Town annual report of Saugus 1928, Part 4

Author: Saugus (Mass.)
Publication date: 1928
Publisher: The Town
Number of Pages: 310


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SECTION 6. Whoever violates any of the foregoing regula- tions shall forfeit not more than one hundred dollars as provided in General Laws, Chapter 111, Section 122.


ART. 7. To see if the town will vote to accept Woodbury avenue from the line of previous acceptance to Hesper street, a


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distance of about 450 feet, as per plans and specifications filed with the Town Clerk, or to see what action the town will take in the matter, agreeable to the petition of Joseph H. McNeil and others.


ART. 8. To see if the town will vote to appropriate the sum of $1,000 for repair of approach to new bridge on Woodbury avenue, or to see what action the town will take in the matter, agreeable to the petition of the Board of Selectmen.


ART. 9. To see if the town will vote to appropriate the sum of $12,500 for the purpose of building a bridge of concrete con- struction and approaches across the Saugus River on Woodbury avenue, said sum to be raised in the tax levy or to be transferred from the surplus, or to see what action the town will take in the matter, agreeable to the petition of Joseph H. McNeil and others.


ART. 10. To see if the town will vote to appropriate the sum of $S,500 to pay the unpaid bills of 1927 and prior years, or to see what action the town will take in the matter, agreeable to the petition of the Board of Selectmen.


ART. II. To see if the town will increase the members of the School Committee from five to nine, or to see what action the town will take the matter, agreeable to the petition of Edward Gibbs, Jr., and others.


ART. 12. To see if the town will vote to transfer back to the surplus the balance of the appropriation for unpaid bills for 1927 and prior years made at the Annual Town Meeting of 1928, or to see what action the town will take in the matter, agreeable to the petition of the Board of Selectmen.


You are hereby directed to serve this Warrant by posting attested copies thereof at the usual places seven days, at least, before the time of holding said meeting, and to distribute copies as provided by the By-Laws, at least four days before.


HEREOF, FAIL NOT, and make due return of this Warrant, with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk, at the time and place of said meeting.


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Given under our hands and town seal this eleventh day of June, A.D., nineteen hundred and twenty-eight.


TOWN SEAL


C. F. NELSON PRATT, JOHN C. PITMAN, HAROLD E. DODGE, HARRY WOODWARD, VERNON W. EVANS, Board of Selectmen.


A true copy. Attest :


W. CHARLES SELLICK, Constable.


COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.


ESSEX, SS.


June 25, 1928.


Pursuant hereunto I have served the within Warrant as directed by posting attested copies at Town Hall and Campbell's barber shop in Precinct One; Post Office and B. & M. Depot and O'Connor's barber shop in Precinct Two; Harvey Upham's Store in Precinct Three; Pleasant Hills Depot and billboard on Essex street in Precinct Four; Corbett's Store in North Saugus and Club House at Lynnhurst in Precinct Five, at least seven days before said meeting and distributed to the inhabitants at least four days before according to the By-Laws.


W. CHARLES SELLICK,


Constable.


A true copy. Attest :


LILLIAN SHORES, Town Clerk.


SPECIAL TOWN MEETING


June 25, 1928.


The meeting was called to order by the Town Clerk, Lillian Shores, at eight (8) o'clock, P. M.


The Warrant was read by the Town Clerk, omitting the read- ing of the Articles upon motion, which was carried, that the reading of the Articles be dispensed with.


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ART. I. To choose a Moderator to preside at said meeting.


Chose Frank P. Bennett, Jr., for Moderator, who after being duly qualified by the Town Clerk, took charge of the meeting.


The Moderator, acting under Article 2, Section 10 of the By- Laws, requested all persons not legal voters of the town of Saugus to retire from the Hall during the transaction of town business.


ART. 2. Reports of Committees.


No reports of Committees.


Voted, To take up Article 10 out of order. Yeas, 267 ; Nays, 10.


The Moderator appointed the following Tellers : W. George Greenlay, Fred E. Ewart, Clarence W. Howard, John B. Lang, and Walter S. Gay, and duly qualified them.


ART. 10. Unpaid Bills.


Voted, That $7000.00 be and the same hereby is appropriated from the surplus to pay the unpaid bills of 1927 and prior years.


ART. 3. Zoning By-Law.


Voted, That the town adopt the Zoning By-Law as presented by the planning board and the special committee on Zoning By- Law appointed in 1927. Yeas, 323 ; Nays, 18.


Proposed Zoning Law for the Town of Saugus


Section 1. To promote the health, safety, morals, conven- ience and general welfare of its inhabitants, to lessen the danger from fire and congestion, and to improve and beautify the town under the provisions of General Laws, Chapter forty, Sections twenty-five to thirty-A inclusive and Chapter one hundred and forty-three, Section three, and all additions and amendments thereto, the following By- Law, to be known as the Zoning By- Law, is hereby adopted.


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Section 2. Definitions. In this By-Law the following terms shall have the meanings here assigned to them :


(a) A Family : Any number of individuals living and cooking together on the premises as a single housekeeping unit.


(b) A Dwelling: Any building used in whole or in part for habitation.


(c) A One-Family House : A detached dwelling designed for and occupied by a single family.


(d) Semi-detached House : Two one-family houses built together at the same time and separated by a fire proof division with no openings.


(e) A Two-Family House : A detached dwelling designed for two families.


(f) Apartments : A dwelling for more than two families, or for one or more families over any non-residential use.


(g) An Accessory Use or Building : A use of land or a building customarily incident to and located on the same lot with another use of land or a building.


(h) A Non-Conforming Use or Building : An existing use of land or a building which does not conform to the regulations for the district in which such use of land or building exists.


(i) A Lot : A lot is that area of land described in the application for a permit.


(j) Height : The height of a building is the vertical dis- tance measured from the finished grade of the lot at the build- ing to the mean height of the roof.


USE REGULATIONS


Section 3. For the purpose of this By-Law, the town of Saugus is divided into four types of districts designated as :


I. Single Residence Districts.


2. General Residence Districts.


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3. Apartment and Business Districts.


4. Industrial Districts.


Said districts are as shown, defined and bounded on the map accompanying this By-Law entitled, The Zoning Map of Saugus, dated March, 1927, signed by the Planning Board and on file with the Town Clerk, and said map and all explanatory matter thereon are hereby made a part of this By-Law.


Section 4. Single Residence Districts. In single residence districts, subject to the provisions of Sections thirteen and four- teen, no new building or structure and no alteration, enlarge- ment or extension of an existing building or structure shall be designed, arranged and/or constructed, and no land, building, structure, or parts thereof shall be used, except for one or more of the following purposes :


1. One family detached and semi-detached houses.


2. The taking of boarders or the leasing of rooms by a family resident on the premises.


3. Churches, schools, public libraries, public museums, parish houses, and, subject to the provisions of Section seven- teen, the following : Cemeteries, hospitals, sanitoria, and philanthropic institutions.


4. Private clubs not conducted for profit.


5. Parks, playgrounds, municipal or church recreation buildings, water towers and reservoirs.


6. Farms, greenhouses, nurseries and truck gardens, and the sale of produce raised on the premises, under conditions pre- scribed by the' Building Inspector and Selectmen.


7. Real estate signs, of not over six square feet in area, advertising the sale or rental of only the premises on which they are located, and bulletin boards accessory to uses specified in 3 and 5 of this section.


8. Passenger stations.


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9. Telephone exchanges, provided that there are no service yards and that the design of the building is approved in writing by the planning board.


IO. Such accessory uses as are customarily incidental to any of the above uses subject to the provisions of Section thirteen.


Section 5. General Residence Districts. In General Residence Districts, subject to the provisions of Sections thirteen and fourteen, no new building or structure and no alteration, enlargement or extension of an existing building or structure shall be designed, arranged and/or constructed, and no land, building, structure or parts thereof shall be used except for one or more of the following purposes :


I. Any purpose enumerated in Section four, subject, as stated in Section four, to the provisions of Section seventeen.


2. Two-family dwellings.


Section 6. Business Districts. In business districts, subject to the provisions of Sections thirteen and fourteen, no new build- ing or structure and no alteration, enlargement or extension of any existing building or structure shall be designed, arranged and/or constructed, and no land, building; structure, or parts thereof shall be used except for one or more of the following purposes :


I. Any purpose enumerated in Sections four and five.


2. Retail stores and shops for custom work or the making of articles to be sold at retail on the premises, and apartments.


3. Manufacturing clearly incidental to a retail business law- fully conducted on the premises shall be permitted in a business district, omitting all that is in any way offensive, a nuisance or hazardous.


4. Business or professional offices and banks.


5. Restaurants and other places for serving food, and hotels.


6. Place of business of a baker, barber, caterer, clothes cleaner and presser, confectioner, decorator, dressmaker, dyer, electrician, florist, furrier, hair dresser, hand laundry, manicur-


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ist, milliner, newsdealer, optician, painter, paper-hanger, pho- tographer, printer, publisher, shoemaker, shoe repairer, shoe shiner, tailor, upholsterer ; and as provided in Section seventeen, the following : blacksmith, builder, carpenter, contractor, mason, plumber, roofer, tinsmith, upholsterer, undertaker, and any use which the Selectmen, after a hearing as provided in Section seventeen, may decide to be of like nature to any of the above and no more injurious in the district where it seeks to go.


7. Theatres, moving picture shows, bowling alleys, skating rinks, billiard rooms and similar commercial amusement places, subject to the provisions of Section seventeen.


8. Gasoline and oil stations, garages for storage and repairs, salesrooms for motor vehicles, and stables, subject to the provi- sions of Sections sixteen and seventeen.


9. Billboards as regulated by law and By-Laws.


Section 7. Industrial Districts. In industrial districts, subject to the provisions of Sections thirteen and fourteen, no new building or/structure and no alteration, enlargement or ex- tension of an existing building or structure shall be designed, arranged and/or constructed, and no land, building, structure or parts thereof shall be used except for one or more of the following purposes :


I. Any purposes permitted under Sections four, five, six and seven, subject to the provisions of Section sixteen.


2. Building material, fuel, feed and ice establishments, con- tractors' yards and junk yards, subject to the provisions of Sec- tion seventeen.


3. Light manufacturing, employing electricity and/or other unobjectionable motive power, utilizing hand labor and/or un- objectionable machinery and/or processes and free from neigh- borhood disturbing odors and/or other agencies, subject to the provisions of Section seventeen.


Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or of Section seventeen, no use shall be permitted which would be offensive because of injurious or obnoxious noise, vibration, smoke, gas,


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fumes, odors, dust or other objectionable features, or be hazard- ous to the community on account of fire or explosion or any other cause. No permit shall be granted under this or any other section for any use which would prove injurious to the safety or welfare of the neighborhood into which it proposes to go, and destructive of property values, because of any excessive nuisance qualities.


In granting permits under this section the nature of the . neighborhood and the nature of the proposed industry shall be considered and the effects of the industry on the neighborhood shall be carefully weighed. If the industry would in any way injure the neighborhood a permit shall be refused. Where a permit is granted all conditions which will protect the neighbor- hood shall be imposed and made a part of the permit.


Height Regulations


Section 8. Residence Districts.


(a) - The limit of height in all residence districts shall be two and one-half stories, not to exceed thirty-five feet.


(b) The limitations of height in feet shall not apply to chimneys, ventilators, skylights, tank, bulkheads, penthouses, and other necessary features usually carried above roofs, nor to towers or spires of churches or other buildings, if such features are in no way used for living purposes.


Section 9. Business and Industrial Districts.


(a) The limit of height in business and industrial districts shall be three stories, not to exceed forty feet.


(b) The limitation of height in feet shall not apply to such features as are mentioned in (b) of Section 9, nor to water tanks or scenery lofts which shall not cover more than 25 per cent of the area of the building.


Area Regulations


Section 10. In residence districts, as provided in Sections 4 and 5, land laid out after the adoption of this By-Law shall provide for each dwelling the following minimum lot areas :


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For a one-family house, not under 5,000 square feet.


For a semi-detached house, not under 6,000 square feet.


For a two-family house, not under 5,000 square feet.


Lots duly recorded by plan or deed at the time this By-Law is adopted may be used, provided that all requirements in regard to yards are fulfilled.


Percentage of Lot Covered


Section II. The percentage of its lot which may be covered by any building used for dwelling purposes, wherever located, shall in no instance exceed the following maximum provisions :


(a) One-family house : twenty-five per cent.


(b) Semi-detached house : thirty per cent.


(c) Two-family house : twenty-five per cent.


(d) Apartments : fifty per cent.


In business and industrial districts no building shall be built, reconstructed, extended or arranged so that it covers more than 80 per cent of a corner lot or more than 70 per cent of an interior lot. The open space required in this paragraph shall be provided in the rear, or in part on the sides, so as, in the opinion of the building inspector, to properly light and ventilate the building.


No lot, or the buildings or structures thereon shall be changed in size so as to violate the provisions of this By-Law.


Yards


Section 12. Front Yards. In residence districts and neigh- borhood store districts, as indicated on the map, there shall be provided in front of every building a front yard of at least twenty feet in clear depth between the building and the lines of the way or ways on which the building lot abuts, and no new building or structure shall be constructed and no building or structure shall be moved, altered, reconstructed or enlarged so that a front yard less in clear depth shall result. Projecting eaves, uncovered steps, piazzas open or enclosed, not to project more than eight feet in front yard space, and bay windows, shall not be considered as coming within the meaning of this section. Where to an extent of fifty per cent of the frontage


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space between two intersecting streets, or in any space of two hundred feet on the same side of a street, front yards of greater or lesser uniform depth than twenty feet have been established, by common agreement, or by private building restrictions, or through common usage, such front yards shall, notwithstanding any other provisions of this By-Law, be and remain the front yard space for such street or portion of street. Where in a similar space there is a variety in depth, the average shall remain the required front yard depth.


Side Yards


There shall be at each side of every dwelling a side yard of seven and one-half feet in width, which shall be kept clear from the front to the rear of the building; provided that one side yard may be reduced in width by one foot for every one foot by which the other side yard is increased in width; but no side yard shall be less than five feet in width. Where the line of the lot is not parallel with the line of the house the average width of the lot shall be as above.


Back Yards


Behind every dwelling there shall be provided a back yard between the rear line of the house and the rear lot line, not less than fifteen feet in depth. Back yards may contain accessory buildings not over one story high and covering not over twenty- five per cent of the area of the back yards.


Yards for Non=Residential Buildings


Any use, not residential or accessory, permitted in a residen- tial district shall observe all provisions of this By-Law in regard to depth and width of yards as applied to dwellings.


General Provisions


Section 13. Accessory Uses.


(a) Accessory uses shall be on the same lot with the building of the owner or lessee, and shall be such as do not alter the character of the premises on which they are located or impair the neighborhood.


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(b) Garage spaces for not more than two cars shall be per- mitted as an accessory use in residence districts.


(c) Where manufacturing of any kind is allowed as an accessory use, it shall be restricted to such light manufacturing as is incidental to a permitted use and where the product is cus- tomarily sold on the premises by the producer to the consumer.


(d) The use of a room or rooms in a dwelling as an office or studio by a physician, dentist, lawyer, music teacher, or other professional person resident in the dwelling may be permitted as an accessory use. In such cases a professional sign of not over one square foot in area may be used.


Section 14. Non- Conforming Uses.


(a) Any building, part of a building, or premises which, at the time of the adoption of this By-Law, is being put to a non- comforming use may continue to be used for the same purpose.


(b) No non-conforming building or structure shall be altered except as ordered by the building inspector to make it safe, or extended, nor shall it in any ten year period be repaired to an extent of more than fifty per cent of its assessed value at the time of the last application for a permit to repair, except that a two-family house in a one-family district may be recon- structed in any event.


(c) A non-conforming use may be changed to a more re- stricted use or to a conforming use, but it shall not be changed to a less restricted use.


(d) In residence districts, when a non-conforming business or industrial use has been discontinued for a period of one year, it shall not be reestablished and future use shall be in confor- mity with this By-Law.


(e) Any dwelling existing at the time of the adoption of this By-Law, in case of fire, may be reconstructed on its original foundation.


Section 15. District Boundaries. The district boundaries shall be as shown on the zoning map, the scale of the map, and


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the figures entered to serve as guides; the building inspector to decide in all cases of doubt. Where the boundary line divides a lot in a single or joint ownership at the time such district is es- tablished, a use authorized on the less restricted portion of such lot may be extended into the more restricted portion, but in no case for more than twenty feet over the established line. Where a business or manufacturing district adjoins a residence district and has its main frontage on one street, that street shall be used for the frontage and for all receiving and delivering of goods and no lots opening only on a side street may be used. Where a district is indicated as fronting on two intersecting streets, both frontages may be used.


Section 16. Location of Automobile Services. No portion of the front or side lines of a public garage, automobile repair shop, greasing station, storage battery service station, or gas- oline filling station, or any of their appurtenances or accessory uses, shall hereafter be placed within fifty feet of any residence district. No driveway to such premises shall be in any part within fifty feet of any residential district. No such premises shall have any driveway entrance or exit for motor vehicles within three hundred feet of the property used by any public or private school, public library, church, playground, or institution for the sick or dependent, or for children under sixteen years of age. Every filling station shall hereafter be located not less than fifteen feet inside the building line and no filling shall be done except into cars standing on the property of the filling station.


Section 17. Permit by Selectmen Required. No permit for a cemetery, hospital, sanatorium, or philanthropic institution wherever located; or for the place of business of any black- smith, builder, carpenter, contractor, mason, plumber, roofer, tinsmith, upholsterer, undertaker, or for any mentioned use under heads 7 and 8 of Section 6, in a business district, or for anything permitted only under Section 7, shall be issued by the Building Inspector except with the written approval of the Selectmen as provided in this section and subject to such con- ditions as the Board of Selectmen may deem it proper to impose.


Any person desiring to obtain the permission of the Select- men, for any purpose for which permission is required under this By-law, shall make written application therefor and the Selectmen shall hold a pubic hearing thereon after such notice


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as they may direct and render a decision. They may make rules for such hearings, and shall notify all holders of real estate who might be affected and shall at such hearings hear such owners and others who may desire to be heard. No permit shall be granted by the Selectmen without considering the effects upon the neighborhood and the town. If a permit may be issued with conditions, such as will protect the community, such conditions shall be specified in writing on the permit. If a permit would result in substantial injury it shall be refused.


Section 18. Conflict of Laws. In general this By-law is supplementary to other laws and By-laws affecting the use, height and area of buildings, structures and premises. Where this By-law imposes a greater restriction upon the use, height or area of buildings, structures or premises than is imposed by other provisions of law or By-laws, the provisions of this By- law shall control.


Section 19. Plats. Applications for permits shall be accom- panied by a plat of the lot in duplicate, drawn to scale, showing the dimensions of the lot and the location and size of the build- ings already upon the lot, and of the building to be erected. A record of such applications and plats shall be kept on file in the office of the Building Inspector.


Section 20. Enforcement. This By-law shall be admin- istered by the Building Inspector. He shall approve no applic- ation of any kind, plans and specifications and intended use for which are not in all respects in conformity with this By-law. He shall issue no permit for anything covered by Section 17 till the' applicant has secured the written permit of the Selectmen therein required. He shall grant no permit for any use which would in his opinion prove to have, in the location where it seeks to establish itself, any nuisance qualities, notwithstanding any provisions of this By-law which would seem to permit such use. Where a permit may be granted with conditions which would improve or protect the status of the community, such conditions shall be imposed and made a part of the record.


Section 21. Occupancy Permit. No building or structure erected, altered or in any way changed as to construction or use under a permit or otherwise and no premises shall be occupied or used without an occupancy permit signed by the Building


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Inspector, which permit shall not be issued until the building, structure or premises and its uses and accessory uses comply in all respects with this By-law.


Section 22. Appeals. Any person aggrieved by the refusal of the Building Inspector to issue a permit under the provisions of this By-law may appeal under the provisions of Sections 27 and 27A, Chapter 40 of the General Laws.




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