LYNNFIELD — A well-known historic home, located on a parcel of property with ownership that dates back to a 1640 land grant given to the Smith family by King Charles I of England, is in danger of extinction.
Virgil Lynnfield Properties, LLC, has applied for a permit to demolish the Joseph Smith House (1850), located at 163 Lowell Street, adjacent to Pocahontas Spring, which was also a part of the 640-acre land grant.
Smith House is listed on the Lynnfield Historical Commission’s “Structures Built through 1910 and Additional Structures Subject to the Demolition Delay By-Law” list. Adopted in 2008, it allows the town to delay demolition of listed properties for one year.
The demolition request was filed with the building inspector on June 17, 2020, following which the commission voted unanimously to schedule a public hearing to determine if the property is worthy of preservation.
“If a property is on the list of older structures, the building inspector cannot issue a permit (to demolish) immediately; he must notify the historical commission, which he did, and then have a meeting within 14 days to discuss whether or not the property should be preserved, which the commission did,” said Town Counsel Thomas Mullen. “The second step in the bylaw is a public meeting to determine whether to preserve it. If the commission decides to preserve it there can be no demolition for up to a year.”
Mullen said the bylaw was intended to create some breathing room in the hopes that perhaps a “white knight” will come in and purchase a property with the intention of preservation, but the reality is the most the town can do is delay the process.
Mullen added that an owner can shorten the delay.
“If he can show he has really tried to find a buyer wanting to preserve the property, the commission can allow early demolition.”
The hearing has been scheduled for July 29 at 6:30 p.m. at 35 South Common. It will be held outside to maximize COVID-19 safety measures, including social distancing.
Essex County Registry of Deeds records show that Virgil Lynnfield Properties purchased the home from John and Heather Sievers on Nov. 25, 2019, for $860,000. Mullen said that, at the time of the sale, the Sievers were involved in litigation with abutter Boston Clear Water Company (BCWC) and that the sale brought an end to that case.
The home had been occupied by members of the Smith family until it was sold by Lawrence M. Vazzana and Lucy Marie Smith Vazzana, the daughter of Joseph F. Smith, to the Sievers on April 28, 2006 for $713,545. Smith founded the Pocahontas Spring water company in 1901.
Mullen said there is a common misconception about what it means to be listed on national historical registries.
“People think that the public will protect historic structures once they are on national or other registries,” he said. “A register really just entitles the owners to be able to apply for grants. In reality, any such structure can be torn down.”
The home is located on approximately 40,000 square feet of land next to BCWC, which has been the subject of ongoing complaints by other neighbors and has also been involved in several legal disputes with the town.
Mullen said Lynnfield’s Zoning Board of Appeals currently is in land-court litigation with BCWC, the main issue being, “whether their water supply use is an ‘as-of-right use.'” The town filed a motion for summary judgment June 19, 2020, and a hearing has been set for October. Mullen said the Conservation Commission has been the subject of three lawsuits filed by BCWC. One was resolved in favor of the town, while the other two are still pending.
