23 RIVER STREET LETTER John H. Carr, Jr., Esq.
7 River Street
Salem,MA 01970
Phone: 978-807-3264
Email: 'ohr heni-v.carr�L. mail.coin
May 20, 2021
By First Class Mail & By Email: tstpierre@salem.com
Thomas St. Pierre
Salem Building Inspector and Zoning Enforcement Officer
Salem Building Department
Salem, MA 01970
Re: Your May 20, 2021 Opinion Letter Re 23 River Street, Salem, MA 01970
Dear Mr. St. Pierre:
I am in receipt of your May 20, 2021 Opinion Letter, in response to my letter to you of May 6,
2021.
You write:
It is my opinion that the nonconforming dwelling located on 23 River
Street has not lost its protected status because it has not been
abandoned and it has been sufficiently used. Of note, although it
appears the property has been in foreclosure, the bank continued to
secure the property, has kept the water on, paid the real estate taxes
and conducted a substantial environmental cleanup at the property.
Emphasis added.
I wish you had spoken to many long-term residents, including several key
abutters,before reaching your conclusion that the bank has in fact and/or as a
matter of law"secured the property" or"conducted a substantial environmental
cleanup at the property."
Indeed, your letter is long on self-serving generalizations and short on dates and
details, especially given the extraordinarily long period of time--years, not
months, and many,many years at that -how long this property has been totally
unoccupied and totally unused.
I am herewith formally requesting that you supply me by return email with
all the supporting information and documentation, including dates, on which
you based your May 20,2021 Opinion Letter.
MAY 26 AM10:37
MAY
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, I would ask, in particular, that
you furnish me with copies of the water bills for the entire period that 23 River
Street has supposedly been inactive. It is one thing for the water to have been
kept on, but do the water bills show what water was actually used? In that sense,
the water bills would be documents that actually support our position.
The same even more applies to the "substantial environmental cleanup at the
property"you claim has occurred, or when it occurred, as I am sure that your
statement will be news to the people who actually live adjacent to 23 River Street
or nearby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.
Indeed, that you would conclude your investigation(1) without taking advantage
of the offer I made in my May 6, 2021 letter about providing you with multiple
affidavits from long-term knowledgeable neighbors and(2)that you didn't even
bother to make an effort to speak to any of the neighbors would also seem to be
serious errors in judgment and process on your part.
I hope that whatever animosity you may feel toward me or my neighborhood has
not interfered with your professional judgment as Salem's Zoning Enforcement
Officer.
I very much expect that an appeal will be taken to the Salem Zoning Board of
Appeals ("ZBA") of your Opinion within thirty (30) days pursuant to G.L.c. 40A,
Sections 8 and 15.
I am glad you closed your May 20, 2021 Opinion Letter by stating"I hereby
reserve any and all rights to defend this decision against any such appeal and to
advance additional arguments in support of my decision,"which is exactly why I
am requesting any all additional information and documents on which you
apparently based your Opinion.
After all, conclusions are meaningless without the crucial details and facts on
which they are based.
ery truly
John H. Carr, Jr.
Cc. Neighbors—By Email _
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