• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Wellesley Square
  • Deland, Gibson Insurance Athlete of the Week
  • Camp
  • Private schools, sponsored by Riverbend
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • Seniors
  • Letters to the editor
  • Guidelines for letters to the editor
  • Live government meetings
  • Raiders sports schedules & results
  • Fire & police scanner
  • 2023 Town Election
 
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Neighbors facing real uphill battle over rehabbed Wellesley house & yard

August 21, 2018 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

When a Wellesley cop sold his home at 19 Fife Rd., back in March, it came as no surprise that the big cape would undergo a major change. After all, the 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house, which sold for $759K according to various real estate sites, had been kicking around since 1950. As we all know by now in teardown central, that many years on a house is almost a certain death sentence.

But the buyer in this case, an LLC out of Quincy, reportedly snapped up the home in the Fiske Elementary School neighborhood with the idea of rehabbing and reselling it, not tearing it down. Among the first moves by the buyer was to cut down dozens of trees. The removal of at least some of those trees was welcomed by Michael and Elizma Sexton, whose McLean Street home abuts and stands below the Fife Road house.  Their patio and backyard suddenly no longer stood entirely in the shadows.

However, Michael Sexton says that the tree cutting (and burying) and the amassing of truckloads of soil at the Fife Road home has also resulted in mudslides and streams of water into their backyard and basement. The Sextons say communications with the buyer and their builder has been a struggle since the start of the summer, and as a result neighbors have reached out to town officials for relief. They’ve also taken preliminary legal action in the form of a letter to the owner and contacted the press.

While town officials have visited the house, shaken their heads and expressed sympathy for the neighbors’ plight, they’ve said that the matter is more likely a civil one than anything the town can get involved in. The project has not triggered the need for the homeowners to apply for a special permit from the town or get any sort of official town review, as say an expansion of the home beyond its current footprint or erection of a retaining wall would have done. It has, however, perhaps cracked open the door for future zoning bylaws aimed at promoting more neighborliness.

fife mclean wellesley
The view from McLean Street

 

Reaching out to town officials

The Sextons say the original builder (since replaced) seemed cooperative, and that the owner did show up to address the water runoff issue after a recent big storm. Mesh has been draped over the dirt hill and a screen has been stretched across most of the property to block water flow. The Sextons say the owner pledged to deliver a more robust water mitigation plan within a few days of the incident, but it’s been a month since that meeting and no plan has emerged. We reached out to the owner over the weekend, but have not heard back.

Meanwhile, neighbors have stepped up efforts in recent weeks to get the town involved.

They say they have reached out to the Building Department, Engineering Division. Natural Resources Commission and Planning Board. At the Aug. 6 Planning Board meeting, Sexton and McLean Street neighbor Rob Ruffin aired their concerns during the citizen speak segment (starts just before the 7-minute mark of this Wellesley Public Media recording).

The way Sexton sees it, rehabbing homes is a good thing for neighborhoods. But in this case, he said at the Planning Board meeting, the property owner has been “shrewd” about “going right up to the line” in making sure not to trigger any special permits and get the town officially involved in inspecting its building practices.

After listing the steps that neighbors had already taken to try to resolve the issue, Sexton told officials at the Planning Board meeting: “I guess we’re just coming to ask for help.”

 

McLean Street, Wellesley

A recent storm flooded the Sextons’ patio

 

But Planning Director Michael Zehner didn’t have especially good news for the Sextons on that front: “I hate to tell you but…it may be a civil matter,” said Zehner, who noted the board has heard similar sorts of complaints in the past. In a follow-up email to us, Zehner wrote: “No doubt they have legitimate concerns, but absent applicable regulations on stormwater, grading, and erosion and sedimentation control measures during construction, the Town has no recourse.”

The meeting did, however, prompt Planning Chair Catherine Johnson to visit the property this past weekend just before I did. During the Planning Board meeting, Johnson said the board’s only recourse would be to put in place new regulations, but any new bylaws would require Town Meeting approval and that wouldn’t take place in time to address this specific situation.

“I certainly appreciate your concern,” Johnson said during the Planning Board meeting. “In my heart of hearts… every single house that’s built in Wellesley would in some way, shape or form be permitted. That could be considered onerous for some people, but it ends up creating more of an omnibus for the town. That’s the way it was built.”

So while you might think based on some of the discussion around newer Wellesley bylaws such as those related to large house reviews and teardown delays that you basically need a permit to blow your nose in town, it turns out that that’s really not the case.

Wellesley doesn’t appear to formally keep track of  complaints like those of these neighbors. But if the Sextons’ and Ruffins’ concerns resonate, it’s possible that others coming forward to town officials en masse could spark action on new bylaws, such as a hillside protection rule, that could help others down the road.

print

Filed Under: Houses, Neighbors, Real estate

Comments

  1. old geotech says

    August 21, 2018 at 12:28 pm

    While I sympathize with Mr. Sexton’s runoff problem, my sense is that, from an engineering perspective, he has been relying on the kindness of neighbors to prevent this problem. Whenever, you have a significant slope towards your house, you need to imagine what can happen, not what is happening. In my opinion, this problem was inevitable. From the pictures, it looks as though Mr Sexton is also a bit guilty of building his patio right up to the lot line. I would point fingers at the landscape designer for lack of engineering. Any decent engineer would have told him that a drain should have been installed in the patio when it is at the base of a slope like his. Play defense.

    Reply
  2. Judy says

    August 24, 2018 at 11:13 am

    If this house is not already under contract to a new owner, I think any future buyer would be cautious about potential litigation. I wouldn’t buy a house with a possible lawsuit in the wings.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Riverbend, Natick

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square, Wellesley Merchants
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Beacon Hill Athletic Club, Wellesley
Fay School, Southborough
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Mature Caregivers
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • Sign up now for summer camp in Wellesley (and beyond)
  • Letters-to-the-editor day in Wellesley—important election-time updates
  • Wellesley business buzz: Board business liaison phased out; Help ID top business leaders of color; Hospital taps new president
  • Business buzz: Nantucket wine bar to boast Wasik's cheeses; Needham Bank has new Wellesley branch manager; Thanks to new sponsor Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs
  • Wellesley Veterans Parade will be one big wonderful Tea Party

Upcoming Events

Jan 31
9:00 am - 11:00 am Recurring

Coffee and Conversation with the Wetlands Administrator and Staff

Jan 31
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Families Eat Together online presentation

Feb 1
11:59 pm

Deadline for Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club grants application

Feb 3
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sara Campbell winter warehouse sale

Feb 4
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sara Campbell winter warehouse sale

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • David B on Does Wellesley need a new traffic light? Slow down before you drive to any conclusions
  • LADY WELLESLEY on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Peggy Heffernan on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Beth Dublin on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Erika on Where to buy the Wellesleyest stuff in Wellesley

Links we like

  • Danny's Place
  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • 2023 Town Election (3)
  • Animals (428)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (592)
  • Beyond Wellesley (52)
  • Books (376)
  • Business (1,558)
  • Camp (11)
  • Careers/jobs (53)
  • Churches (82)
  • Clubs (236)
  • Construction (300)
  • Dump (130)
  • Education (3,189)
    • Babson College (252)
    • Bates Elementary School (18)
    • Dana Hall School (36)
    • Fiske Elementary School (11)
    • Hardy Elementary School (47)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (46)
    • MassBay (57)
    • Schofield Elementary School (26)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (613)
    • Wellesley High School (996)
    • Wellesley Middle School (204)
  • Embracing diversity (84)
  • Entertainment (814)
  • Environment (772)
  • Fashion (144)
  • Finance (15)
  • Fire (173)
  • Food (358)
  • Fundraising (641)
  • Gardens (164)
  • Government (604)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (15)
  • Health (866)
    • COVID-19 (203)
  • Hikes (6)
  • History (400)
  • Holidays (440)
  • Houses (162)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (867)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (10)
  • Letters to the Editor (73)
  • Media (72)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (13)
  • Morses Pond (109)
  • Music (580)
  • Natick Report (30)
  • Neighbors (280)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (86)
  • Outdoors (655)
  • Parenting (63)
  • Police (778)
    • Crime (395)
  • Politics (554)
  • POPS Senior Profile (10)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (344)
  • Religion (138)
  • Restaurants (340)
  • Safety (155)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (127)
  • Shopping (163)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (1,012)
    • Athlete of the Week (12)
  • STEM (108)
  • Technology (165)
  • Theatre (397)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (240)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,244)
  • Volunteering (350)
  • Weather (179)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (280)
  • Wellesley Holiday Gift Guide (2)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (20)

© 2023 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login