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Minutes of a me~tipg of the Board of Appeals held on
February 19, 1974. Attending were members H. Greene, W. Holmes
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and associate member H. Backus.
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In the matter of the petition of Sherburne Associates
o03~r4 requestirg a variance to allow the construction and
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operation of greenhou3es and a nursery on land situated on
Somerset Road.
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Ap~earing for the Petitioner was Attorney Michael Driscoll.
Mr. Driscoll pres0nted a copy of the assessors' map
showing the location of the trac't and stated the area is
zoned Residential 2'. he stated that a request had been ~ade
for a building permit and the request had been refused although
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he has no notice of denial. Mr. Driscoll stated the Petitioner
'wanted to construct two greenhouses, each 32' by 124', a pot-
il ting shed 25' by 35' and an outdoor nursery area of one 'acre
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with a propogation field. Future expansion is contemplated.
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Mr. Driscoll stated the greenhouses are justified as
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being an accessory use to the permitted nursery. He recited
the zoning by-law Section IV
B l.a. and Section IV - A
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l.c. which allows use of the area as a nursery and permits
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"greenhol~Ges for private use."
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Mr. Driscoll stated that although he believes the green-
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houses are allowed as 2ccessorv to the permitted nursery
operat ion, and furt ilc,1:', if that cent er: t ion is rej ec ted, the
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greenhouses are allowed since they are for private u~e only.
Attorney Driscoll stated the Petitioner, originally
Island Service Co., Inc;. and now Sherburne Associates, is
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a single business entity operating many properties which include
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hotels, sto~e3, o~~ices and s~opri~q 2~~~S. The intent of the
Petitioner is to raise ,and maintain nursery stock in this
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;1 complex to supply the landscaping needs of its properties.
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ln view of the single business entity and the lack
of corporate lines to cross and the fact that no retail or
wholesale sales are permitted, Mr. Driscoll stated, this is
a very restricted private use.
Mr. Driscoll cited Kenney v.Bldg. Common. of Melrose
315 Mass. 291 as a basis for his belief that 'the Nantucket
zoning by-law, when enacted, contemplated the use of green-
houses as parts of co'nservatories.
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In reviewing the history of this matter, Mr. Driscoll
stated that on June 18, 1973, he went to the Planning Board,
11 then acting as the zoning authority, and made known to the
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Board the plans of the Petitioner. At that time, Mr.Drlscoll
stated the Planning ~o~rd approved the plans and use. Based
on that approval~ Mr~ Driscoll gave a title opinion and
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approved the purchase of the land by the Petitioner.
Application was ~ade for a building permit in September
1973 and was refused on November 7, 1973. Mr. Driscoll
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Ii cited the letter of'Tqwn Counsel, Charles A. Goglia, Esq.
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(Oct. 4, 1973) stating, the question of such a use is "not
free from doubt."
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Mr. Driscoll stated he never received written confirma-
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I! tion of his request '~n approval. He stated that he subpoened
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the records of the Pla~ning Board for this hearing and made
demand that these minutes be produced.
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Attorney Driscoll offered a brief to the Board which was
)1 accepted by the Chair~an. Mr. Driscoll also offered a plot
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plan, development plan and zoning map which were accepted
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by the ~hairman.
Mr. Driscoll asked permission to have Mr. Donald Bridges
explain to the Board what activities would be conducted
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at this location. Mr. Briqges explained that the Petitioner
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woufd propogate material on the tract and would seek
to conduct a low key ~ursery operation supplemented by the
~rowin~ of annuals and perennials. Mr.Bridges told the
Board of the difficulties in brin~in~ nursery stock to the
island and the resultant failure of the stock to develop
due to climate adjustment. Mr. Brid~es expressed the hope
that a program of originating stock on the island would solve
the climate adjustmen~ problems.
Mr. Bridges stated that equipment used will be one
:1 pick-up truck, one tractor with' front end loader and
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rototillers. He stated that there would be two employeep.
Mr.Bridges emphasized the "low key", no noise, no debris
type operation and stated he was confident that abutting owners
would find this operation to be a v,ood nei~hbor and a pre-
ferred use of the land.
Mrs. Elizabeth Ha~tig spoke in favor of the petitioner
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tion to the prospect,of having the land utilized of nine
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houses.
In opposition apPBared:
Mr. Donald Vi~co who stated the Detition should be
dismissed because no appeal notice was filed with the Town
Clerk artd no notice was timely filed. Mr. Visco requested
the Chairman to rule on his point. His request was refused
by the Chairman.
Mr. Visco stated that he was a member of the Planning Board
and that any opinion given by the Board in such situations as
this, were informal and advisory only. He stated there was
no record of this request or opinion in the minutes of the
Planning Board and he produced the minutes.
Mr. Visco stated the intent of the by-law in using the
phrase "greenhouse J'or private use" was to permit a property
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'; owner to have a personal greenhouse as an accessory to his
residence. It was not the intent to allow a free-standing
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greenhouse complex such as the proposed development.
He stated there,was no hardship involved here since
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the land is suitabl~ for other purposes compatible with the
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applicable zoning category.
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Mrs. Donald Visco asked whether "lessee's paid rent
for the nursery s'2rvices." After clarification the question
was amended to determine whether the various individual
entelprises of Sherburne Associates would pay for these
services and products. Mr. Driscoll replied that they would
not.
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Mrs. Tom Giffin spoke to the Board concerning the
hazardous situation now existing by reason of the poor road
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size and condition. She stated the road was narrow" unimproved
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and this particular area was located on a very severe turn.
Any increase in th.e use of the road would be unsafe.
Mr. Peter O'Mara spoke in opposition saying this area
was the most hazardous spot on the entire road. The two
blind corners and the frequent use of the road by horse and
i' pony riders made e-ddi t ional traffic unwise.
In rebuttal,_ Mr. Driscoll spoke concerning the omission
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of the Planning Board decision from the minutes of the
Planning Board. Be stated that no notice of appeal was filed
because it is not customary practice and because MGLA Chapter
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A section 15~3) gives an aggrieved party the right to
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appear by appeal or petition. Mr. Driscoll stated the land
area could be divided into 20,000 square foot lots, permitting
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nine houses which would generate substantially more traffic
than the proposed use. He stated the proposed use would not
be a burden on water and sewer services as would a nine lot
subdivision.
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Mr. Visco, in rebuttal, stated he felt Chapter 40A
section 16 to be controlling and urged dismissal of the
petition for failure to file a notice. In addition, Mr.
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Visco stated no hardship was shown here.
The Chairman closed the hearing and read correspondence
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received. These included letters in opposition received
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from The Planning BQard of the Town of Nantucket, Edward N.
Burchell, Donald T. Visco and Edward N. Burchell d/b/a Island
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Excavating Co., and Donald Visco et a1.
The Chajrmanadvised the Petitioner that the matter
would be taken u~der consideration and a decision rendered as
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soon as possible.
The hearing adjourned at 9.10 P.M.
After due con3ideration, the Board finds:
1. The intent of the Protective Zoning by-law (IVA.a.c)
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as the same appli~s to uses in a Residential District, permit-
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ting"greenouses for ,private use", is to allow the construction
and operation of a greenhouse as an accessory to a residence or
dwelling. We find the purpose of such greenouses to be limited
to the personal gr~tification and pleasure of the residents.
The contention t,hat the greenhouses are allowable as buildings
or structures accessory to the nursery operation is rejected.
The size of the proposed greenhouses is such as to make them
the dominant feature ,of this complex.
2. The phraoe_~'privateuse", as used in Sec. IVA l.c. is
intended to indicate personal use. An inter-corporate enterprisl
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not crossing corporate enterprise lines and designed to service
multi-faceted real estate holdings is not within the scope of
the wO~,ps "private use".
3. We will not address the matter of failing to file a
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notice of appeals. The cGnfusion existing between Sections 15
and 16 of Chapter 40A is apparent.
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4. A visual inspection of the area confirms extremely
poor road conditions.. Traffic is a hazard at this location.
We recommend to the Planning Board that any future development
in this a~ea be suspended until the safety and welfare of
the area residents can be assured.
Upon motion by Mr. Greene, seconded by Mrs. Backus, it
was unanimously voted .that the petition be DENIED.
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February 21, 1974
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