Neighbors file suit vs. Argiro
Published on October 4th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - A group of South Street residents filed suit against former Building Inspector Gene Argiro last Friday for closing off the entrance to their home roadway in order to construct a 3,740 square foot house.
According to South Street residents Michael Tarmey and Mary Zatta, the legal action is the latest attempt by the neighbors abutting 52 South Street, which was purchased by Argiro last spring, to reclaim the entrance to the access road that the developer took-over during construction of a new four-bedroom home.
Argiro, who maintains that he was within his rights to seize the property, as the entrance and a portion of the South Street roadway encroached upon his land, declined to comment on the news this Tuesday afternoon.
Although the South Street neighbors expressed outrage last month at the inaction of local and state officials in regards to the take-over, the residents have since had multiple meetings with representatives from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on the future of their home street.
For months before those meetings, the neighborhood was ping-ponged back-and-forth between local and state officials when they inquired about who actually owned the access road, whether the Hall Road resident had a right to seize the entrance, and what could be done to improve egress in and out of the portion of the street that remained.
“DCR put a turnabout in the street for us today. They did a nice job on it,” a relieved Tarmey commented this Tuesday evening.
“DCR was good enough to come down today. It was decided they would put a turnaround in so that, at least for the winter, people can come in and access their front doors,” said a thankful Zatta, who praised DCR’s recent cooperation during a separate interview.
According to DCR spokeswoman Vanessa Gulati, that state agency has determined that while the Commonwealth owns that property where the South Street access road is situated, Argiro is correct in that the actual entrance encroached upon his lot.
DCR, which maintains that it didn’t install the roadway itself, contends that Argiro never received permission from agency officials, as the former Building Inspector claims, to remove the entrance and take over a portion of the road.
“I know that there was a meeting with the community and the developer, but it’s not DCR property,” Gulati remarked, referring to the land that Argiro developed on. “So we wouldn’t be in a position to say yes or no, because it’s not ours.”
While the South Street residents have made progress in their on-going dispute with the Hall Road resident, the town has not shared the same success in settling a permitting issue with the 52 South Street home.
Specifically, according to Building Inspector Cheryl Noble, the development of the large residential dwelling continues without a single permit, despite a Sept. 6 order from her office to cease and desist all construction activity.
“Not as of this time,” the Building Inspector responded, when asked if her former co-worker had been issued the permissions for the work.
Although Noble declined to comment further on the 52 South Street property, deferring all inquiries to Town Counsel Bill Solomon’s office — who similarly wouldn’t remark on the building permit debacle — the file for the property gives some insight into the dispute.
According to Building Department records, the former Building Inspector first applied for a permit on May 16 to erect the structure, but began construction on the development after Melrose Inspector John Luther, filling in for Noble while she was on maternity leave, failed to issue the authorization within 30-days.
In turn, on June 21, Luther sent a letter to Argiro warning him that the construction activity was a violation of state building code regulations, correspondence that in turn drew a curt rebuttal from the Hall Road resident’s Melrose attorney on June 27.
“Both applications were filed with all necessary and applicable information and you have failed to act and issue these permits within the appropriate time periods,” lawyer John McNaught, Jr., responded, claiming that since 30-days transpired after Argiro’s submittal of the permit request, he was allowed to commence construction.
“In light of the history involving you, Eugene Argiro, and the Town of Stoneham, it appears your failure to issue these permits is intentional and grounded in animosity. You stand in direct conflict,” the correspondence alleges.
Although Luther now works in the City of Melrose, he did work under Argiro when he was the town’s building inspector. The pair has since been involved in litigation filed by separate parties against the Town of Stoneham and the building department since that time.
A day after Argiro’s attorney filed that letter, Town Administrator Ron Florino sent his own correspondence to the Hall Road resident, defending Luther’s ability to be impartial, but agreeing to assign an alternate inspector to the South Road project.
However, for reasons not quite clear, that alternate, the Inspector for the Town of Winchester, never actually got involved in the matter, and Noble, at the request of Florino, returned early from her maternity leave to deal with the issue.
On August 31, after Argiro sent correspondence to her days earlier charging that he was being harassed and persecuted by the town’s elected and appointed officials, Noble agreed to issue a building permit, as long as her former superior agreed to pay a double fee of $5,902.
When the lack of a check from Argiro resulted in a cease and desist order from Noble on Sept. 6, the Building Inspector responded by sending a check for $2,951, arguing that he shouldn’t be forced to pay a double fee when he was held-up due to conflicts of interest within the building department.
Again, as in previous letters, the Hall Road resident vowed to pursue other legal avenues if the matter continued to be held-up.
Noble has yet to respond to that last letter to date, although one official familiar with the dispute believes yet another round of correspondence was issued to Argiro on Tuesday.
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