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Photo Kaimi Rose Lum
Days Cottages owners say decision to convert cottages to condos was difficult. |
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Historic cottages get nod for condo conversion
By Kahrin Deines
Banner Correspondent
TRURO — On Monday night, the owners of Days Cottages and the Moorlands Inn received permission from the Zoning Board of Appeals to convert their properties to condominiums. Both parties have deep roots in the Outer Cape area and said that the decision to condo-ize had been a hard one to make.
Joseph Days, the owner of Days’ Cottages, appeared before the board, with estate agent Ray Murphy, to ask for a special permit to condo-ize his 22 cottages under section 40.3 of the zoning bylaws. Days Cottages, which are located on Shore Road, were built by his grandfather and have been in operation for 75 years. The sight of the cottages in queue along Route 6, with their uniform structures and green-and-white color schemes, has inspired many artists to make them the subject of their works over the years.
Days said that his family had struggled with the decision, but that it was necessary. “It’s bittersweet. You hate to see it leave the family, but my wife and I have been doing this for over 33 years and we’re not getting any younger. We have five kids, but none of them are in a position to continue the cottages. We just want to move on to the next phase of our lives,” said Days, who now will be able to spend half the year in Provincetown and half in Florida with his wife.
The ZBA attached a condition to the special permit that requires that the new condominiums’ bylaws stipulate that there can be no expansion or exterior alteration of the cottages. Days said that he also hopes to keep the cottages’ names the same. His grandmother named each of the cottages after a different flower back in the 1930s.
William Foley, whose property at 274 Sherry Road abuts the Days’ property, attended the meeting to ask that a propane shed, which belongs to Days but crosses over onto his property by a foot, be moved. The board heeded his request and attached a condition to Days’ permit that requires him to move the shed.
Bill Evaul, who owns the Moorlands Inn at 11 Hughes Road with his wife, Skipper, also appeared before the board to ask for a special permit to condo-ize their property, which consists of two cottages, a carriage house and their home, the inn. Estate agent Ray Murphy appeared before the board with him as well.
Evaul read a letter out loud that his wife wrote in response to people’s questions about why they would condo-ize. In the letter, she explains that they need to sell their two cottages because of financial hardship, but that the zoning bylaws will not allow them to subdivide the property so their only path to sell is to condo-ize. She describes their choice to condo-ize as a “decision of last resort.”
Skipper’s family roots in the area go back to the early 1700s. Her great-great uncle, Capt. Atkins Hughes, built the Moorlands Inn in the 1890s. The Evauls had their eye on the “ancestral home” for many years and were finally able to buy the property in 1997, but they have not been able to make enough money off the inn and their rental units to cover the upkeep.
Board member Joe Conlon questioned whether they should be granted a special permit in light of the current affordable housing crisis in Truro. Unlike the Days Cottages, the two cottages the Evauls will try to sell can be used year-round, although they are currently unoccupied.
Estate agent Ray Murphy argued that the board would be overstepping its bounds if it allowed the affordable housing issue to affect their decision. He also said it would be unfair to single out the Evauls.
Conlon was reassured by the fact that the cottages are currently unoccupied and the board chose to set aside the issue of affordable housing. Alternate ZBA member Alan Efromson did say, however, that he thought it was within the board’s purview to consider how permits might affect the supply of affordable housing.
The Evauls were granted a special permit to condo-ize their property by a unanimous vote, with the attached condition that the cottages and carriage house not be expanded.
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Sep 28th, 2006