Repeal of certain acts. SECT. 147. Chapter two hundred and eighty of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one; chapters two hundred and sixty, and three hundred and seventy-one; and three hundred and seventy-seven of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and seventytwo; chapters two hundred and ninety-eight, and three hundred and thirty-eight of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and seventythree; chapters sixty-nine and one hundred and seventy-six, of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six; chapters one hundred and one, and sections three, four, and seven of chapter two hundred and fifty-two of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and eighty-two; and chapter one hundred and fifty-five of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and eighty-three are repealed. SECT. 148. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [1888, 316, 367, 426; 1889, 129, 450.] June 19, 1885. May take land for a court house. 1886, 122. To cause to be recorded in registry of tion of the land taken. AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY OF BOSTON TO TAKE AND HOLD LAND, AND ΤΟ CONSTRUCT THEREON A COURT-HOUSE FOR THE COUNTY OF SUFFOLK. Be it enacted, etc.: SECTION 1. The board of commissioners appointed by the mayor of said city, by virtue of an order of the city council of said city with reference to a court-house, approved March fourth, eighteen hundred eighty-five, is hereby authorized to select and take in the name and behalf of said city, by purchase or otherwise, such land as may, in the judgment of said commissioners, subject to the approval of the mayor of the city of Boston, be requisite for the erection of a court-house for the use of the courts of the Commonwealth within and for the county of Suffolk, and other purposes incidental thereto and for a court-house yard for the same. SECT. 2. Said commissioners shall within thirty days after the approval of the mayor of the land selected by said commissioners deeds a descrip- file in the registry of deeds for Suffolk County and cause to be recorded a description of the lands so taken as certain as is required in a common conveyance of land, with a statement of the purpose for which it is taken; which description and statement shall be signed by said commissioners or a majority thereof, and the fee of the land so taken or purchased shall vest in the city of Boston. The 151 Mass., 585. city shall be liable to pay all damages that shall be sustained by any person or persons by reason of the taking of such land as aforesaid. Such damages to be ascertained and determined in the manner provided for ascertaining and determining damages in case of the laying out, altering, or discontinuing of ways within the city of Boston. 146 Mass., 52. Commissioners to erect court taken. 1886, 122. SECT. 3. It shall be the duty of the city of Boston, acting by and house on land through the said commissioners, to erect within a reasonable time, upon the land so selected by them and taken or purchased by virtue of this act, a suitable court-house for the use of the courts of the Commonwealth in and for the County of Suffolk, and for other purposes incidental thereto. But work upon the same shall not be commenced until full plans shall have been prepared, and after being duly advertised, proposals for doing the work shall have been received from responsible parties, and contracts have been entered into with satisfactory guaranties for their performance. And the said commissioners shall not expend or contract to expend more than twelve hundred thousand dollars in addition to the cost of the land, unless such excess of expenditure shall first have been authorized by the city council of Boston. to continue in accomplished. SECT. 4. Said board of commissioners shall remain in existence a Commissioners sufficient time to accomplish the purposes of this act, and any office until vacancy occurring therein shall be filled by appointment of the purpose of act mayor. Said board shall semi-annually, and whenever required by the mayor or city council, make and present in writing a particular report and a statement of all their acts and proceedings, and of the condition and progress of the work. They shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by the city council, and shall not be individually interested either directly or indirectly in the work directed by this act. bonds for all struction of SECT. 5. For the purpose of defraying all costs for land taken or City to issue its purchased and for constructing said court-house, and for other costs for land expenses legally incurred under this act, said city of Boston is taken and con authorized to issue its bonds or certificates of indebtedness, to be court-house. known as the "Suffolk County Court-House Loan" to be payable at 1887, 101. such time or times not exceeding fifty years in all, and at such rate of interest as the city council may determine. Said city may make payable annually a fixed proportion of the principal of said bonds or certificates. Said city shall annually raise by taxation the amount required to meet such interest, and the proportion of the principal payable annually. The sinking-funds of any loans of said city may be invested in said bonds or certificates. 1880, c. 128. SECT. 6. Chapter one hundred and twenty-eight of the acts of Repeal of the year eighteen hundred and eighty is hereby repealed, and all estates in land taken or appropriated for a court-house thereunder are hereby revested in the city of Boston as though said act had not been passed. SECT. 7. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [1886, 122, 195; 1887, 101.] June 19, 1885. AN ACT IN RELATION TO THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH IN BUILD- Be it enacted, etc.: houses, etc., to SECTION 1. Every building in the city of Boston used as a dwell- Dwelling. ing, tenement or lodging house, or where persons are employed, have watershall have at all times such number of good and sufficient water- closets, etc. closets, earth closets, or privies as the board of health of said city may determine, but the occupants of any two or more of any such buildings may use such closets or privies in common, provided the access is easy and direct; and said board shall not require more than one such closet or privy for every twenty persons. on street where SECT. 2. Every such building situated on a street in which there Water-closets is a sewer, shall have water-closets, and shall not have a cesspool or there is sewer. privy connected with it, except where, in the opinion of the board 1889, 450. of health, it can be allowed to remain for a longer time, and then only as said board shall approve. verted into SECT. 3. No building in the city of Boston shall be converted Buildings coninto, or used for a tenement or lodging house unless, in addition to tenement the other requirements of the law, it conforms to the provisions of houses to conthis act. form to this act. 1889, 450. Meaning of certain terms. 1889, 450. Yard, etc., of tenement houses to connect with sewer, etc. Space between buildings. Space between buildings in rear of lot. Height and ventilation of habitable rooms. 1889, 450. Area of window communicating nal air. SECT. 4. In this act the following terms shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them, viz. : "Cellar means a basement or lower story of any building of which one-half or more of the height from the floor to the ceiling is below the level of the street adjoining. "Inspector" means inspector of buildings of the city of Boston. "Lodging-house" means a building in which persons are temporarily accommodated with sleeping apartments, and includes hotels. 66 Tenement-house means a building which, or any portion of which, is to be occupied, or is occupied as the residence of more than three families living independently of one another, and doing their cooking upon the premises; or by more than two families upon any floor above the second floor, so living and cooking. SECT. 5. Every tenement or lodging house shall have the yard or area so connected with a sewer that all water and liquid filth will freely flow from it to the sewer, or, if there is no sewer, to the street gutter, by means of a passage under the sidewalk covering, so constructed as to be easily accessible to remove obstructions. SECT. 6. If a building to be used for a tenement or lodging house is on the front of any lot where there is another building on the rear of the same lot, there shall be clear, open space, exclusively belonging to the front building, and extending upwards from the ground, of at least ten feet between said buildings, if they are one story high above the level of the ground. If they are two stories high, the distance between them shall not be less than fifteen feet; if they are three stories high, the distance between them shall be not less than twenty feet; and if they are more than three stories high, the distance between them shall be not less than twenty-five feet. SECT. 7. If such building is on the back part of any lot, there shall be a clear, open space of at least ten feet between such building and every other building in its rear. But when thorough ventilation of such open spaces can be otherwise secured, said distances may be lessened or modified, in special cases, by a permit from the board of health and the inspector. SECT. 8. Every habitable room of such building not now used, but hereafter used as a tenement or lodging house shall be, in every part, not less than eight feet in height from the floor to the ceiling, except in the attic, and shall be at least eight feet in height from the floor to the ceiling throughout not less than one-half the area of such room; and every such room shall have at least one window connecting with the external air, or over the door a suitable ventilator connecting with a room or hall which has a connection with the external air. SECT. 9. The total area of window communicating with the exwith the exter-ternal air, in every room of such building, shall be equal to at least one-tenth of the superficial area of the room; and the top of one at least of such windows shall be not less than seven feet six inches above the floor, and the upper half of each window shall be so made as to open for the purposes of ventilation. Area of room. Chimneys with SECT. 10. Every habitable room of such building, of area less than one hundred superficial feet, which does not communicate directly with the external air, and is without an open fireplace, shall be provided with special means of ventilation, approved by the board of health and the said inspector. SECT. 11. Every such building shall have adequate chimneys open fireplaces running through every floor, with an open fireplace or grate, or place for a stove, properly connected with one of said chimneys, for every family and set of apartments; shall have proper conveniences and or place for a stove. non-combustible receptacles for ashes and rubbish; shall have water Water supply. furnished at one or more places in such house, or in the yard thereof, so that the same may be adequate and reasonably convenient for the use of the occupants thereof; and shall have the floor of the cellar properly cemented, so as to be water tight. garbage. SECT. 12. Every such building used for a tenement or lodging Receptacles for house shall have suitable receptacles for garbage and other refuse matters, and shall not be used as a place of storage for any combustible article, or any article dangerous to life or detrimental to health; nor shall any horse, cow, calf, swine, pig, sheep, or goat be kept in said building. to be kept SECT. 13. Every such building, and the yard, court, passage, Building, etc., area, and alleys belonging to the same, shall be kept clean and free clean. from any accumulation of dirt, filth, garbage, or other refuse matter, to the satisfaction of the board of health. cleanse the rooms, etc. wash the walls. SECT. 14. The tenant of any lodging-house or tenement-house Tenant to shall thoroughly cleanse all the rooms, floors, windows, and doors of the house, or part of the house, of which he is the tenant, to the satisfaction of the board of health, and the owner or lessee shall well Owner to white. and sufficiently, to the satisfaction of said board, whitewash or other- 1889, 450. wise cleanse the walls and ceilings thereof once at least every year, in the months of April or May, and have the privies, drains, and cesspools kept in good order and the passages and stairs kept clean and in good condition. SECT. 15. The owner, agent of the owner, and keeper of any lodging or tenement house, or part thereof, shall, when any person in such house is sick of fever, or of any infectious, pestilential, or contagious disease, and such sickness is known to such owner, agent, or keeper, give immediate notice thereof to the board of health, and thereupon said board shall cause the same to be inspected and cleansed, or disinfected, at the expense of the owner, in such manner as they may deem necessary; and may also cause the blankets, bedding, and bedclothes used by any such sick person to be thoroughly cleansed, scoured, and fumigated, and in extreme cases to be destroyed. floor to open external air. SECT. 16. The halls on each floor of every such building shall Halls on each open directly to the external air, with suitable windows, and shall directly to the have no room or other obstructions at the end, unless sufficient light and ventilation is otherwise provided for said halls in a manner approved by the board of health. bidden, except, SECT. 17. No person shall, without a permit from the board of Use of underground rooms health, let or occupy, or suffer to be occupied, separately as a dwell- for lodging or ing or place of lodging and sleeping, any cellar or underground room sleeping for. whatsoever, unless the same be in every part thereof at least seven etc. feet in height, measured from the floor to the ceiling thereof; nor unless the same shall have been so let or occupied before the passage of this act, nor unless the same be for at least one foot of its height above the surface of the street or ground adjoining, or nearest to the same; nor unless there be, outside of and adjoining the said vault, cellar, or room, and extending along the entire frontage thereof, and upwards from six inches below the level of the floor thereof, up to the surface of the said street or ground, an open space of at least two feet and six inches wide in every part; nor unless the same be well and effectually drained by means of a drain, the uppermost part of which is one foot at least below the level of the floor of such vault, cellar, or room; nor unless there is a clear space of not less than one foot below the level of the floor, except where the same is cemented; nor unless there be appurtenant to such vault, cellar, or Board of health Name of owner, agent, etc., to be of tenement house. room, the use of a water-closet or privy, kept and provided as in SECT. 18. The board of health shall have authority to make such other regulations as to cellars, and the ventilation and overcrowding of tenement and lodging houses and buildings where persons are employed, as they deem necessary, subject, however, to the laws relating to building in the city of Boston. SECT. 19. Every owner and agent, or person having charge, of a posted on wall tenement or lodging house shall leave his address with the board of health, and shall have legibly posted on the wall or in the entry of such tenement or lodging house the name and address of such owner and of the agent or person having charge of the same; and service upon parties whose address is out of the city, of any papers or notices required by this act, or any act relating to the preservation of health, or by any proceedings to enforce any of their provisions, shall be sufficient, if made by sending a copy of such paper or notice through the mail to the address of the person or persons so designated as owner, agent, or person having charge of such tenement or lodging house; and service upon parties whose address is in the city, by leaving such copy at said address. Officers to have free access to building. Provisions may be enforced in equity. Fines and penal. ties. SECT. 20. Every officer of the board of health, and every officer upon whom any duty or authority is conferred, shall have free access to every part of any lodging or tenement house, when required, in the proper execution of the duties of his office. SECT. 21. Any court having equity jurisdiction, in term time or vacation, may, on the application of the board of health, by any suitable process or decree in equity, enforce the provisions of this act, and may, on such application, issue an injunction to restrain the use or occupation of any building or structure in the city of Boston, erected, altered, or used in violation of this act. SECT. 22. Any person violating any provision of this act shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or by confinement in the house of correction not exceeding sixty days, unless another penalty is specifically provided herein. |