USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > Town annual report of Swampscott 1932 > Part 3
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Wooden buildings for industrial or commercial purposes shall not exceed two and a half stories in height.
Garages in Dwellings
Section 5. When a garage is located beneath a dwelling or at- tached to it, the walls and ceiling shall be of fire resistive construc- tion approved by the Building Inspector. When a garage is located beneath a dwelling, all doors and windows with the frames and sash shall be of standard fire resistive construction, and glazed with wire glass.
Foundations
Section 6. Foundation walls for wooden or masonry buildings shall be of stone, brick or poured concrete of the following minimum thickness.
Stone-16 inches or 4 inches thicker than the wall it supports.
Brick-12 inches or 4 inches thicker than the wall it supports.
Concrete noured in place-10 inches or 4 inches thicker than the wall it supports.
Stone walls shall have the first course extend clear through the wall, and above the first course shall be thoroughly bonded. Stone walls laid dry, that is, with stones not bedded in mortar but merely pointed with mortar on the outside, shall not be permitted.
Brick walls both for foundations and upper stories shall be bonded by a header course every eighteen inches. Bricks and tiles used for exterior work shall have a burned face suitable for exposure to the weather.
All foundation walls shall extend at least 3 feet 6 inches below the ground and more when necessary to be substantially below the frost line. Foundations shall not be laid on frozen ground. Founda- tions shall have suitable footings to keep the load distribution with- in the carrying capacity of the soil. If suitable natural soil cannot be reached by reasonable excavation, piles of wood or concrete may be employed.
Section 7. Underpinnings for wooden construction shall extend at least eight inches above the adjacent ground surface.
Brick underpinnings for buildings not over two stories high shall not be less than eight inches thick, and under buildings three or more stories in height shall not be less than twelve inches thick for their entire height.
Concrete blocks may be used for underpinnings provided that 8 inch blocks are laid not more than 5 courses high and that 12 inch boots are did not more than 8 courses high.
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Mortar Proportions
Section 8. The mortar for foundations, piers and chimneys of stone, brick, cement-block, or tile shall have a strength not less than that of a mortar composed of one part Portland cement to not more than three parts of clean, sharp sand, proportioned by volume, with an allowable addition of hydrated lime not to exceed twenty-five per cent. of the cement by volume.
Masonry walls above the underpinning shall be laid in mortar composed of one part Portland cement, one part hydrated or properly slacked lime to not more than six parts of clean, sharp sand.
Concrete Proportions
Section 9. Concrete for bearing walls and piers shall be at least of the following proportions by volume; one part Portland cement, three parts clean, sharp sand, and five parts coarse aggregate, free from loam, organic matter or other deleterious substances. Other mixtures of fine and coarse aggregate giving equivalent strength and density are permitted.
Concrete Block Proportions
Section 10. Concrete blocks used for underpinnings or exterior wall shall have a composition not leaner than one part of Portland cement to seven parts of fine and coarse aggregate combined.
Building Supports
Section 11. Buildings more than one story in height, and with a floor area of over 500 square feet, that do not rest on foundation walls, shall be supported on suitably driven piles, or piers of hard brick, stone or concrete; corner piers shall be not less than twelve inches square and intermediate piers not less than eight inches square. Wooden posts extending into the ground shall not be used for the support of buildings. All footings of piers shall be started at least three feet six inches below the surface of the ground exposed to frost.
Piers
Section 12. Building floors shall be supported in cellars and basements as required in Section 15 by suitable brick or concrete piers or cement-filled iron columns on proper footings. Stone piers shall not be used for the support of girders or walls in cellars or basements. Porches and piazzas shall be supported by concrete, brick or stone piers. Stone piers shall be at least sixteen inches square and the unsupported height of brick or concrete piers either in basements or under piazzas shall not exceed ten times their least dimension.
Exterior Walls
Section 13. The minimum thickness of exterior masonry walls for dwellings shall be as follows:
Brick-8 inches up to 20 feet in height.
Concrete block or hollow tile-8 inches up to 10 feet in height; 12 inches up to 20 feet in height.
Stone-16 inches up to 20 feet in height.
When gable construction is used, the same thickness is permit- ted up to the peak.
Exterior bearing or party walls of brick, concrete, hollow tile or concrete-block for commercial and industrial buildings shall have a minimum thickness of eight inches in one-story buildings not ex- ceeding twelve feet in height. In multi-story buildings, the exterior walls shall have a minimum thickness of eight inches in the top story, with an increase of four inches in thickness for every succes- sive story below.
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No vertical chases (i. e. grooves for pipes, flues, wires, etc.) shall be permitted in 8 inch walls.
Brick veneer-walls shall be provided with metal ties embedded in mortar points at least 16 inches apart vertically and 24 inches hor- izontally.
Floor and roof timbers shall be attached to masonry walls by suitable metal ties.
Corner posts shall be continuous. Girts shall be four by six inches. No stairway shall be constructed in a two family house less than three feet in the rough.
Sills, Girders, Timbers, Headers
Section 14. All wooden buildings, and their projections over one story in height, used as dwellings, stores, stables, or for manufac- turing purposes shall have sills not less than four by six inches.
There shall be girders not less than six by eight inches under the main partitions, and floor joists doubled or their equivalent, un- der all cross partitions in the first floor of all dwellings.
Headers and trimmers of all openings over four feet in first floor of dwellings shall be floor joists doubled or their equivalent and in any other floor, if deemed necessary by the Inspector.
Floor Supports
Section 15. All beams carrying main partitions on the first floor shall be supported on piers or columns as described in Section 12 not more than seven feet apart; trimmers in the first floor over twelve feet in length shall be supported by a pier or post. All build- ings shall be properly braced at the angles.
The floor joists for all floors in dwellings, except the attics, shall not be less than the following sizes:
First and second floor joists not less than 2 inch x 8 inch-16 inches on center for a span of 14 feet or under; over 14 foot span joist must be 12 inches on center. All spans over 8 feet in width to be bridged in center with one row of 1 inch x 3 inch bridging; over 13 feet in width to be bridged with two rows of 1 inch x 3 inch bridg- ing. Floor joists for attics shall be not less than 2 inch x 6 inch-18 inches on centers.
Plates and Rafters
Section 16. All dwellings over one story in height shall have plates not less than four by four inches, or the equivalent, and if over sixteen feet in width shall have rafters not less than two by six inches set not more than twenty inches on centers.
No studding for any part of the outside walls of any building over one story in height shall be less than two by four inches and sixteen inches on centers.
All boards which form any part of the frame of the building shall be nailed at each bearing with not less than two eight-penny nails, or the equivalent.
Fire Protection of Woodwork
Section 17. Woodwork shall be kept at least one inch away from the outside brick work of chimneys and in no case shall nails be driven into the masonry of a chimney for the support of woodwork.
Smoke pipes from furnaces and heaters shall be kept at least eighteen inches away from any woodwork unless the woodwork is protected to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector.
Registers, connected with hot air furnaces shall be set in non- combustible borders, at least two inches wide.
Steam pipes shall be kept at least one inch from all woodwork or shall be protected by an incombustible ring or tube, or rest on iron supports.
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1932]
Fire Stopping
Section 18. Fire stopping shall be provided to form an effectual horizontal fire barrier between stories and roof spaces. The stopping shall consist of pieces of wood not less than two inches thick fitted tightly, cement mortar, or brick filling. Fire stopping shall not be concealed from view until opportunity has been given the Building Inspector to approve it.
Before the chimney is plastered, a metal strip two inches wide on the floor, and turned up one-half inch against the chimney shall be provided at each floor level, including the attic.
Opening in Party Walls
Section 19. No opening or door-way shall be cut through a party or partition wall of any building without a permit from the Building Inspector, and when required by the Building Inspector every such doorway shall be protected by standard self-closing fire doors with approved fire resistive frame and hardware.
Chimneys
Section 20. Chimneys less than 8 inches thick shall have a tile flue lining covered with at least four inches of brickwork. Top of chimney shall be capped with cement, tile or stone.
Roofs
Section 21. No part of any roof shall be constructed in such a manner as to discharge snow, ice or other material upon a public street.
Any roof hereafter constructed in the town of Swampscott, shall be covered with a fire-resistive material such as metal, tile, slate, asbestos shingles, or surfaced asphalt shingles. If asphalt shingles are used, they shall weigh not less than 235 pounds per hundred square feet laid or 74 pounds per hundred square feet of material not laid.
The roofs of all public buildings hereafter erected or construct- ed, and the roof of any existing public building hereafter recovered, shall be covered and roofed with non-combustible or fire-retarding material as above.
Whenever twenty-five per cent. or more of a roof covering is hereafter replaced, the new covering shall be one of the fire resistive materials mentioned above.
Penalty for Violation
Section 22. Whoever violates any of the provisions of this chap- ter shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $20 for each offense.
Voted. That Chapter 2 of the present by-laws relative to town meetings be amended by striking out the same, and substituting therefor the by-law entitled "Chapter 2 Town Meetings" as printed upon pages 172 and 173 of the annual report of the town of Swamp- scott, for the year ending December 31, 1931.
93 voting-for, 89; against, 4; carried by more than two-thirds vote.
CHAPTER II-"B" Town Meetings
Section 1. The annual town meeting shall be held on the third Monday in February in each year. For the election of officers, at said annual town meeting, or at any special town meeting, unless other- wise provided by law, polls shall be open at six o'clock in the fore- noon and shall remain open until six o'clock at night. After the counting and declaration of votes for officers at an annual town
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meeting, said meeting shall be adjourned to the second Tuesday next thereafter at 7.45 P.M., and at which time, and at any further ad- journment thereof, the remaining articles of the warrant shall be taken up.
Section 2. Notice of every town meeting shall be given by post- ing attested copies of the warrant for the same in at least two public places in each precinct, and by mailing such warrant to each town meeting member, not less than seven days before the day appointed for said meeting. Notice of the adjournment of any town meeting shall be advertised by the town clerk at least once in a newspaper or newspapers published in Swampscott and, in case such adjourn- ment is for a period of more than five days, notice shall be mailed to each town meeting member at least one day prior to the date set for the adjourned meeting.
Section 3. The Town Clerk shall send a copy of the warrant for every town meeting to each town meeting member as soon as said warrant is drawn and printed.
Section 4. The proceedings of town meetings shall be governed by the rules of practice contained in Cushing's manual of parliamen- tary practice, except as the same may be modified by law or by these by-laws.
Section 5. The Moderator shall preside and regulate the proceed- ings, decide all questions of order, make public declaration of all votes. If a vote so declared is immediately questioned, the Modera- tor may, and if immediately questioned by seven or more voters, he shall verify it by polling the voters or by dividing the meeting. In polling the voters, the Moderator shall appoint tellers, and voters in the affirmative and in the negative respectively shall be requested to rise and stand until they are counted by the tellers, and the tellers shall make report of said count to the Moderator, who shall then announce the vote.
Section 6. If a two-thirds vote of a town meeting is required by law, a count shall be taken, and the vote shall be recorded in the records by the Clerk; but if the vote is unanimous, a count need not be taken and the Clerk shall record the vote as unanimous.
Section 7. No person shall address a town meeting without leave of the Moderator, and all persons shall, at the request of the Moderator, be silent. If a person, after warning from the Moderator, persists in disorderly behavior, the Moderator may order him o withdraw from the meeting and, if he does not withdraw may order his removal.
Section 8. Upon a question of order any town meeting member may appeal from the decision of the Moderator to the meeting; and upon such appeal, the grounds thereof shall be briefly stated and the question shall be decided by the meeting without debate.
Section 9. When any article in the warrant is under considera- tion, the meeting may decide to vote by ballot upon such article. In such case, at the close of debate on said article, the Moderator shall state the question, as finally determined upon motions and amend- ments, and the town Clerk shall prepare and distribute ballots to enable the town meeting members to vote Yes or No upon such ques- tion. Said ballots shall be collected and counted by the Moderator and such persons as he may then and there delegate, and the Moderator shall then announce the vote. When a vote is taken by such ballot the meeting shall not then be polled under section five.
Section 10. When a question is under debate, no motion shall be received except a motion to adjourn the meeting, to vote by bal- lot, lay on the table, to commit or refer, to amend, to postpone to a day certain, or to postpone indefinitely, or a motion for the previous
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question. No town meeting member shall speak upon the same ques- tion more than twice, nor more than twenty minutes, without first obtaining leave of the meeting, except for the correction of an error, or to make an explanation.
Section 11. Articles in the warrant shall be acted upon in their order, unless two or more articles relate to the same subject matter, when they may be considered jointly.
Section 12. No motion to dissolve a town meeting shall be in order until every article in the warrant thereof has been duly con- sidered and acted upon.
. Section 13. All motions submitted for the consideration of the meeting involving the expenditure of money, the creation of a debt, or the disposal of town property shall be in writing, except motions to adopt recommendations for the above mentioned purposes which are contained in a written report. All other motions shall be in writ- ing if required by the Moderator.
Section 14. No motion or proposition, unless germane to the subject under consideration, shall be admitted under color of amend- ment.
Section 15. Any voter may call for a division of a question when the sense will admit of it.
Section 16. The motions to adjourn, to lay on the table, to take from the table, for the previous question and for yeas and nays, shall be decided without debate.
Voted, Article 32. To be referred to the Finance Committee.
Voted, Article 33. To be referred to the Finance Committee.
Voted, Article 36. To be referred to the Finance Committee.
Under Article 42. Hearing was declared, being an article to amend the zoning by-laws. Mr. Darinzel spoke in favor of the amend- ment. Mr. Dooley and Mr. Rudd against same, after which the hear- ing was declared closed.
Motion to refer article back to the Planning Board, and they to report at the adjourned town meeting, amendment to motion offered, That the town vote to amend the zoning by-law by changing from a general residential district the premises located at No. 225 Hum- phrey street so as to permit the said premises to be used for the erection of an apartment building. The amendment was lost, also the original motion.
The report of the Planning Board on Article 42 was read by George M. Glidden, Chairman.
This article has been considered by the Planning Board and it is our unanimous opinion that there has been no change in the char- acter of this district which would warrant the Board to recommend any change in zoning by-laws or zoning map.
The Board therefore recommends that action on this article be indefinitely postponed.
GEORGE M. GLIDDEN, Chairman, JOHN R. HURLBURT, HENRY S. BALDWIN, RALPH J. CURTIS, HERBERT E. INGALLS,
Planning Board.
Voted, Article 42. To accept the report of the Planning Board, and adopt their recommendations, as follows:
That action on this article be indefinitely postponed.
Under Article 43. Hearing was declared, being an article to amend the Zoning By-Laws. Charles D. C. Moore and Conrad
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P. Richardson, appeared for the amendment, Mr. Dooley against. Hearing was declared closed.
Motion to refer article back to the Planning Board, and they to report at an adjourned Town Meeting, amendment offered, that the land at 175 Humphrey street and adjoining on Cliffside, be changed on the zoning map, so that the property may be used for apartment or hotel purposes. Amendment was lost; also the original motion. Voted, Article 43. To accept the report of the Planning Board and adopt their recommendations, as follows:
That action on this article be indefinitely postponed.
Voted to take up Article 25.
Voted, Article 25. To accept the report of the Finance Commit- tee, and adopt their recommendations, as follows:
That the following unexpended balances from sewers be trans- ferred to the Emergency Sewer Account.
Nason Road Sewer $1,615.54
Rockland Street Sewer 961.02
Burpee Road Sewer 30.50
Section A Sewer
4,150.93
Section B Sewer
6,146.29
Section C Sewer
1,445.85
Section D Sewer
794.70
Roy Street Drain
4.84
King's Beach Culvert
28.06
Culvert 14.25
Voted, Article 44. To be referred to the Finance Committee.
Voted, that when we adjourn it be to Tuesday evening, April 5, 1932, at 7.45 o'clock.
Voted to adjourn at 8.45 P.M.
Attest: RALPH D. MERRITT, Town Clerk.
Finance Committee Appointment
John R. Hurlburt, Moderator, reappointed Donald Redfern,
a member of the Finance Committee for three (3) years, on the above date.
Attest: RALPH D. MERRITT, Town Clerk.
To Fill Vacancy
March 3, 1932
In accordance with a petition filed with the Town Clerk, signed by 10 town meeting members of Precinct 2, a special meeting of the said precinct was held on the above date to fill the vacancy in Pre- cinct 2.
The following were elected to fill out the term to February, 1933: Harry W. Stanley, 76 Franklin avenue Walter S. Maitland, 6 Maple avenue George B. Atkins, 68 Stetson avenue HARRY E. CAHOON, Chairman, Attest: ALBERT DEVITT, Clerk. RALPH D. MERRITT, Town Clerk.
Resignation Received March 16, 1932
Notice received on the above date of the resignation of Clarence W. Horton from the Board of Public Welfare, same to become ef- fective at once.
Attest: RALPH D. MERRITT, Town Clerk.
/
February 23, 1932
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1932]
By-Laws Accepted
March 15, 1932
Notice received on the above date regarding by-laws accepted and adopted by the town of Swampscott, at the adjourned annual town meeting, held, February 23, 1932.
Boston, Mass.
The following by-laws are hereby approved, except
Chapter "A". Article 1, Section 4 disapproved in part
Chapter "A" Article 2 Section 4 Chapter "A" Article 2 Section 6
which are disapproved and Article 3, Sections 14 and 17, which are disapproved in part.
JOSEPH E. WARNER, Attorney General.
Attest: RALPH D. MERRITT,
Town Clerk. Horton Reappointed
March 30, 1932 Notice received that at a joint meeting of the Board of Public Welfare and Board of Selectmen, Clarence W. Horton was re-ap- pointed as a member of said Board, to serve until the Annual Meet- ing, February, 1933 and on the above date qualified for the office. Attest: RALPH D. MERRITT,
Town Clerk.
ADJOURNED ANNUAL TOWN MEETING Tuesday, April 5, 1932
In accordance with the adjournment of February 23, 1932, the town meeting members assembled at the Town Hall, and were called to order by John R. Hurlburt, Moderator, the necessary quorum be- ing present.
Voted to dispense with the reading of records of last meeting.
The Finance Committee report was read by C. Fzank Hath- away, Chairman.
REPORT OF FINANCE COMMITTEE
To the Members of the Limited Town Meeting:
While other cities and towns in the Commonwealth find them- selves actually bankrupt as the result of high financing in years past, Swampscott occupies a most enviable position with a low tax rate, a fair valuation and ample credit. This is the result of sen- sible financing on the part of the town, extending back over a long period of years. That it pays is evident when we regard some of our cities and towns who, as a result of the depression, now find them- selves without funds and no credit after years of apparent financial stability.
While no special appropriation for the relief of unemployment has been made for 1932, nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that a considerable number of deserving citizens have been, and are still, employed in the Highway, Cemetery and Park Departments. What we have spent here, however, has proved most profitable to the town, although the work which has been done in many cases would not have been undertaken until some future time if the necessity for tak- ing care of our unemployed had not arisen. No other town in this vicinity has had so little expense in this line as the town of Swamp- scott. That our Welfare Department will be subjected to an extra- ordinary demand for 1932, as it has been for the past two years, is obvious; but we are happy to believe that the administration of this department has thus far been conducted so efficiently that only those cases which actually deserved help have received it. It is unneces-
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sary to make extended reference to financial conditions as they ex- ist at the present time; it is obvious, however, that the situation which now prevails is naturally regarded with some apprehension. As to those articles in the warrant where the committee report "we recommend that action on this article be indefinitely postponed." It is to be understood that in most of these cases, a policy of the strict- est economy is the principal reason for such a recommendation; and it would be useless repetition to make similar reports on those art- icles. We have had the co-operation and assistance of all the de- partments in the town. They realize that this is not the year to spend money for anything that is not absolutely necessary, and we have made no recommendation for the appropriation of money in any case where it appeared that no harm would be done by waiting another year.
We feel that new projects should not be undertaken this year, and in following this policy have recommended indefinite postpone- ment in some cases where we, under normal conditions, would have reported otherwise.
In conclusion we wish to say that as a result of our not being obliged to borrow any money this year, except in anticipation of taxes, the town's expenditures will be slightly more than one hun- dred thousand dollars less than last year, if our recommendations are followed.
Article 4. For this year at least we feel there should be no in- crease in the salaries of any town official. We therefore recommend that action on this Article be indefinitely postponed.
Article 8. We recommend that the item for water of $65,000.00 and also the item for emergency water $2,500 under the heading of Enterprises, be taken from the estimated receipts of the Water Department for the current year.
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