17C-156 (3) City of Xur �m� un
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DEPARTMENT OF BUIL;DIN INSPECTIONS �4 212 Main Street. • Municipal Building
Northampton, MA 01060 g
A SPEC'TOR
Judith Ferber
P. O. Box 60024
Florence, MA 01062
Re:80 High Street August 29, 2008
17C-156
Dear Judith,
I have enclosed a signed copy of the permit card. This is your certificate of occupancy for 80
High Street in Florence.
I noticed that you took out the building permit as the homeowner. The Massachusetts State
Building Code, 780 CMR, Chapter 1, section 5116.1 requires that"the construction, reconstruction,
alteration, repair, removal or demolition of all detached one- and two-family dwellings .....shall be under
the control of a licensed construction supervisor." I have included a copy of the relevant page from the
code. There is a provision in the code to allow homeowners to obtain a permit for their own house. The
code defines a "homeowner" as follows:
Person(s) who owns a parcel of land on which he or she resides or intends to reside, on which
there is, or is intended to be, a one-or two-family dwelling, attached or detached structures accessory
to such use and/or farm structures. A person who constructs more than one home in a two-year period
shall not be considered a homeowner.
I noticed the for sale sign in yard when I did the final inspection. It seems clear that you do not
intend to reside there, and therefore you would not qualify as a homeowner in relation to this permit.
This is not to say that the job was not done well; I was impressed with the quality of the work. I have
signed off on the occupancy certificate. If you take on another, similar project, though, you will need to
enlist the services of a licensed construction supervisor unless you could demonstrate that you truly
intended to reside in the house.
Feel free to call if you have any questions. Our telephone number is 587-1240 and our office
hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, excepting that we close at 12:00 noon on
Wednesdays. My email address is: Ihasbrouck@city.northampton.ma.us.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Louis Hasbrouck
City of Northampton
Local Inspector and Zoning Enforcement
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