Sweetser House will be destroyed
Published on February 23rd, 2000
STOEHAM, MA - The Warren Sweetser House will soon be history; it will be dismantled and junked.
At a Feb. 17 meeting the Board of Appeals denied Arlington developer and home renovator Richard Johnson the 14 necessary variances to keep the home on his 50-60 Franklin St. property.
Neighbors were happy, but others were sad to concede a part of Stoneham history.
"There are no other sites available, and moving the home again is not financially feasible," said Johnson's attorney, Steven Cicatelli.
The Stoneham Historical Society and Historical Commission fought long and hard to save the home. Johnson was a last minute savior when he came in and moved the home from a Main Street construction site to his Franklin Street property this past summer.
The house was set to be destroyed then, but Johnson paid $50,000 to move it and planned to spend another $500,000 to renovate the classic Greek Revival home.
"This was not for financial gain," Cicatelli said. "Mr. Johnson wanted to save the home."
When Johnson first came to town, he floated the idea with selectmen and got a conditional go-ahead. Selectmen said they liked the idea of moving the home to Franklin Street, but Johnson would need to get "all the necessary approvals."
The approval he could not get from the Board of Appeals was a result of strong opposition by abutters, including folks at the Fuller House, who did not want the building "squeezed" into their neighborhood, as several neighbors repeated.
The 52,400-acre lot containing 50 and 60 Franklin St. includes two apartment buildings owned by Johnson with a combined total of 36 units. In the first plan presented to the Board of Appeals the Sweetser House, which was to house 3 apartments, was to be set behind the buildings. These buildings themselves would not qualify under current zoning but are grandfathered.
After neighbors said the original plan placed the house too close to their property, a design with the house between the two apartment buildings was presented. More parking was added and a uniform color scheme was suggested to make the three buildings look related.
But even this plan would mean more construction, such as a parking lot to the rear, abutting Fuller Street, and neighbors were opposed to any and all such plans.
"Our neighborhood has been through enough," Jean Carlino of 7 Fuller St. said, referring to the municipal parking lot which now abuts her front yard. "I don't want a parking lot on both sides of my house."
The neighbors clearly and vocally opposed keeping the Sweetser House on the 50-60 Franklin Street property.
The Board of Appeals had to decide how the public good would be best served.
One member, Kathy Sullivan was impressed with Johnson's plan to add up to 15 more parking spaces to go with only three new units. She agreed with Cicatelli's assertion that screening — trees and shrubs — could shield neighbors from the light of the parking lot and liked the fact that the house would be more visible, so all could share in its historical and aesthetic value.
Sullivan said that she accepted the request to add the home onto a Residence B lot with strict zoning requirements as a legitimate hardship and voted not to deny variances.
The other four members, Chuck DeCoste, Bob Saltzman, Ann Simmons and Chairman Mark Shamon, voted to deny the variances.
Saltzman summed up the majority perspective:
"I have considered the hardship for Mr. Johnson but also the hardships allowing the house may cause for neighbors, so I find it difficult to grant relief."
The 4-1 vote denied the variances and sealed the home's fate.
In other Board of Appeals news:
The board gave the Savings Bank an OK to convert the two-family house at 11 Hersam St. into 3 units. The outside appearance will remain the same except for the addition of back stairs and demolition of the garage.
Dennis Bain withdrew his appeal of a decision saying a permit to work on his Stevens Street home's bathroom was void after the permit was recognized by inspectional services as valid last week.
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