[MassHistPres] hardship demolition application

Mon Dec 14 08:50:54 EST 2009

If there hasn't been an appraisal by the town then zillow.com is a good
resource for recently sold houses if the town doesn't have this information
on an assessing page of their web site.

I would only rely on the "house values" for a ball park as real estate
prices change fast...

Cheers,
Garrett

Garrett Laws, Manager
The Copper & Slate Company
Fine Roofing and Exterior Finish Carpentry
238B Calvary Street
Waltham, MA 02453
Ph: (781) 893-1916
Fax: (781) 209-0701

Copperandslate at Gmail.com

On Sun, Dec 13, 2009 at 4:22 PM, <wwheelwright at juno.com> wrote:

> Town Meeting 2008 voted to purchase for 495K and to close on Feb.1, 2010.
> No mention of "appraised value". The assessed  value is currently land
> 286K and house 84K for a total of 370K. Subtract the house and the total
> is 202K. So if you mean "assessed value" I will try to learn more about
> the legal point you raise. If you mean "appraised value" would it be a
> public document that we could request?
> Susie Wheelwright
>
> On Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:03:44 -0500 Harry LaCortiglia
> <hlacortiglia at comcast.net> writes:
> > May I ask, where did the money come from to purchase the property?
> >
> > If a town meeting vote authorized the purchase of the parcel but
> > that
> > purchase has not yet been finalized and recorded then you need to
> > examine the language of that Town Meeting warrant article.
> >
> > If, at the time of the closing, the town will be in the position of
> >
> > purchasing a parcel with a lesser value (because the value of the
> > demolished building is no longer part of the overall sale) than the
> >
> > value of the parcel that was voted on at town meeting, then ten
> > taxpayers should be able to halt the sale itself.
> >
> > The question needs to be asked, if the Town meeting voters
> > appropriated
> > the money with the understanding that the property would be sans
> > existing building and if so, what the appraised value of the
> > purchase
> > would be without that building. My understanding is that
> > municipalities
> > cannot purchase parcels for greater than their appraised value.
> >
> > H. LaCortiglia
> >
> > Chris Skelly wrote:
> > > Of course, they can't vote to continue if they don't have a
> > quorum.
> > >
> > > Also, MGL Chapter 40C requires a decision within 60 days.  It
> > isn't possible
> > > to just continue indefinitely.  If the applicant has not agreed to
> > the
> > > further time in writing, the commission has to make a
> > determination within
> > > 60 days of the filing of the application.  If the commission shall
> > fail to
> > > make a determination within such period of time the commission
> > shall
> > > thereupon issue a certificate of hardship.
> > >
> > > Interestingly, they can't issue any certificate (including a
> > certificate of
> > > hardship) if they don't have a satisfactory number of appointed
> > members on
> > > the commission to take a vote.  If the commission can't issue a
> > certificate
> > > and MGL Chapter 40C requires a certificate before receiving a
> > building
> >  (demolition) permit, the question really is - how does the applicant
> > obtain
> > > a building (demolition) permit after all this.  Chris.
> > >
> > > Christopher C. Skelly
> > > Director of Local Government Programs
> > > Massachusetts Historical Commission
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
> > > [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of D. Mauch
> > > Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2009 12:17 PM
> > > To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> > > Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] MassHistPres Digest, Vol 46, Issue 16
> > >
> > > I would post a meeting to be held by December 15th and then vote
> > to
> > > "continue it," indefinitely citing the need for further
> > information
> > > regarding the particular agenda item.  That way you've complied
> > with
> > > the clock, but reset the thresholds.  Contact the Ethics
> > Commission
> > > and let them know of the matter immediately and request their
> > > intervention.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Dec 10, 2009, at 12:00 PM, masshistpres-request at cs.umb.edu
> > wrote:
> > >
> > >
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> > >> Today's Topics:
> > >>
> > >>   1. hardship demolition application (wwheelwright at juno.com)
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>
> > >> Message: 1
> > >> Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:13:29 -0500
> > >> From: wwheelwright at juno.com
> > >> Subject: [MassHistPres] hardship demolition application
> > >> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> > >> Message-ID: <20091210.001329.1028.11.wwheelwright at juno.com>
> > >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> To Chris Skelly and members of the listserve,
> > >>
> > >> The Board of Selectmen and the present owner of the property
> > jointly
> > >> filed a hardship application with the Sherborn Historic District
> > >> Commission on December 1 to demolish the Richard Smart House and
> > Barn,
> > >> which abut the Town Offices in the Local Historic District, and
> > which
> > >> will be purchased by the Town on or before Feb 1, 2010. The Dec 1
> >
> > >> filing
> > >> starts the clock ticking for the HDC, requiring a meeting which
> > must
> > >> be
> > >> held by Dec 15 to decide if the application requires review, a
> > public
> > >> hearing by Dec 29, and a determination by the HDC by Feb 27. If
> > the
> > >> choice of this very difficult time of year to require meetings
> > and
> > >> encourage public participation seems intentional on the part of
> > the
> > >> Selectmen, keep reading.  There is more to this story.
> > >>
> > >> The Selectmen have tried every way they could to ensure that the
> > HDC
> > >> will
> > >> allow the buildings to be demolished. Following an unsuccessful
> >
> > >> attempt
> > >> at Town Meeting last Spring to have the property removed from
> > the
> > >> district, the Selectmen failed to re-appoint members, one of them
> > the
> > >> chairman, after the Commission indicated that it would be
> > unlikely to
> > >> permit demolition. Since June 15 all appointments to the
> > Commission
> > >> have
> > >> been held up, except for one new member handpicked by Selectmen
> > to
> > >> represent them as abuttors-to-be, a move ruled to be legal by
> > Town
> > >> Counsel. Strangely another abuttor, who is on the HDC but was not
> > up
> > >> for
> > >> reappointment,  has been told he cannot participate or vote. Yet
> >
> > >> another
> > >> member resigned citing the pressure from the Selectmen and has
> > not
> > >> been
> > >> replaced. So, having gutted and demoralized the HDC and then
> > filed the
> > >> application to coincide with the holidays, no quorum will be the
> >
> > >> outcome
> > >> for the review by Dec 15, the first deadline. Do any of you know
> > if
> > >> that
> > >> means a default for the HDC on Dec. 15 and an automatic hardship
> > >> certificate?
> > >>
> > >> In the event of a Dec 15 default , does anyone know of  possible
> > pro
> > >> bono
> > >> legal assistance for the HDC to help with immediate further steps
> >
> > >> such as
> > >> an injunction to prevent immediate tear down? The Selectmen
> > control
> > >> access to Town Counsel.
> > >>
> > >> The Sherborn Historical Commission thanks you in advance for your
> > good
> > >> information and suggestions.
> > >>
> > >> Susie Wheelwright
> > >> Sherborn Historical Commission
> > >> ____________________________________________________________
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> > >>
> > >
> >
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