41-047 Weise-Ferriter 2015-06-22City of Northampton
Massachusetts
DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING INSPECTIONS
212 Main Street ● Municipal Building
Northampton, MA 01060
John Ferriter, Esq.
1669 Northampton Street
Holyoke, MA 01040
June 23, 2015
Attorney Ferriter,
I reviewed Ms. Weise’s request for a determination as to whether her property on Westhampton
Road (identified as 41-047-001) was a legal building lot. I determined that it is not.
As I explained in my June 2nd letter to Ms. Weise, I believe that the lot became grandfathered
when the city zoning ordinances changed in 1987 and 1990. The 1990 change added this definition and
requirement for a building lot layout. Her lot does not meet this requirement.
“LOT LAYOUT: In addition to the minimum lot area, depth, width and frontage requirements, lots shall
be laid out in such a manner so that a square, with sides equal to the minimum frontage requirement
for the zoning district in which it is located, can be placed within the lot with at least one point of the
square lying on the front lot line with no portion of the square extending beyond the boundaries of the
lot.”
I believe that the lot lost its grandfathered status when it was reconfigured in 1994. The property
lines between this lot and the adjoining parcel (1260 Westhampton Road, 41-046, also identified as “lot
2”) were redrawn. Ms. Weise’s property is therefore not the same parcel referenced in any deed
recorded prior to the 1990 change in the lot layout requirement. Common law would seem to support
this determination.
I have included a commentary written by Attorney James M. Burgoyne after the Appeals Court
ruled on Rourke v. Rothman in 1965. While the specifics of that case have no bearing on Ms. Weise’s
situation, Attorney Burgoyne’s caution at the end of the article is certainly relevant. I will email some of
the information I used to make this determination.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Respectfully,
Louis Hasbrouck
Building Commissioner
City of Northampton
(413) 587-1240
lhasbrouck@city.northampton.ma.us