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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1940-02-02' BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING February 2, 1940. A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Oi:fice Building, at 7:30 P.M. Chair- man Maddison, Messrs. Ferguson, Kimball and Glynn and Associate member Winthrop H.. Bowker were present. The Secretary was also present. The meeting was called to discuss the petition of Haskell Reed, Executor, for permission to remove excavated fill from the land in the rear of 72 Lowell Street, Lexington. The original 'nearing was field on Jan. 26, 1940. The Chairman said that he had taken up the question of the authority of the Board in granting the petition in ques- tion with the Town Counsel. Mr. u'drightington said.he thought the Board would be ;justified in granting the petition as the mounds had evidently been there for a great many years and it was more in the nature of a general improvement which would help the neighborhood rather than otherwise. In view of the testimony given by Mr. Reed at the hear- ing, which was borne out by an examination of the premises, and it appearing that it would be an improvement to the neighbor- hood, and in view of the fact that the proposed work does not deplete t_ze value of the land but in the Board's opinion does improve the land for future development and that there is not erou,Ch fill above the surrounding land to Crake this fill of special value as a continuous operation, it was voted to grant the petition 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 Haskell Reed, Executor, a copy of vh ich 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, Town Office Building on the 26th day of January, 1940, One Associate and four 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 as executor he owned the lot of land at 72 Lowell Street and that for a great many years there had been some mounds of stones, some gravel, and practically no loam on the property; that his father had considered at various times disposing of the mounds and levelling off the landp but had never done so to any extent; that there were also some irregularities in the level of the land, and he proposed levelling off the lot at the same time;. that there was very little loam on the lot, and practically none on the mounds, in fact there were a great many large rocks, and he hoped to be able to sell a major part of it to some con- tractor for filling purposes. No one appeared in opposition. At the close of the hearing the Board in private session on February 2, 1940, gave consideration to the subject of the petition and voted unanimously in favor of'the follow- ing findings: 1. That in its judgment the public convenience and welfare will be substantially served by the making of the excep- tion 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-laws as to the locus in question would involve substantial hardship to the petitioner and that de- sirable 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 Zon- ing By-law is hereby varied so far as may be necessary to permit Haskell Reed, Executor, to remove the ridges or mounds from his lot of land located at 72 Lowell Street on the follow- ing conditions: 1. 'hat the lot shall be left in a level condition; 2. That the work shall be done within five years from Feb. 1, 1940, and that no apparatus shall be left on the premises except during the actual removal operations. C� CL 1 1 1 ' The Board hereby makes a detailed record of all its pro- ceedings relative to'such petition and hereby sets forth that the reasons for its decision are its findings hereinbe- fore 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 off- ice 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 APPEALS OF LEXINGTON (Appointed under G.L. Ch. 40, Sec. 27) A. N. Maddison Winthrop H. Bowker Charles E. Ferguson C. Edward Glynn Edward W. Kimball I# C. Edward Glynn, Clerk Pro -tem of the Board of Appeals of Lexington, appointed under General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 27, hereby certify that i sent by postage certifi- eate of mailing on the 10th day of January, 1940, to ' Harvey C. Wheeler, John and Mary A. Castelli, John Busa et al, Peter K. and Anna Pappas, Armour and Sarah Watson and Haskell Reed, and also advertised in the Lexington Minute -Man on January 4, 1940, a notice of which the following is a true copy. C. Edward Glynn Clerk, Pro -tem, hoard of Appeals. January 2, 1940. Lexington Board of Zoning Appeals Town Office Building Lexington, Mass. Gentlemen: The undersigned hereby petitions the Lexington Board of Appeals, appointed under General Laws, Chapter 40, Sec- tion 27, to vary the application of Section 9 (g) of the Lexington Zoning By-law with respect to the premises at rear of 72 Lowell Street, owned by Est. Frank H. Reed of Lexington, by permitting the following: Removal of excavat- ed fill. ' sl Haskell Reed, Exec. (Signature) 72 Lowell Street (Address) Lexington. 88' N 0 T I C E ' January 3, 1940. The Board of Appeals will hold a hearing on the matter of varying the application of the Zoning Law.on petition of Haskell Reed, Executor, for permission to remove excavated fill from the land in the rear of 72 Lowell Street; Lexing- tion, 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 January 26th, 1940, at 8:00 P.M., in the Selectmen's Roam, Town Office Building, Lexington, I am taking the liberty of dropping you a line to let you know that at the Girl Scout House, 4 Lincoln Street, Lexington, Mass., the Girl Scouts are allowing a branch of the Florence Crittenden Club to use this building one evening a week, and I wish to go on record as being opposed to this. I believe that the Scout House is allowed for the use of the Girl Scouts of Lexington only and when other clubs are allowed the use of it, it becomes a sort of Community Club. I will await hearing from you as regards this before I take further action. Yours very truly, /s/ Wm. D. Hagerty ' 6 Lincoln Street Lexington, Mass. ARTHUR N. MADDISON Chairman, Board of Appeals. The records of the meeting held on Jan. 26th were declared approved. A letter was received from Mr..William D. Hagerty of 6 Lincoln Street. January 31, 1940. ' The Board of Appeals of the Town of Lexington Lexington, Mass. Gentlemen: Mr. A.N. Maddison, Chairman I am taking the liberty of dropping you a line to let you know that at the Girl Scout House, 4 Lincoln Street, Lexington, Mass., the Girl Scouts are allowing a branch of the Florence Crittenden Club to use this building one evening a week, and I wish to go on record as being opposed to this. I believe that the Scout House is allowed for the use of the Girl Scouts of Lexington only and when other clubs are allowed the use of it, it becomes a sort of Community Club. I will await hearing from you as regards this before I take further action. Yours very truly, /s/ Wm. D. Hagerty ' 6 Lincoln Street Lexington, Mass. ' Chairman Maddison dictated the following letter to the Secretary to be sent to Mr. Hagerty: February 3, 1940. Mr, William D. Hagerty 6 Lincoln Street Lexington, Mass. Dear Mr. Hagertyt Mr. Maddison has asked me to reply to your letter of January 31st, and state that the Board of Appeals granted the permit to the Girl Scouts at 4 Lineoln Street, and therefor had no further action to take in connection with the use of the property, as they act simply as a Board of Appeals, and do not follow up their decisions, Such matters are in the hands of the Building Inspector, and we suggest that you take up the matter with him. L ANMtEML Yours very truly, /sl Eleanor M. Lowe Secretary, Board of Appeals. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 P.M. A true record, Attest n Clerk, Pro -tem