18-year battle between Marblehead neighbors finally over

MARBLEHEAD ? After an epic 18-year battle, including a 16-year lawsuit, Wayne Johnson?s $1 million harborside dream house at 74 Bubier Road is a waking memory today.Johnson?s contractor, Scott Frotton, wielded an excavator, knocking the house down section-by-section and scooping debris into a huge truck bearing the name “Dennis the Menace.”Work began at 7 a.m. The house was down by 8:30.None of the principals were present for the demolition. Johnson, 73, has moved to an apartment in Salem. His next-door neighbors, Dr. John and Dr. Ruth Schey, who sued to have Johnson move or raze the house 16 years ago, were not available either. A car left their driveway during the demolition but the driver did not stop to answer questions. Their lawyer, Attorney Frank McElroy, said later, “The Scheys were happy to see February sunshine in their house for the first time in 16 years.”However, the work seemed to attract a steady stream of on-lookers, many of them power walkers making their way up the hill at the narrow seaside end of Bubier Road and offering the same reaction:?It?s a sad day,” said Marblehead native Marjorie “Putt” Mace.The Scheys fought the construction of Johnson?s house at town board meetings in 1994 and in court in 1996, claiming that the structure blocked their view of the harbor and was on an illegal lot. Boston Land Court Judge Keith Long ordered the house torn down Nov. 9, with a Friday, Feb. 17 deadline. Johnson obtained a demolition permit Friday with work scheduled for Tuesday. The lawsuit has cost Johnson more than the $425,000 it cost him to build the house.Frotton employee Lou Morin, keeping onlookers out of harm?s way because “The debris can still fly,” called it “a sad day.”?I don?t think he (Wayne Johnson) came today,” he said.?We do quite a few demolitions, a lot of contractors buy houses, knock them down and put up bigger buildings,” Morin said. “But not court cases like this.”Johnson?s lawyer, Attorney David Noonan of Amherst, declined to comment for him. “He has asked me not to promote any more drama,” Noonan said.In an interview on WBZ Radio Sunday, which Noonan said he was not aware of, Johnson said he felt relieved and plans to build another house on the lot.?It?s an illegal lot, I don?t know how that would work,” Noonan said.McElroy concurred. “(Johnson) can seek a special permit, but his lot is still illegal.” McElroy said Johnson?s mortgage is also in arrears and local property tax payments are long overdue.Some of those in Tuesday?s crowd were critical of Johnson. George Gagnon and his wife came from Salem to witness the ending.?It?s kind of sad,” Gagnon said. “But the people brought it on themselves. I was in the building trades for 50 years and I never saw anybody build a house when they told him not to. If you look around the neighborhood you don?t see any other houses bunched in like that one was.”For Mace, however, Johnson?s story evokes memories of traditional Marbleheaders who knew what was right and didn?t like to let people tell them different.?It?s a foolish argument if you ask me,” she said, “all that just to see a little bit of water. You can walk to the water.”Timeline of the Johnson-Schey Feud ? 1977 ? Wayne Johnson buys 100-year-old, 14-room home at 74 Bubier Road.? 1992 ? Johnson decides to sell the house; a $2,000 survey indicates that Johnson could subdivide his property into two house lots, including his present home and a second lot next door where his garage stands; former Building Inspector Alan Hezekiah concurs.? 1993 ? Johnson subdivides and places both lots on the market; Dr. John Schey and Mrs. Schey attend the open house and decide (according to Johnson) to fight the second house.? 1994 ? The Scheys hire Attorney Frank McElroy as their lawyer and McElroy contacts Johnson; Hezekiah reaffirms his opinion on the subdivision, ruling that under new zoning bylaw changes Johnson?s second lot is non-conforming because it lacks frontage but legal because it was subdivided before the