[MassHistPres] Demolition of a newton local landmark

[Garrett Laws]

Bad developers are again and again and again being shown that all it takes
is a little money to get what they want!

- Pull the developers builders license for breaking the law by not pulling
the proper permits.
- Take the developer to court and require them to rebuild the "original"
structure with all associated details.

>From a contractors perspective. PLEASE throw the book at these people,
letting them off the hook with a slap on the wrist breaks public confidence
in ALL contractors.

Many Thanks,
Garrett Laws

www.copperandslate.net
The Copper & Slate Company, Inc.
Fine Roofing and Historic Carpentry
238 Calvary Street,
Waltham, MA 02453
(781) 893-1916

*LEAD FREE SINCE 2008*


On Mon, May 3, 2021 at 2:02 PM Ralph Slate <slater at alum.rpi.edu> wrote:

> That didn't happen as described.
>
> On Dec 28, 1992 the owner of a house at 51 Mulberry St. in Springfield,
> owned by Dr. Phillip Stone (owner of an adjacent house used as a medical
> office) demolished an 1830 Greek Revival house in the Ridgewood Local
> Historic District. No application was made to the Springfield Historical
> Commission, and no demolition/building permit was sought. I believe that
> the action was taken with the goal to create a parking lot on the site for
> the adjacent medical office. The lot of the demolished house was actually
> non-conforming, so nothing could be rebuilt there - there were effectively
> two houses on the same parcel, both owned by Stone.
>
> The house wasn't actually related to Theodore Geisel except that it was on
> Mulberry Street, a street which Geisel used as the theme for his first
> children's book.
>
> The city sued both Stone and the demolition company, Associated Building
> Wreckers (ABW), to have the house rebuilt.
>
> At some point in the summer of 1993, the State Building Code Appeals Board
> ruled that Stone was not at fault for the demolition (shifting the blame to
> the ABW), overturning the city's finding that Stone violated the state
> building code without permit or notice. The basis for that decision was
> that they ruled that Stone "reasonably believed that the duty of securing
> the permit had been assigned to the demolition contractor".  The city
> appealed that decision.
>
> An article on Dec 29, 1993 mentioned that the City had sued Stone and ABW,
> and that ABW and Stone had cross-sued each other and the City.
>
> I could find no articles with details on what ultimately happened, but the
> house was definitely not rebuilt. From memory, there was settlement which
> included a fine of $22,500 which was paid by either Stone or ABW. This
> money went into a fund that allowed grants to homeowners in the
> neighborhood to do some repair work on their own houses. The owner also
> agreed to subdivide the lot and grant the front portion of it to the City
> of Springfield for $1. A stone with a plaque was erected (paid for by ABW)
> on the city's land. Parking was created on the rear portion of the lot.
>
> The deed to subdivide was filed in November 1995 - three years after the
> demolition.
>
>
> Ralph Slate
> Springfield, MA
>
>
>
> On 5/3/2021 11:10 AM, Judy Markland wrote:
>
> An excellent example of required replacement is the home of Theodore
> Geisel, Dr. Seuss, in Springfield that was abruptly demolished in a similar
> situation.  The developer was forced to rebuild the home as it was.
>
> Judy Markland
>
> Whately Historical Commission
> On 5/2/2021 8:51 PM, George Triantaris wrote:
>
> In cases like this, some towns have required the offender to rebuild the house exactly as it was. Although it does not replace the lost house at least it prevents the developer from building a large new house on the lot and profiting by tearing down the historic structure.
>
> George Triantaris
> Harvard Historical Commission
>
>
> On May 2, 2021, at 7:36 PM, masshistpres-request at cs.umb.edu wrote:
>
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> Today's Topics:
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>   1. Demolition of a Newton Local Landmark (WN Hill Preservation)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 2 May 2021 07:05:07 -0400
> From: WN Hill Preservation <wnhpreservation at gmail.com> <wnhpreservation at gmail.com>
> To: MHC MHC listserve <MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu> <MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu>
> Subject: [MassHistPres] Demolition of a Newton Local Landmark
> Message-ID:
>    <CA+WbQ-sBvXQb_2ZtgDcdWG+D+npcXAHiFR0o+vQundrUt+k+ow at mail.gmail.com> <CA+WbQ-sBvXQb_2ZtgDcdWG+D+npcXAHiFR0o+vQundrUt+k+ow at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> We discovered last week that a builder has demolished an 18th
> century farmhouse, one of Newton's 24 Local Landmarks<https://www.newtonma.gov/government/planning/historic-preservation/newton-city-landmarks> <https://www.newtonma.gov/government/planning/historic-preservation/newton-city-landmarks>.
> This took place 3 months after the sale to a developer, despite very
> specific preservation measures discussed at length and agreed with the
> Historical Commission, and a stop work order from the inspectional
> department.
>
> The farmhouse in our Oak Hill neighborhood originally belonged to the Hyde
> family, ancestors of the first mayor when the city was incorporated,James
> F. C. Hyde <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_F._C._Hyde> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_F._C._Hyde>.
>
> We are interested to learn from others if you have had something like this
> occur and how it was handled, including penalties. There is a strong
> concern that if this builder gets away with a light penalty that gives a
> green light to others.
>
> Another note is that the property was listed by the realtor<https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/29-Greenwood-St_Newton_MA_02459_M36199-25165> <https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/29-Greenwood-St_Newton_MA_02459_M36199-25165>
> as "shovel ready" ... "get to work with your backhoe on day one."
>
> Laura Foote
> West Newton Hill Preservation Initiative
>
>
> wnhpreservation at gmail.com
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