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HomeMy WebLinkAboutViolations Update 01-03-2019 ot'''`tR TOWN OF YARMOUTH k.: � . it� � BUILDING DEPARTMENT 1146 Route 28, South Yarmouth,MA 02664 '�' •wris 508-398-2231 ext. 1261 Fax 508-398-0836 October 4,2018 Mr.Robert Gannon 40 Gleason Ave. Unit B West Yarmouth, MA 02673 / Re: 40 Gleason Ave. Gas Appliance Inspection Dear Mr. Gannon: +c, This is to serve as a follow up to our September 13, 2018 site meeting, where, at the conclusion we agreed you would contact me or Plumbing/Gas Inspector Lee Hall to arrange a day and time for him to i evaluate several concerns I had;specifically,the gas fired heater stoves in each unit,flex gas lines,and an exterior gas line feeding a second floor unit. You stated you were going to New York and would contact this office to make this arrangement, however as of today you have failed to do so. Accordingly,because of the potential hazards and until such time as Inspector Hall determines otherwise, you are hereby advised to contact this office immediately. Failure to do so will result in this office noting the gas company and ordering the gas services shut off. t S. .rd. ed, a �r,,.Xf Ara Imes D. Brandolini, `� . Deputy Building Commissioner v�'}.. „fir ""-41 rea cc: Lee Hall,Plumbing/Gas Inspector ; �' • /r`' Kevin Hook, Health Dept. Housing Inspector C c Mark Grylls, Building Commissioner G'ZtiwG" G --e of AP TOWN OF YARMOUTH BUILDING DEPARTMENT o y 1146 Route 28, South Yarmouth,MA 02664 „T^ ^ LSI 4. 508-398-2231 ext. 1261 Fax 508-398-0836 563"4---List cY 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 lad 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 ' Unit El 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. -Another 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+/-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, • Disapproval of a plan shall not serve to terminate any rights which shall have accrued under the provisions of this section,provided an appeal from the decision disapproving said plan is made under applicable provisions of the subdivision control law. Such appeal shall stay,pending an order or decree Cof a court of final jurisdiction,the applicability to land shown on said plan of the provisions of any zoning ordinance or by-law which became effective after the date of submission of the plan first submitted. In the event that any lot shown on a plan endorsed by the planning board is the subject matter of any appeal or any litigation, the exemptive provisions of this section shall be extended for a period equal to that from the date of filing of said appeal or the commencement of litigation,whichever is earlier,to the date of final disposition thereof,provided fmal adjudication is in favor of the owner of said lot. The record owner of the land shall have the right,at any time,by an instrument duly recorded in the registry of deeds for the district in which the land lies,to waive the provisions of this section, in which case the ordinance or by-law then or thereafter in effect shall apply. The submission of an amended plan or of a further subdivision of all or part of the land shall not constitute such a waiver,nor shall it have the effect of further extending the applicability of the ordinance or by-law that was extended by the original submission,but,if accompanied by the waiver described above, shall have the effect of extending,but only to extent aforesaid, the ordinance or by-law made then applicable by such waiver. Section 7.Enforcement of Zoning Ordinance; Penalties; Jurisdiction of Superior Court. The inspector of buildings,building commissioner or local inspector, or if there are none, in a town, the board of selectmen, or person or board designated by local ordinance or by-law, shall be charged with the enforcement of the zoning ordinance or by-law and shall withhold a permit for the construction, alteration or moving of any building or structure if the building or structure as constructed, altered or moved would be in violation of any zoning ordinance or by-law; and no permit or license shall be granted for a new use of a building, structure or land which use would be in violation of any zoning ordinance or by-law. If the officer or board charged with enforcement of zoning ordinances or by-laws is requested in writing to enforce such ordinances or by-laws against any person allegedly in violation of the same and such officer or board declines to act;he shall notify,in writing,the party requesting such enforcement of any action or refusal to act, and the reasons therefor, • within fourteen days of receipt of such request. No local zoning law shall provide penalty of more than three hundred dollars per.violation; provided,however,that nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit such laws from providing that each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.No action, suit or proceeding shall be maintained in any court,nor any administrative or other action taken to recover a fine or damages or to compel the removal, alteration, or relocation of any structure or part of a structure or alteration of a structure by reason of any violation of any zoning by-law or ordinance except in accordance with the provisions of this section, section eight and section seventeen;provided, further, that if real property has been improved and used in accordance with the terms of the original building*. permit issued by a person duly authorized to issue such'permits,no action,criminal or civil,the effect or purpose of which is to compel the abandonment,limitation or modification of the usetallowed.by. said permit or the removal,alteration or relocation of any structure erected in reliance upon said permit, by reason of any alleged violation of the provisions of this chapter,or of any ordinance or by-law.., adopted thereunder, shall be maintained,unless such action, suitor proceeding is commenced and bnotice thereof recorded in the registry of deeds for each county or district in which the land lies within t six years next after the commencement of the alleged violation of law; and provided,further that no action, criminal or civil,the effect or purpose of which is to compel the removal,alteration, or . relocation of any.,structure by reason of any alleged violation of the provisions of this chapter,or any ordinance or by-law adopted thereunder,or the conditions of any variance or special permit, shall be 9 • • vA.. TOWN OF YARMOUTH • tra• '�pppppp-��- \ BUILDING DEPARTMENT it' ci • 1146 Route 211,South Yarmouth,MA 02664 O. !„t� 508-39a-2231 eft 261 Fe:503-39AJIR16 • January 12,2004 Paul R.Tardif,ESQ. 490 Main Street • Yarmouth Port,MA 02675 • Re:V0 oleasonAvenueyjS ' • Dear Mr.Tardif: • This is to serve as a follow up to your letter of December 18i°and our site meeting of December 176,2003. • Based on the information you have provided and the observations made during our site visit,I have conduced the following I. I concur with your assertions that the'liq,year statue of limitations pursuant to Massachusetts General Law,Chapter 40A;Section 7 prevents this department from effecting legal action relative to stnrcriaal ' changes. • 2. It has been alleged that former-building officials from this department permitted certain living areas to exist based on the omission and or removal of kitchen sinks. As you and I know under current zoning it is not the inclusion of the sink but rather the inclusion of cooking devices that constitutes a kitchen per se. Notwithstanding that issue,it does appear based on the documentation and floor plans,these farmer building officials did permit the units with the removal of kitchen sinks. 3. ft appears that in the final analysis the structure contains two complete dwelling ansa with cooking devices and kitchen sinks,two units with cooking devices without kitchen sinks and one unit with no • 'cooking devices or kitchen sink- • Therefore, in summary providing the structure remains owner oe upied.the we as stated will be allowed to • continue. However,the following building code related issues shall be addressed: 1. A one-hour fire rated enclosure shall be provided in the basement area adjacent to the water heater and . the clothes dryer. • • • 2. Provisions shall be made to incorporate the required make-up air for said water heater and clothes dryer. , • These building code corrections shall be undertaken immediately and do require a building permit with follow up inspection • Finally,please advise your client that we would be happy to answer arw questions she or her contractor may have . regarding their building code issues. • Very truly yours, • - A. -4:4- • COPY • • es D.Brandolinl CBO • Building Commissioner • fdrel /V/2-aeriegli z /te • • • V 44 0,2 `' th4,1I• yetC ` . 7j'• . •FFICE MEETING NOTES. ADDRESS: �v DATE: / /'Z NAMES OF ATTENDEES: ZONING DISTRICT: exer FL00D ZONE: MEETING TOPIC: • • $..y ,,7c 1}-f a7 7, 17- . • 35/7/ 7J • • `// 0 I { To this date, Ms. Milligan continues to occupy the Basement Unit and has no use of a kitchen sink in that Unit. In summary,a majority of the Town Departments which comprise the current "Task Force" were in agreement that my client could construct and maintain a total of 5 1 bedrooms and house up to 12 people, in addition to her own unit in the Basement, at the ProPerty The current state of the property is as follows. I have labeled the units in parentheses to coincide with the Unit designations of your Department. Please note that Ms. Milligan has reconfigured the Units,but has reduced the number of allowable bedrooms: Basement Unit(Unit C)— no change in use or size since the issuance of Building Permit 576 in 1978;cooking facilities but no kitchen sink; • First Floor rear(Unit B)- a one bedroom unit with one bath and full kitchen; First Floor front(Unit A)- a one bedroom unit with one bath and a full kitchen;this is the space which was originally the garage and for which Building Permit 53 was issued in March of 1978; First Floor middle(Units E+D)- a two bedroom unit with two bathrooms,and a wetbar on the first floor and a kitchen with no sink on the second; 0 In sum,there are currently four living spaces at the property,and one less bedroom than allowed by the Town in 1983. My client has, since the date of her purchase, operated at the instruction of your predecessors as Building Commissioner that she could maintain the units for so long as they did not have a kitchen sink. The Yarmouth Zoning Bylaw contains several definitions which are germane to the current issue. A DWELLING UNIT is a single unit providing complete, independent living facilities for one (1) or more persons including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cow and sanitation. Based on this definition, there are only two dwelling units at the property. This would qualify the property as a TWO-FAMILY DWELLING,which is a building containing two (2)dwelling units with not more than three(3) lodgers or boarders per family. In the alternative, this property would also qualify as a BOARDING OR LODGING HOUSE,which is an owner occupied dwelling offering accommodations,with or without meals, for rental to more than three (3) and fewer than twelve (12) persons. Or, the property may also be classified as a GUESTHOUSE, INN, OR BED & BREAKFAST INN, which is a structure similar in character, both interior and exterior, to a single-family dwelling, owner-occupied, in firriaq which overnight lodging is offered in five(5)or fewer guest rooms. M.G.L.c.40A, §7 states in pertinent part that"if real property has been improved and used in accordance with the terms of the original building permit issued by a person duly authorized to issue such permits, no action, criminal or civil, the effect or purpose of which is to compel the abandonment, limitation or modification of the use allowed by said permit or the removal, alteration or relocation of any structure erected in reliance upon said permit by reason of any alleged violation of the provisions of this chapter, or of any ordinance or by-law adopted 2 , ._ , • 4 , , LAW OFI7r.LS OF PAUL R. TARDIF, ESQ. 490 MAIN STREET YARMOUTH PORT,MA 02675 par 1rinntiflavwsnm (508)362-7799 (508)362-7199 fax REFER TO FILE NO. November 12,2003 James D.Brandolini Building Commissioner Town of Yarmouth 1146 Route 28 South Yarmouth,MA 02664 Re: 40 Gleason Avenue,West Yarmouth,MA Roberta Milligan Dear Mr.Brandolini: Please be advised that I represent Roberta Milligan, the record owner, and occupant, of the property at 40 Gleason Avenue, West Yarmouth, MA. As you know, Ms. Milligan was recently presented with a Notice of Violation dated October 22, 2003 by Andrew L. Arnault. First,I would ask you to refrain from taking any further action with regard to this Violation until we have had an opportunity to make certain corrections, or in the alternative, and if necessary, seek relief from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Violation is drafted in three parts, although the first two violations can reasonably be grouped together and addressed as such. Please be advised that my client has undertaken to complete the violations listed in the third section of the Notice. I believe that your Department will be better served if I provide you with some historical information about the property since its purchase by myplient in 1978. • When the property was first purchased, it consisted of tw'0 separate living units, each containing a separate kitchen. The property was improved with an attached garage, for which Ms. Milligan requested and was issued Building Permit 53 to finish that space and add it to one of the existing units. The septic system was upgraded in 1978 and I am told that it is still approved for up to eight bedrooms. After the issuance of a complaint, and a district court judgment,due to my client's installation of a basement unit without a building permit,the parties agreed that Building Permit 576 would issue to permit her to finish the basement unit in accordance with plans prepared and presented to your Department. By letter of May I1, 1983 from the then Housing Inspector George Heufelder, with a copy of said letter to Forrest White, Bruce Murphy, and James McDonald, the then Plumbing Inspector, it was established that the property at 40 Gleason Avenue contained three units—First Floor Front, which contained two bedrooms and a maximum allowable occupancy of 4 persons; First.a Second Floor Rear, . which contained three bedrooms and a maximum allowable occupancy of 8 persons, and the Basement Unit, which was occupied by Ms. Milligan and which could not have a kitchen sink.