HomeMy WebLinkAbout1941-06-12 258
BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING
June 12, 19141
A meeting of the Board of Appeals was held at the home
of Lr C Ed and Glynn, 56 Hancock Street, at 8 15 P. 1
Messrs Glynn, Kimball, dobbins, Locke, and Brown were
present. The Secretary• was also present
The record of the rieetinsr held on June 6th was de-
clared approved,with a few rainor corrections.
The Board in private session considered the petition
of Frances 1 . Vdilson, Inc , for permission to maintain an
undertaking establishment at 1556 Lass Ave , Lexington.
Upon motion of Lr Locke , seconded by Lr Brown, it
was voted to deny the petition in the following form
The Board of Appeals, acting under General Laws, Chap-
ter 40 , Sec. 27, having received a written petition addressed
to it by Francis M Wilson, Inc a copy of vhich 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 June 6, 1941 .
One Associate and three members of the Board of Appeals
were present at the hearing A certificate of notice is
hereto annexed At tnis hearing evidence was offered on
behalf of the petitioner tending to show
That they desired permission to maintain an undertaking
establishment at 1556 Mass. Ave. , Lexington, the premises
being owned at present by Daniel J O' Connell , that Frances
1 . Wilson, Inc. had been operating in Somerville for some
forty or fifty years , that it was proposed to have Mr. Burt -
H Martin as the resident undertaker, and that he also
probably would live on the premises, that the premises would
be used for both undertaking and a funeral some, and that it
would be necessary to mane some interior changes in order to
provide a chapel, also a reparation room and living quar-
ters upstairs , that no plans had been drawn up , that the
garage would be used for one car, but probably no hearse would
be kept on the premises , that the property in question is
96' deep with an 80 ' frontage.
Evidence was offered on behalf of the citizens opposing
the granting of the said petition tending to show that there
would be an i. pair:rent to the status of the neighborhood
259
through the establishment of a funeral hone because of
the peculiar nature of the business , that additional
parking at the point, as well as probable parking in
front of the residentail section, would tend to create
traffic problems. Approximately twelve people registered
the above objections.
At the close of the hearing the Board in private
session on June 12, 1941 ;ave 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 makint,
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 refiulatiens 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 pur-)ose of sucn Lexington Zoning ty-law.
Pursuant to the said findin5s , the Board hereby denies
the said petition of Frances M Wilson, Inc. for permission
to maintain an undertaking establishment at 1556 Lass. Ave ,
Lexington, and in doint, so has taken into consideration,
among other thins, the fact that while this property is in
a business zone, the area is actually used entirely for
residentail purposes, and the property is a considerable
distance from any business use , that there was unanimous
disapproval registered by all those recorded at the hearing
excepting the owner and the prospective purchaser.
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 in interest.
BOx3li OF APPEALS uP LEXII:;GTOI
(Appointed under G.L Ch.40, sec 27)
260
Errol H. Locke
C. Edward Glynn
J. Milton Brown
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 certi-
ficate of mailing on May 21 , 1941 to Bridget Leary, Vir-
ginia Leavitt, First Baptist Church of Lexington, Edgar
J Thivierge, Anstiss S. Hunt, et al, Bertha 1 Baker,
Warren E. Russell , James J F. Lucy D. Walsh, Lora B
Worthen, Carrie Norris, Iarold H €c r, artha F Hookway,
Eugene J Viano , Francis M. Wilson, Inc , and Daniel J.
O' Connell , and also advertised in the Lexington Minute-
Lan on Lay 15, 1941, a notice of which the following is
a true copy
HUARD W. ROBBINS
Clerk, Board of appeals
-ay 8, 1941
Lexington Board of Zoning_ nppeals
Town Office Building
Lexin_,ton, 1 ass.
Gentlemen
The undersi ned hereby petition the Lex_in,ton Board
of Appeals, appointed under General Laws, Cnapter 40 ,
Section 27 , to vary the application of section 9a of the
Lexington Zonin. By-law with respect to the premises at
1556 Massachusetts avenue , Lexin,ton, by permitting the
followin, Maintenance of an undertaking establishment.
Francis M. Wilson, Inc .
by Chas R Corwin, Treas.
28 Oolled,e Ave
West aou?rville, Mass
Lexington, Mass
Lay 15 , 1941
7CTICE
The Board of Appeals will hold a henrinr on the .:latter
of varying; the aoplicati on of tae Zoning Law by permitting
on the premises owned by Daniel J. O'Connell and located
at 155o Lass Ave , Lexington, tae maintenance of an under-
261
' talon, est--eblishr: ent, under t_ie Lexin hton Zoning Law or in
accordance with Chapter 4u, Section 2;-5A of the general Laws
and amendments.
The hearing will be held on June 6, 1941, at 835 P. M.
in the Selectmen' s Zoom, Town Office BuildinL , Lexington.
C EDWARD CLYNN,
Chairman, Board of Appeals
Four members voted in favor of the denial of the
petition, and Mr Kimball voted in opposition to the denial
of the petition.
The Board was influenced in its decision by the fact
that whereas this property is located in a business zone ,
there is no actual business use within this zone nearer
than the Colonial garage, and among those citizens repre-
sentated at the meeting and recorded, there was unanimous
disapproval of the granting of the permit. Also, it felt
that the parking problem would be made more difficult by
the location of a funeral home near the junction of ,_ass
Ave. , goburn Street , and Winthrop Road.
The meeting adjourned at 10 20 P M.
x true record, Attest
Clerk