HomeMy WebLinkAbout0000 MAUSHOP AVENUE bopmfhw slf �4✓E✓
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Perry, Tom
From: Burgmann, Bob
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 8:27 PM
To: Perry, Tom
Subject: Maushop Avenue
I have inspected the condition of the pavement on Maushop Avenue. It is in poor condition
due to the benign neglect that the property owners have directed on the road. The pavement
condition cannot be blamed on construction vehicles that built the improvements beyond the
end of the street. The pavement has outlived it's expected life. It should have been
replaced some time ago.
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LAW OFFICES OF PAUL REVERE, III
226 RIVER VIEW LANE
�CENTERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS 02632
`u-J 508-778-7126
October 7, 2005
Anne Cannedy, Town Councilor Ms. Jacqueline Etsten, Planning Department,
Mr. John Klimm, Town Manager Thomas Perry,Building Commissioner
Ruth Weil, Growth Management David Munsell, Planning Board
Mark Els, Town Engineer Carrie Bearse,Old King's Highway
David Houghton, Town Attorney Office (200 Main Street
367 Main Street Hyannis,Massachusetts 02601
Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601
Margo Fenn,Executive Director
Dori-Fox, Chief Regulatory Officer Via Facsimile or Hand Delivery
Martha Twombley
Cape Cod Commission
Main Street
Barnstable, Massachusetts 02630
RE: Wesselhoeft Family Lands And Building By
Howard Woolard Regarding Subdivision Under Appeal r.o•
Dear Recipients: °''
This letter is written on behalf of Joseph Dugas,Marcy Santos,Louis Cataldo, Clifford and Dori
Macdermid, and James and Judith Rogers who are residents of the village of Barnstable and
Plaintiffs in a recently filed challenge to a subdivision approved by the Barnstable Planning
Board and includes claims that the matter siTipuld have been referred to the Cape Cod
Commission as a mandatory referral. This letter is to inform you that even though the
subdivision is currently under appeal, Mr. Woolard has begun to construct the subdivision and
has done so in violation of numerous laws, ordinances, and requirements of the Town of
Barnstable and the Cape Cod Commission. In particular, Mr. Woolard is building the
subdivision while it is under appeal,has demolished numerous stone walls and clear cut more
than 5 acres of unfragmented forest. In doing so, Mr. Woolard has not only violated the
requirements of numerous laws,but also has done so at tremendous disturbance to the
neighborhood as he has begun clearing operations each morning at 7 a.m. and operated a wood
chipping machine which can be heard for nearly a one half mile distance for ten hours each day.
By this letter, I ask that each of you within your respective jurisdictions take appropriate
regulatory and enforcement actions and issue appropriate cease and desist orders.
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Background
Mr. Howard Woolard,through a trust known as the Five Acre Realty Trust, owns a 7.5 acre
parcel of land at the end of Maushop Road. While Mr. Woolard holds title,the property is
subject to a mortgage from the prior owner, William Wesselhoeft, which makes up the majority
of the purchase price and, as such the purchase was essentially owner financed. The parcel is the
northeastern corner of a nearly forty acre tract of land controlled by the Wesselhoeft family'
which is immediately adjacent to the well fields of the Barnstable Fire District Water
Department.
In early 2005, Mr. Woolard and Frances Bush-Brown applied to the Barnstable Planning Board
to subdivide approximately 7.5 acres of the 40 plus acre tract. Prior to the final action of the
Planning Board,Mr. Woolard demolished an ancient stone wall at the end of Maushop Avenue
without obtaining approval of and in violation of the requirements of the Old King's Highway
Committee. Mr. Woolard was ordered by that committee to not remove any more stone walls
without first obtaining a demolition permit from the committee. Furthermore,the demolition of
the stone wall removed a barrier to water flow and now water from the Wesselhoeft property
flows down the hill on Maushop Avenue collecting at a corner on Hyannis Road, a public way,
which has been subject to flooding.
Various neighbors requested that the application be referred to the Cape Cod Commission as the
roadways within the Wesselhoeft land connected Maushop Avenue to Pine Lane and Old Jail
Lane which turned Maushop Avenue into a bypass road for Barnstable Village. Furthermore,
they noted that the land was part of a larger tract of land controlled by a single family, in a
pristine forested condition, and adjacent to a well field. In summary,they correctly argued that
the development of the Wesselhoeft property will forever change the character of Barnstable
Village As the subdivision approval process was progressing, Ms. Bush-Brown sold of a portion
of her property,but the new owner was not added to the application. Notwithstanding,no
referral of the subdivision was made to the Cape Cod Commission and Planning Board approved
the subdivision in August. The approval has been appealed to Land Court including a claim that
the matter should have been reviewed as a devplap ent of regional impact and the matter is
currently pending before that court. I g p
Notwithstanding, Mr. Woolard has: (i)begun construction of the subdivision; (ii) cleared
approximately five acres of land stretching from Maushop Avenue to the railroad tracks behind
the former Barnstable County jail; (iii) destroyed acres of wild life habitat in an unfragmented
forest resource area; (iv)altered drainage patterns throughout the land and the adjacent
subdivision; and(v) destroyed three additional stone walls within his property.
Request For Regulatory Enforcement
On behalf of my clients and through this letter, I request that you visit the parcel which is located
'The property consists of seven tracts of land which were owned by Conrad Wesselhoeft
and are now owned by either his children or his grandchildren.
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at the top of Maushop Avenue in Barnstable Village and take enforcement within your various
areas of regulatory jurisdiction. I point out the following as potential issues.
1. Mr. Woolard has cleared at least five acres of land without a building permit
which would make his actions a Mandatory Development of Regional Impact.
2. The parcel is part of a more than forty acre tract held by related interests who
cannot develop the parcel without coordinating their actions.
3. Mr. Woolard is constructing the newly approved subdivision even though g1i that
subdivision is under appeal.
4. Mr. Woolard has diverted water from his and the other Wesselhoeft land such that
he is using Hyannis Road for his drainage.
5. Mr. Woolard has demolished additional stone walls in direct contravention to an
order of the Old King's Highway.
6. Mr. Woolard's work crews have violated the Town of Barnstable's noise
ordinance in operating loud wood chipping machinery on the property boundary
for up to 10 hours per day.
In summary,this matter requires greater review by your various offices. Currently,the Planning
Department and the Cape Cod Commission are working to designate an already highly developed
area known as"Pond Village"as a District of Critical Planning Concern. While this is going on,
the same bodies seem to be ignoring the destruction of a portion of the largest tract of
undeveloped land in Barnstable Village and setting the stage for complete development of that
land with extremely limited regulatory review.
On behalf of my clients, I request that you act now to ensure that all laws are complied with and
proper review occurs.
If you have any questions,please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Paul Revere, III
cc: Joe Dugas