USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1942 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27
School Committee.
Article 21. To see what sum the Town will raise and appropriate to establish a Road Machinery Fund for the purpose of repairing, op- erating, and purchasing road machinery, or what it will do in relation thereto.
Board of Public Works.
Article 22. To see if the Town will vote to accept the report of the Board of Public Works upon the laying out as a public highway of a private way known as Lewis Street, under the provisions of law au- thorizing the assessment of betterments, such highway being laid out in accordance with plan duly approved by the Board of Survey and filed in the Office of the Town Clerk in accordance with statutory re- quirements ; and to see if the Town will accept the public way laid out by the Board of Public Works as Lewis Street, and to see what sum the Town will raise and appropriate for the said laying out and the construction of said way, or what it will do in relation thereto.
Board of Public Works.
Article 23. To see if the Town will vote to accept the report of the Board of Public Works upon the laying out as a public highway of a private way known as Harvard Street, under the provisions of law authorizing the assessment of betterments, such highway being laid out in accordance with plan duly approved by the Board of Survey and filed in the Office of the Town Clerk in accordance with statutory re- quirements; and to see if the Town will accept the public way laid out by the Board of Public Works as Harvard Street, and to see what sum the Town will raise and appropriate for the said laying out and the construction of said way, or what it will do in relation thereto.
Board of Public Works.
Article 24. To see if the Town will vote to accept the report of the Board of Public Works on relocating or altering a portion of the Southerly location lines of Hopkins Street from Main Street easterly, said location lines being relocated or altered in accordance with plan duly approved by the Board of Public Works and filed in the Office of the Town Clerk in accordance with the statutory requirements; and to
18
see if the Town will accept the relocation or alteration of the said loca- tion lines as shown on said plan, or what it will do in relation thereto. Board of Public Works.
Article 25. To see if the Town for the purpose of providing suit- able headquarters for Reading Post 62 of the American Legion, will vote to authorize and empower the Board of Selectmen to lease, in be- half of the Town, the premises situated on the westerly side of Ash Street known as Victory House for the term of one year and upon such further terms and conditions as they may determine and to raise and appropriate the sum of Fifteen Hundred ($1500) Dollars as rent for said premises or what it will do in relation thereto.
Carl N. Sargent and others.
Article 26. To see what sum the Town will raise and appropriate for further development of the Town Forest, or what it will do in rela- tion thereto.
Committee on Re-Forestation.
Article 27. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate the sum of four hundred dollars ($400.00) for Child Welfare Work, to be ex- pended under the direction of the Reading Visiting Nurse Association, and the Board of Health, or what it will do in relation thereto.
Frances K. Wright and others.
The polls at the election March 2nd, will open at seven o'clock A.M. and will close at eight o'clock, P.M.
And you are directed to serve this warrant by posting an attested copy thereof in at least ten public places in the Town not less than seven days prior to March 2, 1942, the date set for the meeting in said warrant, and to cause this warrant to be published in the Reading Chronicle one day at least prior to said date.
Hereof fail not and make due return of this warrant with your do- ings thereon, to the Town Clerk, at or before the time appointed for said meeting.
Given under our hands this eighteenth day of February, A.D. 1942.
CARL W. GOODRIDGE ROBERT E. FOWLE HERBERT K. MILLER
Selectmen of Reading.
Officers Return
Middlesex ss. Reading, Feb. 23rd, 1942
By virtue of this Warrant I this day warned and notified the in- habitants of the Town of Reading qualified to vote in election and Town affairs, to meet in the place and at the time specified in said
19
Warrant by posting attested copies in the following public places with- in the Town of Reading :
Municipal Building
Masonic Building
Lyceum Hall Building Odd Fellows Building
M. F. Charles Store
D. M. Ainsworth Store Reading Spa
Reading Police Station Reading Fire Station No. 1
B. & M. R.R. Station
The same being not less than seven days prior to March 2nd, 1942, the date set for said meeting in said Warrant.
I also caused the same to be published in the Reading Chronicle date of February 28th, 1942, the same being at least one day prior to said date.
Signed, J. W. Sias, Constable of Reading.
ANNUAL ELECTION OF TOWN OFFICERS
Security Hall, Woburn Street, March 2, 1942 Pursuant to the foregoing Warrant and the Constables Return, a Town Meeting was held at the time and in the place therein specified, and was called to order by the Moderator Charles P. Howard. The Warrant was partially read by the Town Clerk Norman P. Charles, when on motion of J. Winthrop Sias, it was voted to dispense with further reading of the Warrant, except the Constable's Return thereon, which was duly read by the Town Clerk. The ballot boxes were exam- ined and found empty, and the keys were delivered to the Constable, J. Winthrop Sias.
The following persons were appointed by the Selectmen to serve as Election Officers and sworn :
Ballot Boxes
D. Nellie T. Hatch
6 Sweetser Ave.
D. Charles A. Sullivan
11 Winthrop Ave.
R. Gladys R. Dickinson
25 Arlington St. 35 Park Ave.
D. William Carney
Checkers
D. Nellie E. Whelton 7 High St. 67 Mineral St.
D. Catherine E. Reilly
R. Harriette Leuchtman
18 Belmont St. 111 Green St.
R. Mary E. Horrocks
R. Jessie N. Thaxter
R. Mabel E. Bennett
D. Winifred E. McClintock
63 Highland St. 11 Winter St. 38 Highland St. 188 Wakefield St.
D. Catherine L. Doherty
Ballot Clerks
Austins' Lunch Danforth's Drug Store
20
Counters
D. Sadie W. Morris
D. Mary C. Barrett
R. Vaughan F. Burnham
R. Harold M. Flater
D. Mary S. Palumbo
R. Dorothy A. Ambler
D. Rose A. Gadbois
R. Sadie B. Riseman
R. John W. Goff
R. Edward W. Briggs
D. Margaret Thornton
R. Eleanor V. Chase
D. George E. Meaney, Jr.
R. Merle H. Pollitz
D. Edwin J. Doherty
R. Charles C. Wakefield
R. Marie M. Day
D. Arthur J. Doucette
D. John F. Cummings
R. Albert G. Graupner
R. Gooch Sargent
D. Melvin W. Talbot
D. Annie G. Linder
D. George Robbins
R. Edna S. Herrick
D. S. S. Spellman
D. Edward Fleming
R. John G. Rideout
R. Grace E. Wright
R. Oren L. Crowe
R. Bernard C. Bailey
D. Edgar J. Davis
D. Catherine M. Winslow
R. Herbert A. Tibbetts
R. Albert R. Mains
D. John Toner
R. Leland Hilts
R. Arthur Bernstein 7 Harnden St. 43 Salem St.
Tabulators
D. Walter A. Scanlon 331 Haven St. 218 West St.
R. James R. Mercer, Jr.
The polls were duly open at 7 o'clock A. M. and closed at 8 o'clock
P. M. with the following results. Whole number of votes cast, 3652.
36 Woburn St. 38 Warren Ave. 89 Highland St. 33 Minot St. 21 Willow St. 256 Lowell St. 8 Maple St. 96 Washington St. 19 Lincoln St. 42 John St. 10 Minot St. 79 Woburn St. 42 Hancock St. 130 Woburn St. 10 Linden St. 22 Mt. Vernon St. 18 Elm St.
141 Woburn St. 25 Temple St. 64 Pleasant St. 238 High St. 87 Green St. 187 High St. 9 Mineral St. 1243 Main St. 82 Green St. 16 Green St. 94 Pleasant St. 68 Washington St. 114 Ash St. 6 Brande Court 7 Michelini Lane 33 Warren Ave. 155 High St. 16 Green St. 11 Winthrop Ave.
21
Moderator for One Year
Charles P. Howard, 186 Summer Ave. 3056
Blanks 596
Town Clerk
Norman P. Charles, 83 Bancroft Ave. 3279
Blanks
373
Selectman for Three Years
Kenneth G. Latham, 55 Grand St. 3073
Blanks
579
Board of Public Welfare for Three Years
Joseph D. Knight, 17 Middlesex Ave. 3002
Blanks
650
Assessor for Three Years
Robert A. Dennison, 25 Pennsylvania Ave. 1288
Frank E. Gray, 119 Middlesex Ave. 1290
Harold W. Putnam, 147 Bancroft Ave. 990
Blanks
84
Treasurer for One Year
Preston F. Nichols, 68 Linden St. 3027
Blanks
625
Tax Collector for One Year
Kittie M. Bangs, 42 Main St. 103
Ina M. Bergquist, 6 Berkeley St. 184
J. Robert Clark, 81 Ash St. 314
Edward H. Emerson, 1457 Main St. 124
Mary Green, 126 High St. 300
William E. Morrison, 21 Pilgrim Rd. 794
Robert B. Mount, 293 Ash St. 231
Henry A. Murphy, Jr., 18 Beech St. 114
Nils L. Nordberg, 753 Main St. 191
Herman M. Noyes, 73 Howard St. 144
John I. Rudolph, 93 Washington St. 280
Ralph W. Smith, 22 Scotland Rd. 697
Thornton A. Snow, 258 Main St. 135
Blanks 41
Municipal Light Board for Three Years
Herbert G. Evans, 54 Howard St.
2388
Blanks
1264
Two Constables for One Year
Leon G. Bent, 767 Main St. 2633
J. Winthrop Sias, 43 Salem St. 2601
John Wendell, 75 Pleasant St. 1044
Blanks
1026
22
Two Members Board Public Works for Three Years
Wendell P. Davis, 155 Woburn St. 3030
Alexander Lindsay, 33 Auburn St. 2993
Blanks 1281
Board of Health for Three Years
Christine F. Atkinson, 68 Washington St. 3099
Blanks 553
Two Members School Committee for Three Years
Ralph W. Allen, 211 Summer Ave. 2979
Margaret S. Canty, 67 Mineral St. 2991
Blanks 1334
Two Trustees Public Library for Three Years
Myron F. Burton, 13 Dudley St. 2925
Katherine C. Pierce, 13 Elliott St. 2950
Blanks 1429
Planning Board for Three Years
A. Lloyd David, 70 Howard St. 2993
Blanks 659
Shall the operation of sections seventy-three of chapter one hun- dred and thirty-one of the General Laws, requiring for the taking of fur-bearing mammals the use of traps that kill at once or take such mammals alive unharmed be suspended within the town.
Yes 1393
No 1020
Blanks 1239
The votes were counted and declared in open meeting and the bal- lots were sealed and delivered to the Town Clerk, whereupon it was voted to adjourn, to meet at 7:45 o'clock P. M., Monday, March 9th, 1942.
Attest
Norman P. Charles
Town Clerk
TOWN WARRANT Commonwealth of Massachusetts
To either of the Constables of the Town of Reading, Greetings :-
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are here- by required to notify and warn the inhabitants of the Town of Reading, qualified to vote in elections and town affairs, to meet in Security Hall, Woburn Street, in said Reading on
MONDAY, THE NINTH DAY OF MARCH, A. D. 1942 سالم at seven-forty o'clock in the evening, to act on the following articles :
Article 1. To hear and act on the reports of Town Officers and
23
special committees, and to choose all necessary Committees and deter- mine what instructions, if any, shall be given Town Officers and special Committees.
Article 2. To see if the Town will vote to accept the provisions of Sections 81F to 81J both inclusive, of Chapter 41 of the General Laws relating to the powers and duties of the Board of Survey, or what it will do in relation thereto.
Article 3. To see if the Town will vote to amend the zoning by- laws by striking out said zoning by-law with all amendments and addi- tions thereto and to establish under authority of Section 25 of Chapter 40 of the General Laws as amended, the zoning by-law hereinafter set forth.
Planning Board.
PROPOSED ZONING BY-LAW FOR TOWN OF READING AS AMENDED
A by-law for the promotion of the health, safety, convenience, morals or welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Reading, and for the purpose of lessening congestion in the streets, securing safety from fire, panic, and other dangers, providing adequate light and air, pre- venting over-crowding of land, avoiding undue concentration of popu- lation, facilitating adequate provision of transportation, water, sewer- age, schools, parks and other public requirements, and increasing the amenities of the Town, established under and pursuant to the provis- ions of the General Laws (Ter. Ed.) Chapter forty, and all amend- ments thereto, the use, height, area, construction, repair and alteration of structures and buildings and the use of land in said Town are here- by restricted and regulated as hereinafter provided.
DEFINITIONS
The following terms in this by-law shall have the meanings here- by assigned to them :
1. Words used in the present tense include the future; the singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular; the word "lot" includes the word "plot"; the word "building" includes the word "struc- ture."
2. A "family" is any number of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit.
3. A "lot" is a parcel of land occupied or designed to be occupied by one building and the accessory buildings or uses customarily incident to it, including such open spaces as are arranged and designed to be used in connection with such building.
4. A "corner lot" is a lot at the junction of and fronting on two or more intersecting streets each of which streets is twenty (20) feet or more in width.
24
5. A "dwelling" is any building used in whole or in part for human habitation.
6. A "single family dwelling" is a dwelling arranged, intended or designed to be occupied by a single family.
7. A "two family dwelling" is a house arranged, intended or de- signed to be occupied by two families.
8. An "apartment house" is a building arranged, intended or de- signed for more than two families.
9. An "accessory use" is the use of a building or premises for purposes customarily incidental to the principal uses permitted in the district.
10. The "height of a building" is the vertical distance measured at the center line of its principal front from the established grade, or from the natural grade if no grade has been established, to the level of the highest point of the roof beams in the case of flat roofs or roofs in- clining not more than one inch to the foot, and to the mean height level between the top of the main plate and the highest ridge in the case of other roofs.
11. A "story" is any horizontal portion through a building between floor and ceiling of which the ceiling is six (6) feet or more above the average grade of the sidewalk or ground adjoining.
12. The "established grade" is the elevation of the street grade as fixed by the Town.
13. The "natural grade" is the elevation of the undisturbed nat- ural surface of the ground adjoining the building.
14. A "front yard" is an open space on the same lot with the build- ing between the front line of the building and the front line of the lot and extending across the full width of the lot.
15. A "rear yard" is the open space on the same lot with a build- ing between the rear line of the building and the rear line of the lot and extending across the full width of the lot.
16. A "side yard" is the open space on the same lot with a build- ing situated between the building and the side line of the lot and ex- tending from the front yard to the rear yard.
PART I. DISTRICTS
Section I. Establishment of Districts. For the purpose of this by-law, the Town of Reading is hereby divided into seven classes of districts as follows :
1. Residence "A 1" districts. (Single Family houses, 10,000 sq. ft. lot areas.)
2. Residence "A 2" districts. (Single Family houses, 15,000 sq. ft. lot areas.)
3. Residence "A 3" districts. (Single Family houses, 40,000 sq. ft. lot areas.)
25
4. Residence "B" districts. (Single and two family houses, and apartments, 10,000 sq. ft. lot areas.)
5. Business "A" districts. (Fifty-foot setback required.)
6. Business "B" districts. (No setback required.)
7. Industrial districts.
Section II. Boundaries of Districts. Said districts are as shown, defined and bounded on the map accompanying this by-law, entitled "Zoning Map of Reading, Mass." dated February 13, 1942, signed by the Planning Board and on file with the Town Clerk. Said map and all explanatory matter thereon are hereby made a part of this by-law.
Where a boundary is indicated upon a street, the line shall be the- center line of the street. Where a boundary is indicatd upon the main right of way of the Boston and Maine Railroad, the districts are bounded respectively upon that right of way. Where a boundary is in- dicated approximately parallel to a street, it shall be taken as parallel thereto. Where zone lines apparently follow property lines, they shall be so interpreted. Where a district boundary line divides a lot, as exist- ing at the time this by-law takes effect, and the major portion of said lot is in the less restricted district, the regulations relating to said less restricted district may extend to such portion of said lot as is not more than thirty (30) feet within the more restricted district. All other boun- daries shall be indicated upon the map.
Section III. General Regulations.
1. Within any district any building or land may be used, arranged or designed for any purpose not otherwise illegal, unless specifically prohibited or restricted as set forth in the following Sections.
2. Commercial race tracks, tourist and trailer camps are specifi- cally prohibited.
3. Commercial ball parks, commercial amusement parks and other enterprises of a similar character are prohibited unless a permit there- for is granted by the Board of Selectmen after a public hearing.
4. The removal of sand, loam, sod or gravel for commercial pur- poses is expressly prohibited. However, nothing herein contained shall prohibit the removal of the same in connection with the construction of a building for which a permit has been duly issued, or for the land- scaping of a lot from which said sand, loam, sod or gravel is removed.
5. No use shall be permitted in any district which is offensive be- cause of obnoxious noise, vibration, smoke, gas, fumes, odors, dust or other objectionable features, or which is hazardous to the community on account of fire or explosion or any other cause.
Section IV. Use Regulations in Residence Districts.
1. In any Residence A district, the erection or use of any prin- cipal building except as a single family detached house is specifically prohibited. (See paragraph 3 of this Section.)
26
2. In Residence B districts the erection or use of any principal building except as a single or two-family house, or a boarding house, or an apartment house is specifically prohibited. (See paragraph 3 of this Section.)
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Section shall not apply to churches, schools, public buildings, and public utilities, where such services do not include storage yards, repair shops, and other accessory uses of a business or industrial character, or accessory uses which violate the provisions of Section XVII of this by-law.
4. In all residence districts the erection of any building or the use of any lot or building as an office, store, or stand for the display or sale of goods, or for the rendering of services is specifically prohibited, ex- cept for the sale of natural products raised on the premises, and of articles manufactured on the premises from such products.
5. In all residence districts, all business and industrial enterprises, except as noted in the preceding paragraphs, are specifically prohibited.
Section V. Area Regulations in Residence Districts.
1. In Residence Al districts and Residence B districts no prin- cipal building shall be erected unless there be provided for each such building a lot area of not less than 10,000 square feet.
2. In Residence A2 districts no principal building shall be erected unless there be provided for each such building a lot area of not less than 15,000 square feet.
3. In Residence A3 districts no principal building shall be erected unless there be provided for each such building a lot area of not less than 40,000 square feet.
4. No principal building in a Residence A1, A2 or A3 district shall cover more than twenty-five per cent (25%) of the lot on which it stands, and no building used for dwelling purposes in any other district shall cover more than forty per cent (40%) of the lot on which it stands.
5. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Section shall not apply to lots of less than the required frontage and area duly recorded by plan or deed at the Registry of Deeds before this by-law is adopted. A subdivision so recorded, and consisting of not less than three lots, may be re-sub- divided provided the lots in such re-subdivisions are of greater area than in the original subdivision, even though such lots in the re-sub- division do not fulfill the requirements as to area and frontage pro- vided for by this by-law for the district in which said re-subdivision is located.
Section VI. Frontage Regulations in Residential Districts.
In all residential districts, no lot shall have a frontage of less than eighty (80) feet on the frontage street.
27
Section VII. Height Regulations in Residential Districts.
1. In a Residence A1, A2 or A3 district, no building shall exceed two and one-half (21/2) stories or thirty-five (35) feet in height, except that a building may be three (3) stories or forty (40) feet provided there be maintained a side yard of not less than twenty (20) feet.
2. In all Residence B districts, no building shall exceed three (3) stories or forty (40) feet in height, except that a building may be four (4) stories or fifty (50) feet provided there be maintained a side yard of not less than twenty (20) feet.
Section VIII. Yard Regulations in Residential Districts.
1. In all Residence districts no part of a building shall extend nearer any street line than twenty (20) feet except that no building need be set back more than the average of the setbacks of the build- ings on the lots adjacent thereto on either side, a vacant lot or a lot occupied by a building set back more than twenty (20) feet being counted as though occupied by a building set back twenty (20) feet ; but in no case shall any part of a building extend nearer any street line than ten (10) feet.
2. No principal building in any residence district and no building used for dwelling purposes in any other district shall extend nearer to any side lot line than fifteen (15) feet; or nearer to any rear lot line than twenty (20) feet. But for each foot by which the lot is greater than eighty (80) feet wide three (3) inches shall be added and for each foot less than eighty (80) feet, where such lot can legally be built upon, three (3) inches shall be deducted from the width of the side yard, but no side yard shall be required to be more than twenty (20) feet or per- mitted to be less than ten (10) feet. For each foot by which the lot is greater than one hundred (100) feet in depth, six (6) inches shall be added and for each foot less than one hundred (100) feet, six (6) inches shall be deducted from the width of the rear yard; but no rear yard shall be required to be more than thirty (30) feet or permitted to be less than ten (10) feet in depth. Nothing herein shall prevent the pro- jection of eaves, cornices, chimneys, steps, window sills and belt courses into any required yards or open spaces.
In all Residence districts all accessory buildings except garages shall be located in the rear yard area and not nearer than five (5) feet to a side or rear lot line, and shall not occupy more than twenty-five (25) per cent of the required rear yard area. A garage, if located in the rear yard, shall comply with these requirements. A garage at- tached to the principal building or located in the front or side yard shall not extend nearer to the street than the setback required for a principal building on said lot and shall not be nearer than ten (10) feet to the lot line.
28
Section IX. Use Regulations in Business Districts.
1. Within Business districts all manufacturing and industrial en- terprises except as they are clearly incidental to a retail business law- fully conducted on the premises are specifically prohibited.
Section X. Area Regulations in Business Districts.
In a Business district no new building shall be built and no existing building shall be enlarged so that it covers more than eighty-five (85) per cent of the lot on which it stands.
Section XI. Height Regulations in Business Districts.
In a Business district no building shall exceed four (4) stories or forty-five (45) feet in height.
Section XII. Yard Regulations in Business Districts.
1. Front Yards. Where a business "B" district adjoins a resi- dential district on the street line, no new building shall be constructed and no existing building shall be altered, enlarged or extended in said business district so that it shall be nearer than five (5) feet to such street line for a distance of eighty (80) feet measured along the street line from the boundary line between the districts.
In a business "A" district, no part of a building shall extend nearer the street line on the frontage street than fifty (50) feet, or nearer any other street line than twenty (20) feet.
2. Side Yards. In any Business district no building on a lot ad- joining on the side any residential district shall extend nearer the boundary line of such residential district than ten (10) feet.
3. Rear Yards. In any Business district no building on a lot ad- joining on the rear any residential district shall have any part of its exterior wall above the first story nearer to the boundary line of such residential district than fifteen (15) feet.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.