<http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/fram_developer0730200 3.htm> http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/fram_developer07302003 .htm
Developer may end up in court over changes to wall By D. Craig MacCormack / News Staff Writer Wednesday, July 30, 2003 FRAMINGHAM -- Developer Chris Kotsiopoulis yesterday emerged from a meeting with town officials saying he expects to land in court for failing to comply with several orders for work behind a home at the top of Carter Drive. Kotsiopoulis met with Building Inspector Joe Mikielian one day after saying he planned to take down a 6-foot tall stone wall because he was fed up with neighbors' complaints about his work in the area. Mikielian reminded Kotsiopoulis that he must live up to an agreement signed in late March that requires him to keep the wall and build a 4-foot tall architectural wall -- among other improvements -- behind it to control runoff. "Anything he does that negatively affects that wall is going to have an effect on his compliance," said Mikielian. "He'll just be further out of compliance (if he follows through on the threat to take down the wall). "He needs permission to do anything that wasn't in the agreement," he said. Kotsiopoulis will offer to return his building permit to the town if it isn't happy with the changes he's made to and behind the site, dubbed Doeskin II Estates. "If they want to give me an extension, they can do that," he said. "If not, I'll see them in court. This comes as a total blow to me. They are way out of line here. I was working in good faith." Mikielian expects a scheduled date in Framingham District Court will stand, he said. Officials will inspect the site either Friday or Monday to check on Kotsiopoulis' progress, he said. "It doesn't look like he's going to comply," said Mikielian. "Hopefully he'll calm down and see the wisdom of doing what he agreed to do this spring. It's really in his court." Kotsiopoulis was ordered to reduce the wall from 25 feet high to 6 feet high a few months ago. He worked with neighbors when he was told to tear down the larger wall, and filed a changed plan to town officials, but it was rejected. That revised plan, said Mikielian, featured a sloped grade to the land behind the 6-foot wall, but the second 4-foot wall was absent, he said. Kotsiopoulis says the architectural wall is unnecessary. Betsy Swartz, whose driveway was blanketed with mud that ran downhill from the Doeskin area, and seeped through the retaining wall heading down a hill, has been especially vocal in her opposition to Kotsiopoulis' work. Swartz, said Kotsiopoulis, is the driving force in his decision to back out of his agreement with the town. She hired her own engineer to look over the developer's plans for the site and he agreed with Kotsiopoulis' layout. Now, Swartz is attempting to thwart his efforts to meet the Friday deadline, he said. Swartz could not be reached yesterday for comment. Kotsiopoulis and fellow developer James Angelo Frangoulidas avoided a $15,000 fine by removing the top layers of the wall this spring. The developers were reissued their building permit at that time. The developers built the wall far larger than specified in their approved plans. The plans called for a wall 6- to 7-feet high, but town inspectors didn't learn of the massive structure until neighbors complained last summer. The new plans, approved by the town, call for a terraced section at the wall's highest point to be planted with trees to shield the wall from neighboring back yards. The developers were fined $1,000 in February for building the wall and faced more fines if it wasn't taken down. Ken Dallamora, a Framingham native who has been building homes in town for 20 years, has been following Kotsiopoulis' dealings with the town regularly, he said. He isn't surprised the developer has had some trouble, he said. "I think once you get your approvals, it's very straightforward (dealing with Framingham officials)," said Dallamora, a developer for 25 years. "When you deviate from what they approve, that's when you run into trouble. "I certainly would expect that kind of treatment if I didn't follow what was agreed upon," he said. Dallamora -- who has worked on Maple Farms, Eastleigh Farms, and Grove Street -- had an interest in the Doeskin site before Kotsiopoulis bought it, he said. He isn't sure he would want it now, though. "It depends what he did to it," said Dallamora. (Craig MacCormack can be reached at 508-626-4429 or <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED]) /andrea carr-evans, pct. 3 To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body "unsubscribe frambors" (the subject is ignored).
