A day after a heated Peabody City Council discussion regarding a private pool encroaching on city-owned land, City Solicitor Donald Conn received correspondence that the owners of the pool will now get a permit to be able to have a company come to their home and remove the pool, according to Ward 5 Councilor David Gamache.
At the recent City Council meeting, councilors, other city officials, and members of the public discussed whether a piece of city-owned property at 2 Linda Jean Lane should be sold to homeowners who live adjacent to it for $15,000, with the council unanimously rejecting a motion to sell the land to accommodate a swimming pool.
According to the Department of Community Development and Planning, Robert and Lisa Polignone’s shed, stone wall, and a part of their pool has spilled over onto the 4,161 square-foot lot. Attorney, James Sears, representing the Polignones said at a Legal Affairs Committee meeting last October that the couple only learned that their pool, on which they started construction in 2008, was built past their own property line when buyers of their home had a mortgage inspection plot plan done and found that the pool was, in fact, on city-owned land.
Members of the public, particularly neighbors and abutters, voiced their opposition to the possible $15,000 sale at the City Council meeting.
Some opposed the $15,000 price tag of the land, saying that it is too low and unfair to taxpayers.
Some complained about how abutters were not notified of the possible sale.
One neighbor complained that the Polignones had some trees cut that were situated in this land to have the pool built, which she said has ruined her privacy. Another said that selling the land would set a bad example for others, encouraging them to just take city land.
Some members of City Council did not hold back in criticizing the Polignones’ past actions. Councilor-at-Large Jon Turco said that he finds it hard to completely believe all of Robert Polignone’s claims because “the story keeps changing,” and also agreed with neighbors saying that the land should be sold for more than $15,000.
Councilor-at-Large Thomas Gould then told Robert Polignone that he should have known where his property lines ended, that he took up a significant chunk of city land, 64 by 64 feet, and that he didn’t think Robert Polignone was “being truthful” with them.
Robert Polignone, on the other hand, said that the situation was being “blown out of proportion,” and that at the time of the construction of the pool, they followed the correct steps when it came to applying for permits, trusting that their contractors were doing the right things. He did acknowledge, however, that he “did not walk the land, and never looked at his property line.”
Now, according to Gamache, the building inspector’s office will ensure that the city’s property will be returned to its original state, and will provide oversight to make sure that the pool is removed correctly.
