[MassHistPres] Turning an old house into an "auxiliaryapartment" and adding a new house to the lot

[Dennis De Witt]

While the hardship variance seems an interesting solution, could it risk setting a negative precedent and codifying a stigma by saying: "Being in an LHD is legally defined as a hardship?" -- not unlike the (false) argument that being in an LHD is a "taking."

Dennis De Witt

 
On Jul 25, 2013, at 2:50 PM, John Worden <jworden at swwalaw.com> wrote:

> We had a similar situation in Arlington, albeit on a much smaller lot.  It was in a 40C district so we had plenty of control.  There was an 1840s house and its closely adjacent barn on the same lot.  The latter had been used in post-barn years as a photography studio, the photographer living in the house.   The new owners wanted to convert the barn into another residence  Of course zoning allowed for only one principal use per lot.  We gave them permission to make minor exterior alterations to the barn to make it suitable for residential use, then they went to the ZBA and sought a variance of hardship, unique situation etc. (which they got).  In your case, the carriage house could be converted to the second residence, and both old buildings would be saved.
>  
> John Worden
> Arlington HDC
>  
> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Ofdgkalman4 at cs.com
> Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 1:50 PM
> To: marisa-ah at comcast.net; masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Turning an old house into an "auxiliaryapartment" and adding a new house to the lot
>  
> Is it possible to change the zoning of the land to allow for the property to be considered freestanding condos rather than single family homes?
> 
> David Kelman
> Keller Williams Realty
> 617 388 0793
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Marisa Morra <marisa-ah at comcast.net>
> To: MHC MHC listserve <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> Sent: Mon, Jul 22, 2013 12:53 pm
> Subject: [MassHistPres] Turning an old house into an "auxiliary apartment" and adding a new house to the lot
> 
> Hi All,
> We here in Weston have a proposal in front of us that I wondered if anyone has 
> dealt with before.  We have an owner who has a 2+ acre lot that is long and 
> narrow, hence non-conformong, with a c. 1860 house and barn & a c. 1910 stone 
> carriage house.  The lot did not proof out as a flexible subdivision to be 
> divided as they wanted, so now they are applying to take the 5 bedroom house- 
> remove 3 bedrooms, and have it count as an auxiliary apartment, and build a big 
> new house on the same lot. The building inspector has told them that this is 
> theoretically possible, but would need many variances. We on the Weston Historic 
> Commission are horrified, but have already imposed a 6 month delay, and this 
> house is not in a "district" . We feel this would set a bad precedent for houses 
> and lots in the same situation, of which there are many in Weston.  
> Has anyone ever had this "auxiliary apartment" scenario  presented to them?   
>  
> Any thoughts on how to deal with it, once our demo delay time frame has expired?
>  
> Thank You,
> Marisa Morra
> Co-Chair, Weston Historic Commission
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