Spooner Road Developments.
By Jim Conley • Sep 11th, 2007 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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There have been two significant developments in the legal wrangling over a residential building project at 71 Spooner Road. The abutters to the project have been granted “standing” (deemed a potentially aggrieved party) by a judge in the Land Court.
And also last week, the Court upheld the validity of a section to Brookline’s Zoning By-law that governs floor-to-area ratios.
Readers will remember that this is a case where then-Selectman’s Chair Robert “The Mensch” Allen both served as corporate attorney for the developers and presided over a Selectmen’s hearing that considered changes to the By-law. Allen voted against a change to the By-law, even though doing so would directly benefit his corporate clients.
Indeed, lawyers (sans Allen) for the developers had filed suit to invalidate the By-law because it imposes a waiting period on attic conversions.
Why is that important? Well, the developers had tried to convince Brookline’s Zoning Board of Appeals that they hadn’t overbuilt the residence at the site because a second floor bedroom was really part of the unfinished attic. The ZBA didn’t buy it (as amazing as that sounds).
Adding the bedroom to the habitable space puts the building in violation of the local Zoning By-law. And because the new building is in a local historic district, the abutters want the Court, among other things, to order that the Brookline Preservation Commission sign off on the appropriateness of a building that is too big for its plot. And should the Commission fail to do so, they want the Court to order the building demolished.
The case is likely to go to trial in the next few weeks. We’ll have more on this, as we learn more.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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Regarding the role of the Building Department and Commissioner, how does the treatment of One Somerset compare with 71 Spooner Road? Were they treated consistently? One common aspect is that the attorneys for the developers each have their law offices in Wellesley, in separate practices.