer the street. Mr. Couette said that on their property, they had to eliminate a proposed breezeway to get the house on the lot, but Mr. Faulkner said that the breezeway planned for the house in question was also to be eliminated and they still did not have enough room. Mr. Pierce asked if it would be possible for the Board to recommend that the garage be set in back of the house, and Mr. Glynn informed him that that was not within the province of the Board. The Building Inspector said that the usual procedure would be to make the house smaller, but he felt that it would be better to grant the permit to construct it within a foot or two less of the required lot line restriction rather than have the Town get an inferior house . The hearing was declared closed at 8:30 i. M. Hearing was declared open on the application of Mary D. Hatch for permission to maintain two signs 6' x 8' advertising the land on which they are located between Watertown Street and the Concord Turnpike. Mr. Locke read the notice of the hearing. No one appeared at the hearing to represent the petitioner. Miss Lily C . Johanson appeared and stated that she wished to be recorded in opposition to the granting of the petition. No other persons appeared in favor or in opposition and the hearing was declared closed. At 8:40 P. M. hearing was declared open on the application of Lyman E Carlow for permission to construct a dwelling on the premises located at 67 Middle Street, Lexington, which would not have the required ten feet from the side lines. 38 C. Mr. Locke read the notice of the hearing. Mr. Carlow stated that through some misunderstanding they thought that they could build a house on the lot if they had side lines of 71 feet, but when they applied for a building permit the Building Inspector informed them that they would have to have side lines of ten feet. Mr. Carlow stated that the lot had a frontage of 85 feet, but it tapered back. He stated that he desired to set the house 75 feet back from the street line to keep in line with the house already built on the next lot . There is only one other house in the vicinity. He also stated that there was a high bank there, and the house really should be set back at least 75 feet so that he could get a proper grade for his driveway. He said there would be 71 feet on each side from the lot line. The Building Inspector was present and said that this was the same situation as the previous hearing, and stated that he felt the same way about it and was in favor of granting the permit. Mr. William P. Clark of 86 Middle Street, the nearest neighbor, was present at the hearing. He said he had quite an interest in the property in the vicinity and he felt it would look very much better to have the house set back the 75 feet. He said there was plenty of room be- tween his garage and Mr. Carlow' s lot line, approximately 22 feet, so the neighborhood would not look crowded. He wished to be recorded in favor of the granting of the permit. No other persons appeared in opposition and the hearing was declared closed. Mr. Caouette appeared before the Board and said that he had seen recently for the first time, an outline of the permission granted by the Board of Appeals for signs on Follen Hill in the Tower development. He had another plan of the tract and stated that he would like to have permission to locate the signs in places other than those designated by the permit. He said that the permit required that they be set back 200 feet from the road and if this were done, they could not be seen. He also said that the original size permitted was 4' x 8' and he would prefer to have two smaller signs, 31 x 5' . Mr. Glynn suggested that Mr. Caouette make application for another hearing in regard to the matter, and Mr. Caouette said that he would do so. He retired. The Building Inspector appeared before the Board. He stated that cars were being parked on Murphy' s dump and there was a large sign there advertising them for sale. Mr. Longbottom said that he wondered if the Board of Appeals had authority to grant a permit for cars to be sold outside a building. He said that Mr. Murphy stated he had been 39 selling cars there for several years prior to the zoning law, and he has refused to remove them. Mr. Glynn stated that he felt this was a question for the Town Counsel to settle, and Mr. Longbottom said he would discuss it with Mr. Wrightington. He retired. The records of the meeting held on August 4th were approved. In regard to the application of Mary D. Hatch, it was moved and voted that the secretary notify Mrs. Hatch and all interested parties within the affected area, to appear at an adjourned meeting which would be on the date that the next hearings before the Board would be held. The Board considered the application of Elizabeth P. Kenworthy for the construction of a dwelling at 53 Wachusett Drive which would not have the required ten feet from the adjoining lot lines, and voted to permit the erection of such a dwelling with the stipulation that any structure should not come nearer than eight feet to the boundary line on one side or nearer than 9 feet 6 inches to the boundary line on the other side . In arriving at this de- cision, due consideration was given to the fact that the owner wished to set back the dwelling 35 feet from the street line, which was in conformity with the houses in the neighborhood and that such a uniform set back is of more value to all properties in the neighborhood than would be the maintenance of the required ten feet set back on each side. Messrs. Maddison and Robbins wishing to be recorded in favor of granting the petition, the order was adopted 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 Elizabeth P. Kenworthy, 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 pub- lished in Lexington, which hearing was held in the Selectmen' s Room, in the Town Office Building on the 25th day of August, 1939. One Associate and two 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: 40 That she wished to construct a dwelling on the lot of land at 53 Wachusett Drive which would be less than ten feet from the side lines of the lot, one side to be 8 feet from the lot line and the other side to be 9g feet; that the necessity for this was due to the irregular shape of the lot, which has a frontage of nearly 80 feet but tapers to a much narrower rear; that the houses in the neighborhood have obersved a practically uniform set-back from the street line of 35 feet and that she wishe d to construct her house with the conforming set-back. Evidence was offered on behalf of persons opposing the petition that they felt the plan of the house should be changed to afford a full 10 feet distance from each side line, but they also desired to see the house set back from the street line 35 feet which is not requisite. At the close of the hearing the Board in private session on August 25, 1939 gave consideration to the sub- ject of the petition and voted unanimously in favor of the following findings : 1. That 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 pro- visions of the Lexington Zoning By-law as to the locus in question would involve substantial hardship to the peti- tioner and that desirable relief may be granted without substantially derogating from the intent or purpose of such Lexington Zoning By-law. Pursuant to the said findings, the Board hereby unan- imously decides that the application of the said Lexington • Zoning By-Law is hereby varied so far as may be necessary to permit Elizabeth P. Kenworthy to construct a dwelling at 53 Wachusett Drive, Lexington, which will not have the required ten feet from theadjoining lot line. 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- beofre set forth and the testimony presented at the said hearing, including that hereinsummarized, and directs ]that this record immediately following this decision shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk of Lexington and shall be open to public inspection and that notice of this decision shall be mailed forthwith to each party in interest. BOARD OF APPLALS OF LEXINGTON (Appointed under G. L. Ch. 40, sec.27) 41 A. N . MADDISON CHARLES E . FERGUSON ERROL H. LOCKE HOWARD W. ROBBINS C . EDWARD GLYNN I, Howard W. Robbins, Clerk of the Board of Appeals of Lexington, appointed under General Laws, Chapter 40, Sec- tion 27, hereby certify that I sent by postage certificate of mailing on the 31st day of July, 1939, to James L. Heggie, Paul W. and Thelma F. Mather, Caroline T . Reed, Rosalie M. Pierce, Lexington Co-op. Bank, Reliance Co-op. Bank, Edgar W. Gage, Hazel B. Morrison, Daniel Dunlea, Joseph W. Ahern, Elizabeth P. Kenworthy, Lillian R. Caouette, Pearle C . Montgomery, Kittrena G. Weldon, Elias T and Ethel B. Bears, Abbie W. Taylor, Howard A. and Eileen D. Daziel, Martha H. Morse, and also advertised in the Lexington Min- ute-Man on August 3rd, 1939, a notice of which the following is a true copy. Howard W. Robbins Clerk, Board of Appeals. July 28, 1939 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 (b) of the Lexington Zoning By-Law with respect to the premises at No. 53 Wachusett Drive owned by Elizabeth P. Kenworthy of Everett, Mass . , by permitting the following: To so locate on said lot a dwelling which will not have the required ten feet from the adjoining lot line. Leonard Kenworthy (Signature) 54 Central Avenue (Address) Everett, Mass. 42 NOT I C E Lexington, Mass. July 31, 1939. 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 Elizabeth P. Kenworthy and located at 53 Wachusett Drive, Lexington, the construction of a dwelling which will not have the required ten feet from the adjoining lot line, 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 August 25th, 1939, at 8:00 P M. in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, Lexington, Mass. Arthur N. Maddison Chairman, Board of Appeals. The Board considered the application of Lyman E. Carlow for permission to construct a dwelling at 76 Middle Street which would not have the required ten feet from the adjoining lot line but would have 7* feet on each side. The Board considered the fact that the lot was a very deep one with an 85 foot frontage and that Mr. Carlow wished to set the house back 75 feet to keep in line with the house on abutting property and that this could not be satisfac- torily accomplished if he maintained the ten feet distance from the side lines. The Board also took into consideration the fact that the abutting owner on one side, Mr. Clark, stated that he was in favor of the application. Mr. Locke moved that the Board grant the petition. Mr. Ferguson seconded the motion and it was so voted. kessrs . Maddison and Robbins wished to be recorded in favor of the granting of the petition. The order was therefor signed 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 Lyman E. Carlow, 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 43 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 the 25th day of August, 1939. One Associate and two 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 construct a dwelling on the land at 76 fiddle Street, Lexington, which would be located only 7* feet from the adjoining side lines; that the lot has a frontage of 85 feet tapering to 33 feet in the rear and he wishes to set the dwelling back 75 feet from the street line in conformity with the house on an abutting property which is the cause of his not having ten feet clearance on each side. No persons appeared in opposition. At the close of the hearing the Board in private session on August 25th 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 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 der- ogating from the intent or purpose of such Lexington Zoning By-law. Pursuant to the said findings, the Board hereby unanimously decides that the application of the said Lex- ington Zoning By-law is hereby varied so far as may be necessary to permit Lyman E. Carlow to construct a dwelling at 76 Middle St. , Lexington, which will not have the required ten feet from the adjoining side lines. 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 7 own Clerk of Lexington and shall be open to public inspection and that notice of this 441 c7- .f, C' CL decision shall be mailed forthwith to each party in interest. II BOARD OF APPEALS OF LEXINGTON (Appointed under G.L Ch. 40, Sec. 27) A. N. MADDISON CHARLES E. FERGUSON ERROL H. LOCKE HOWARD W. ROBBINS C . EDWARD GLYNN 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 the 10th day of August, 1939, to James E. and Har- riett F. Crozier, Watertown Co-op. Bank, William P. and Erma N. Clark, Gandolfo and Madalan Andolina, Leeland G. McConchie, Edward C . and Helena T. Maguire, Roland N. Mac- Callum, Rocco Marchese, Hans Y. Levass, Sigvart J. Borgeson, Raymond C Deal, Emily R Scheibe, and Lyman Carlow, and also advertised in the Lexington Minute-Man on August 10, 1939, a notice of which the following is a true copy. HOWARD W. ROBBINS Clerk, Board of Appeals August 9, 1939. II Lexington Board of Zoning Appeals Town Office Building Lexington, Mass. , Genelemen: The undersigned hereby petition the Lexington Board of Appeals, appointed under General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 27, to vary the application of section 9 (b) of the Lexing- ton Zoning By-Law with respect to he premises at No. 76 Middle Street, owned by Lyman E. now of hast Boston, Mass. , by permitting the followin `lo so locate on said lot a dwelling which will not have e required 10 feet from the adjoining side lines . Lyman E Carlow (Signature ) 239 Leydon Street E. Boston (Address) 1 45 NOTICE Lexington, Mass. August 10, 1939 . 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 Lyman L . Carlow and located at 76 Middle Street, Lexington, the construction of a dwelling which will not have the required ten feet from the adjoining side lines, 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 August 25th, 1939, at 6:30 P. N in the Selectmen' s Room, Town Office Building, Lexing- ton ARTHUR N. MADDISON Chairman, Board of Appeals . The meeting adjourned at 9:45 P. M. A true record, Attest: Clerk (-44, - / 1