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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1939-10-0660 BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING ' October 6, 1939 A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the Sel- ectmen's Room, Town Office Building, at 8:00 P. M. Messrs. Glynn, Maddison, Robbins, and Associate Member Winthrop H. Bowker were present. The Secretary was also present. At 8:00 P. M. hearing was declared open upon the petition of Robert C. and Gordon P. Merriam for permission to alter the one family dwelling located at 6 Stetson Street to accommodate more than one family. The notice of the hearing was read by Clerk Robbins. Mr. Robert C. Merriam, Mr. Charles Holt, Mrs. Doris H. Hauman, Mr. T. A. Custance, and Mr. W. S. Caouette were present at the hearing. Mr. Merriam presented a print of the floor plans. He said that the front entrance would not be changed. The door will lead into a vestibule from which there will be two doors into the two apartments. The apartments will be duplex style. The Chairman asked if there were to be any exterior changes, and Mr. Merriam said there would be practically none. The only exterior change is in the glassed -in porch. They will take out windows and possibly close in the sides. Also, ' he intends to attach a two car garage to the building. The Chairman asked Mr. Merriam to give the Board his opinion as to the necessity of doing this. Mr. Merriam said that before he filed this petition he approached the actual abutters of the property, and they stated that they appreciated the situation and had no objection. Mrs. Fobes was disturbed at first as she did not like the location of the proposed garage, so they changed the location. He said that since his mother's death in 1933, they have been able to rent the property a total of only 1 years. the maintenance charges up to the first of this year exceeded $3,000. above the rental. The loss is $600. to $700. per year. They have made every effort to sell the property, but have been unsuccessful. The only offer they had was from a man with a foreign name from Quincy, who wanted to swap a block of stores. They feel that they have given this a fair trial and do not feel that they can continue this way any longer. There are three possibilities: one, this - which they prefer;' two,, make a forced sale; three, wreck the building. He said that the proposed apartments have been designed to appeal to a class of people that would ordinarily rent a substantial seven room house, or who would rent an apartment at a sub- stantial rental. They will do the best job possible if the permit is granted. This is a twelve room house, and is just 61 ' out of date for the requirements of the It q present day. costs about $350. to heat the house. There will be two heating plants for the two apartments. Mr. Merriam said that if this house was sold at a forced sale, it is apt to be purchased by a man with not much finan- cial backing and with a large family, who would not be able to keep it up as it has been kept up in the past. The house is forty-five years old, but has been modernized. Merriam said that he had contacted thirty-nine of the persons notified of this hearing. Two said they were against it, seven expressed no opinion, two said they did not object but did not like to see the precedent established, one said that while she did not object to this, she would object to others, and twenty-seven said they would not oppose it. A Miss Brown is building a house beside this property, and she believes this to be a good idea. Mr. T. A. Custance said he appeared as a citizen of the Town and not as a resident of the neighborhood in question. He said he had had some experience with this sort of thing in Needham, where he was engaged as an expert or adviser with regard to taxable property. He said that if the petitioner sees his way clear to handle the matter this way, in his opinion it is an excellent way to handle it. Mr. Custance said that if he was doing it, he would make the house into four apartments rather than two, however. He thought that if the town can retain the tax value of this property, it should go a long way toward doing it. Mr. W. S. Caouette said that he also appeared as a citizen of the town rather than a resident of the neighborhood. He said he had shown the house to prospective buyers and knows the problem Mr. Merriam has on his hands. Mr. Caouette said he saw no possibility of damage to the neighborhood, as there will be no change in the exterior of the building, and the apartments should attract a good class of people. He thought the matter of taxes should be considered, also. The Chairman asked if there were no persons looking for large houses now, and Mr. Caouette said there were practically none. They do have inquiries for large houses for rest homes, sanatoria, hospitals, etc., but not for residences. He said that the large house problem in town was a real one. The Chairman asked what the apartments requested would rent for, and Mr. Caouette said that they would rent for about $75.00 per month. Mr. Merriam said that if this went through he intended to take care of the grounds himself, just to make sure that they would be taken care of. No other persons wished to speak in favor of the petition. ' Mr. Charles E. Holt of 12 Oakland Street said that while he appreciated Mr. Merriam's problem and knew that it might be his own some day, he thought the Board should consider 62 whether or not a precedent was being established. He said ' that Lexington was a town of single homes. Mr. Holt said he knew that Mr. Merriam would do a fine job in keeping up the property, but their question was of precedent. He also thought this change would be a definite depreciation of property values. Mrs. Hauman said that she would not make any objection to this particular change, but she thought that there might be others. The Chairman said that Pierre Northrup, Mary Lee Jackson, Mrs. Edith M. Kelley, Eunice C. Milne, Mrs. John F. Ballard, Jessie B. and Francis H. Fobes, and Mr, James H. Lewis had all written that they objected to the granting of the permit. The hearing was declared closed at 8;23 P. M. The records of the meeting held on September 29th were declared approved. The Board considered the application of Robert C. and Gordon P. Merriam for the alteration of the house at 6 Stetson Street to accommodate two families. Plans of the proposed changes were'submitted and there was nothing ob- jectionable to them as such. The Board took into considera- tion letters opposing the granting of the petition which were received from six residents in the immediate neighborhood, also the verbal expressed opposition of one near neighbor. ' It was felt that there was much merit in the proposal in so far as the present ownership of the property would probably assure its being kept in good condition and not becoming a menace to the neighborhood; but in spite of that, that the other residents living in single family houses are entitled to the protection that is afforded by the status of this neighborhood, which is in a single family residence zone, and the existing houses are practically all single family residences, and that their combined interests are of greater weight than that of the petitioner. The Board consequently voted to decline the petition in the following forma The Board of Appeals, acting under General Laws, Chapter 409 Sec. 27, having received a written petition addressed to it by Robert C. and Gordon P. Merriam, 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 October 6, 1939. 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 7 ' behalf of the petitioner tending to show; That Robert C. and Gordon P. Merriam own the house at 6 Stetson Street; that over a period of six years they have been trying to dispose of it as a single family residence, or to rent it as such; that they have been able to rent it only a year and one-half of that time and have found no purchaser for the property; that It has become a considerable expense to maintain, and they therefor wish to alter the house into a two family residence for which they believe there is a demand; that they had interviewed the abutters and immediate neighbors and found very little objection to the proposed changes. Evidence was offered on behalf of citizens opposing the granting of the said petition tending to show that the altering of this house into a two family residence would create a precedent in the neighborhood, where there are other houses Mich might later be entitled to the same treatment, and that it was felt that it would eventually lead to a considerable change in this single family residence neighborhood, and that such change would be detrimental to other single family residences, and depreciate the.values of such property, At the close of the hearing the Board in private session on October 6, 1939 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. Pursuant to the said findings, the Board hereby denies the said petition of Robert C. and Gordon P. Merriam to alter the one family dwelling at 6 Stetson Street to accommodate more than one family. In arriving at this decision, the Board has taken into consideration the fact that there are in the neighborhood other residences the owners of which might eventually wish to have them treated in like manner, and ' accordingly there should not be set a precedent which might lead to considerable depreciation of value of single family residences throughout this general locality. 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 Lexington and shall be a public record and that notice of this decision shall be mailed forthwith to each party interest. BOARD OF APPEALS OF LEXINGTON (Appointed under a.L.Ch,40.Sec,27) C. EDWARD GLYNN WINTHROP H. BOWKER HOWARD W. ROBBINS A. N. MADDISON 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 22nd day of September, 1939 to Belle P. Chace, Ira J. and Edythe E. Rymal, Marion T, Hopkins, Louise C. Robinson, Willard D. Brown, James H. and Blanche C. Lewis, Ellen B. Welch, Leone M. Northrup, Mary L. Clapp, Fred K. ' and Sylvia R. Brown, Bertha H. Miles, Helen E. Brennan, Roger P. and Evelene B. Merryman, Calvin W. Childs, Mar- garet F. and Harriet S. Collins, Doris H. Hauman, Caroline A. Holt, Alice H. Locke, Flora B. Houghton, Mary L. Jackson, Kenneth P. and Elizabeth N. Blake, Edith M. Kelley, Matthew and Minnie B. Stevenson, Clarence I. and Mabel M. Lewis, Home Owners Loan Corp., Bertha L. H. Hathaway, Vesta W. Fernold, Helen M. Sargent, Guy and Ruby C. Maynard, Edith J. Emery, Lillian M. Emery, Marion F. Brown, Walter F. Blaser, Jessie Fobes, Marion L. Howe, Josephine G. Childs, Eunice C. Milne, Margaret E. McAllister, Agnes R. Foster, Clifford A. White, Alice M. Ballard, Charles A. Whipple, Edith L. and' Mabel S. Stratton, Margaret G. Taft, Alice G. Cloyes, Gordon' P. and Robert C. Merriam, and also advertised in the Lexington Minute -Man on September 21; 1939, a notice of which the fol- lowing is a true copy. HOWARD W. ROBBINS Clerk, Board of Appeals, September 19, 1939. Lexington Board of Zoning Appeals Town Office Building Lexington, Mass. 65 IGentlemen: The undersigned hereby petition the Lexington Board of Appeals, appointed under General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 27, to vary the application of section 9C of the Lexington Zoning By -Law with respect to the premises at No. 6 Stetson Street, owned by Gordon P. and Robert C. Merriam of Lexington, Mass. by permitting the following: The alteration of a one family frame dwelling to accommodate not more than two families. Gordon P. Merriam by Robert C. Merriam, Atty. Robert C. Merriam Signature 4 Oakmount Circle Address Lexington, Mass. N 0 T I C E Lexington, Mass. Sept. 21, 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 Robert C. and Gordon P. Merriam and located at 6 Stetson Street, Lexington, the alteration of a one family frame dwelling to accommodate not more than two families, 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 October 6th, 1939, at 8:00 P. M. in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, Lexington. ARTHUR N. MADDISON Chairman, Board of Appeals. The Chairman informed the Board that there was a balance of only $11.71 in the Board of Appeals appropriation. There have been a great many hearings this year, and it has been necessary to buy envelopes and supplies. Mr, Maddison moved that the Appropriation Committee be requested to trans- fer the sum of $100, from the Reserve Fund to the Board of Appeals appropriation. Mr. Bowker seconded the motion, and it was so voted. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 P. M. A true record, Attest: lark