HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Comment from Johnsons opposedFrom: David Johnson <johnsodaj@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2022 12:23 PM
To: Brigham, Anna
Cc: Caroline Johnson
Subject: 2022‐020 Borsatto
Dear Ms. Brigham.
Pursuant to the above referenced Application for Special Permit before Tomorrow’s Zoning Board of Appeals, My
wife, Caroline and I would like to have the following letter put on the record and distributed to the Board
members for their consideration as part of their decision making process. Text Below. Can you let me know how
we can go about that please? We appreciate your assistance in this matter.
David Johnson
125 Sea Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
630‐240‐5504
Text of Letter:
To Th e Memb e rs o f th e Zo ning Ap p e a ls Boa rd:
This lette r is p ursu a n t to the Application for a Spe c ia l Permit cu rrently u n d e r re vie w b y Th e
Zoning Ap p e a ls Bo a rd fo r the p ro p e rty lo cate d at 1 3 5 Se a Stre e t in Hyannis. That a p p lica tio n was
filed b y p ro p e rty o wn e r Ke lly Bo rsa tto o f 3 0 6 Old Jail L a n e in Ba rn sta b le , MA 0 2 6 0 1 and requests
a varia n c e to convert a n e xistin g gara g e on the p roperty to a 3 bedroom ADU Re n tal.
My wife , Ca ro lin e and I are th e own e rs a n d so le occu p ie rs o f 125 Sea Stre e t in Hya n n is, the
p ro p e rty imme d ia tely adjacent a n d to the No rth o f 1 3 5 Se a Street. We s h a re a bord e r a n d
p ro p e rty lin e .
We wo u ld please a sk th a t you n o t appro ve th e re q u e ste d ch a n g e to th e p ro p e rty a n d deny th e
Spec ia l Pe rm it re q u e ste d by Ms . Bo rsa tto . There are seve ra l re a son s fo r o u r re q u e s t to d eny
the Permit. Th e y a re :
1. First a n d foremo st, acce s s to th e p ro p e rty to/fro m th e existin g drive wa y a n d park in g o n th e
p roperty will n o t su p p ort mo tor ve h icle s fro m a d d itional a d u lt te n a n ts. Th e drive wa y is o n ly
1 2 feet wid e fo r its e n tire le n g th from house to stre e t a n d ca n n o t support a d d itional vehicles
with o u t cre a ting significan t traffic co n g e s tio n and d a n g e ro u s “jocke y in g o f veh icles” in a n d
o u t of the d rivewa y o nto Sea Stre e t for ca rs to gain a c cess a nd le a ve th e premises . We
a lready see th is d a n g ero u s c o n d ition with the e xistin g tenants (3 4 cars o n an y g iven d a y)
a s th e y co n tinuously pull o u t of their drive wa y a n d use th e n eighbor’s d riveway acro ss th e
street without p e rmission a s a “sta ging a rea” to allow ca rs to come a n d go fro m th e property.
Th e re h a s a lre a d y b e e n one a ccid ent o n Se a Stree t due to th is v e h icle maneuve rin g .
Ad d itional ve h icles will on ly comp o u n d th e p ro b le m. The e xisting d rivewa y ca n n o t h a n d le 5
– 7 ca rs safe ly a n d withou t incid e n t. Th e re is n o oth e r street acc e ss to the p ro p e rty to
a lle viate this conce rn .
2. Ac cess to the p roperty fo r Police , Fire, Amb u la n ce se rvice will be s e vere ly re s tricte d in th e
e vent o f a n eme rgency give n th e drive way length , width a n d th e numb e r o f cars p ro je cte d
fo r this property sh o u ld th is p e rmit b e appro ve d . If there we re eve r a n eme rg e n cy with a n y
o ccu p a n t, eme rgency se rvice s p e rson n e l wo u ld have to p a rk o n Se a Street wh ic h is a
significant distance from th e a ctu a l build in g s a n d wa lk with all their” g e a r” thro u g h mu ltiple
p a rke d cars to th e ir b uilding to pote n tially sa ve a life .
3. 1 3 5 Sea Street (ma in , e xistin g , house) has alre ady been u n d e rg o in g modifica tio n s without
p e rmits. Significant wo rk h a s b e e n going o n a t n ig h ts and o n we e k e n d s, ofte n time s
b e twe e n the h o u rs o f 10p m and 5 a m. We have no tified th e to wn o f th e se activities but
b e cause th e wo rk is b e in g done in side , and a fter no rma l b u sin e s s h o u rs, whe n in sp e cto rs
a re n o t available, the o n ly p e o p le who h e a r a n d are witness to the ille g a l co n s tru ctio n are
th e neighbors.
4. We d o n ot b e lie v e the p ro p e rty o wner h a s a n y in tentio n o f o ccupyin g th e pre mise s a s per
h e r a p p licatio n . Of co urse , we ca n not p ro ve th a t b u t she is in the b u sin e ss of buyin g real
e sta te and c reatin g forp ro fit renta l sce n a rios. She h a s re sided a t 3 0 6 Old Jail L a n e in
Ba rn sta b le fo r o ver 4 yea rs now and that p ro p e rty is n o t curre n tly fo r sale. We strongly
b e lie ve that 1 3 5 Se a Stre e t will be a n abse n tee la n d lo rd situ ation with its a ssocia ted n o n
o wnero ccupied concern s . (Co n d ition o f pro p e rty, o vercrowding, s a fe ty, e tc. see #3 9 , #1 4 9 ,
#1 5 0 , #189 a n d #217 Sea Stre e t Home s b e lo w)
5. Th e re a re a lre a d y a sig n ifica n t n u mber of multifa mily ro o ming situ a tions within a 2b lo ck
radius of this p roperty cre a ting a p opulatio n d e nsity th a t is not co n s iste n t with p re d o minantly
singlefamily n e ig h b o rh o o d s for th e re s t of Barn stable/Hya n nis and n o t health y for our
immediate neighborh ood.
a. Safe Ha rb o r, Th e Woma n ’s h o meless sh e lter at 4 4 Ha rb o rside L a n e (imme d ia te ly
b e hind o u r p roperty to th e We st) has a signific a n t numb e r o f n o n perma n e n t and
tra nsie n t resid e nts resid in g th e re
b. 1 1 9 Se a Stre e t (imme d ia tely next d o o r to u s a n d to the No rth ) is b e in g ru n as an ille g a l
multifa mily ro o ming h o u se . Th e re a re a t le a s t 6 n o n relate d a d u lt tenants who a re
cu rrently in re sidency with multip le v e h icles on the p roperty a n d Summers id e la n e
c. 1 1 1 Se a Stre e t is a z o n e d 2 unit (b u t constructed in side a s a n illegal 4 unit) b u ild in g
that has been a b a n d o n e d by th e own e rs since we p u rchase d our home 6 years ago
a n d ha s h a d a t le a s t 2 o verd ose fa ta lities from sq u a tte rs since th e n . Ap p a re n tly, th e
o wn e rs, wh o live in Bo s to n , pay th e ir ta xe s, but the p roperty is in co mplete d isrepair
a n d is u n in h a b itable.
d. 1 5 0 Se a Ste e t is o wn e d b y Willo w Bend Go lf Course a nd serv e s a s a board in g house
for its la n d scaping e mploye e s of wh ich th ere are at le a st 1 0 p e o p le resid in g within.
Th is pro p e rty is ofte n in d isre pair.
e. 1 4 9 Se a Stre e t is a multiunit house th a t is an a b s e n te e lan d lo rd situ a tion, c o n sta n tly
in disre p a ir a n d often with p ro b le m te n a n ts (se e police blotter)
f. 1 6 7 Se a Stre e t is a s in g le fa mily home b e ing run a s a n illegal b o a rding h o u se . Th e
o wn e r c la ims the o c cupants a re “h is frie n d s”.
g. 1 8 9 Se a Stre e t has mu ltiple tenants, ca rs constantly p a rked a ll o ve r the la wn a n d on
Seabrook illegally ma k in g that co rn e r a lmost u n n a vigable o n a constan t basis
h. 2 1 7 Se a Stre e t is a multifa mily building a lso with ca rs p a rked o n the la wn
co n tinuously a s we ll as on Seabro o k . Th e pro p e rty is in disre p a ir a nd th e re a re
ve h icle s o n ja ck sta n d s in th e driv e way now fo r month s. A g re e n la ndsc a p in g tarp ha s
b e en cove rin g the p o rch a ll win ter cre a tin g extra “livin g space ”
i. 3 9 Se a Stre e t is bein g ru n a s a roomin g h ouse occu p ie d by mu ltip le no n re la ted
tenants with in th e ma in b u ild ing a n d h a s an ille g a lly converted g a rage a n d a shed
a lso co n taining n o n relate d occu p a n ts.
We re a liz e that the re is a la ck o f a fford a ble work fo rce h o u s in g o n th e Ca p e and with in Ba rnstable
a nd th a t th e curren t politics of th is ma y su g g e s t th a t “any sp a ce will do” esp e cia lly in Hy a n n is.
Ho we ver, when yo u c o n sider th e imme d iate n e ig h b o rh o o d and th e conce n tra tion o f such housing
in and a ro u n d 135 Se a Stre e t, y o u sh o u ld se e th a t th is n e ig h b o rh o o d is alre a d y doing its fair
sh a re to solve th e pro b le m. Th e re is n o lack o f th is type o f sp a ce in ou r n e ig h b o rho o d a n d
g ra n ting a n o th er exc e p tio n to th e z o n in g ru le s for a forprofit mo tive will cre a te safe ty a n d sp ace
issue s fo r o u r imme d ia te community a n d its e xisting le g a l te n a n ts and ta x p a ying h o meown e rs.
We imp lo re you to weigh th e fa c ts a b o ve wh e n co n sid e rin g this applicatio n a n d ask th a t yo u reject
the a p p e a l by Ms. Bo rsa tto on b e h a lf of all o f us wh o occu p y o u r p ro p e rtie s a n d will b e impacted
b y this d e cisio n fo r y e a rs to co me. Thank you fo r yo u r time a n d consid e ra tio n to th is very
importa n t ma tter.
Da vid a n d Ca ro lin e Jo h n so n
1 25 Se a Stre e t
Hyan n is, MA 0 2601
(6 3 0 )2 4 0 5504
(6 3 0 )3 4 6 2860
jo hnso d a j@co mcast.n e t
ca ijo h n s o n @co mca s t.net
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