Note to File 09-13-2018 • TOWN OF YARMOUTH
k . t r 1 C:. BUILDING DEPARTMENT
, i y. 1146 Route 28,South Yarmouth,MA 02664
N nw— ' 4.
508-398-2231 ext. 1261 Fax 508-398-0836
NOTE TO FILE
September 13,2018
Re: 40 Gleason Ave. Inspection
Present: Kevin Hook, Health Dept. Housing Inspector, Robert Gannon, property owner, James
Brandolini, Deputy Building Commissioner
Purpose of Inspection:Determine the number of dwelling units,number of bedrooms,minimum health
standards(Rental Certificate) and life/safety.
BUILDING DEPT. RELATED OBSERVATIONS •
Rental Unit A Front 1"floor
-1 bedroom
-Kitchen
-Living Room
-Full bath
-Gas stove,with single wall vent pipe, located in living room is the only source of heat for the unit.
-Exterior deck has an opening to access elect. outlet,which causes a potential trip hazard.,The owner
was advised to install cover to abate same.
-Gas kitchen range.
Owner Occupied Unit B
-Did not inspect. Advised by owner the unit has a gas kitchen range and a gas fired heating stove,
similar to the other units.
Rental Unit C Lower level/left
-1 bedroom
-2 storage rooms(no windows) cannot be used for sleeping purposes
-Kitchen
-Full bath
-Gas stove, with single wall vent pipe, located in living room is the only source of heat for the unit.
-Gas kitchen stove
Rental Unit D Second Floor
-2 Bedrooms
-Living room
-Kitchen
-Full bath
-Gas range, with single wall vent pipe, located in living room
Page 2-40 Gleason Ave. September 13,2018 Inspection
t Unit D, cont'd.
-Electric baseboard heat, thermostatically controlled.
-Electric kitchen stove
-The gas pipe that services the gas fired stove runs horizontally along the exterior of the building,thru
the second floor deck,vertically into the attic gable wall and down an interior partition. There appears
to be rust on this pipe.
-The smoke detector has been removed from the hall at the bottom of the interior stairs.
-Replace the smoke detector in the unit outside the bedrooms—not sounding correctly.
-Storage has been placed at the bottom of the interior stairs. Owner was ordered to remove same.
-Lose intermediate rail on exterior stairs.
Common Cellar Area
-This area contains a cloth's washer, gas dryer and electric water heathers.
-A flex gas line runs down a partition from ceiling line to floor level and thru the wall,to service the gas
dryer.
-Mother flex gas line runs horizontally under the floor joists to a connection adjacent to the girder.
Note:I have requested that Lee Hall,Plumbing/Gas Inspector inspect the gas related issues noted herein
and address any others he may observe while on site. This inspection will be coordinated with Mr.
Gannon,property owner.
ZONING NOTE
The use of this building was addressed in 2003-2004 and 2012 correspondence between me,Attorney
Paul Tardif and Mr. Robert Gannon, potential owner at the time. The file also contains extensive
documentation/correspondence.
-According to the Assessors' records the structure was constructed in 1975 as a lawful two family. At
the time a two family use was allowed providing the lot contained 1 'A times the land area for a single
family use. In this case,the lot contained 27,007+1-square feet of land area. The minimum lot size in
effect in 1975 was 15,000 square feet; thus 22,500 square feet was the minimum required for a two
family. Therefore,the two family use was lawful.
-On March 7, 1978 Building Permit 53 was issued to"expand apartment"
-On December 4, 1978 Building Permit 576 was issued to finish basement as per plan
-Over succeeding years the structure morphed into five (5)units.
-Determinations were made by Building Commissioners during that time period that by removing the
kitchen sinks,those units would not be,in effect recognized as independent dwelling units. The zoning
bylaw definition for Dwelling Unit is"A single unit providing complete,independent living facilities
for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and
sanitation." The long standing benchmark for reclassifying a unit has been the removal of the cooking
devices. However,prior Commissioners ordered the kitchen sinks removed.
-In 2012 it was determined that two units met the criteria set forth in MGL Chapter 40A, Section 7—
with respect to use,because of the Building Permits that were issued and enforcement action was not
taken within six years.
-Alterations were required to remove a fifth unit area.
Submitted: James D. Brandolini,