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Proceedings in case supreme judicial court

loting to be void.

as mentioned in section sixteen of this act), it shall take effect on the first Monday of January, in the year eighteen hundred and seventyfour.

SECT. 18. If any election or balloting upon the question of the acceptance of this act, by either of said cities, shall, within two declare the bal- months thereafter, be declared void by the supreme judicial court, upon summary proceedings, which may be had in any county on the petition of fifty voters of either city, the question of accepting said act shall be again submitted to the legal voters of said city; and meetings therefor shall within thirty days thereafter be called, held, and conducted, and the votes returned and other proceedings had thereon, in like manner as herein before provided. But no election or balloting shall be held void for informality in calling, holding, or conducting, the election, or returning the votes, or otherwise, except upon proceedings instituted therefor and determined within sixty days thereafter, as aforesaid.

May 14, 1873.

May construct a reservoir at Parker hill.

May lay pipes,

and enter upon and dig up streets.

Liability for damages.

May issue scrip at six per cent. interest.

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AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY OF BOSTON TO BUILD AN ADDITIONAL
RESERVOIR.

Be it enacted, etc.:

SECTION 1. The city of Boston, by and through the agency of the Cochituate water board therein, or by and through any other agency which shall be established therefor by the city council of said city, may construct and maintain an additional reservoir for receiving, holding, and distributing, water; and for this purpose, may take and hold, by purchase or otherwise, any real estate not exceeding five acres at or near the summit of Parker hill, so called, in ward fifteen in said city.

SECT. 2. The city of Boston may also, by and through the same agency, lay and maintain one or more suitable lines of pipes from the said reservoir to a convenient point in Fisher avenue, so called, and from said point along said Fisher avenue to Parker street in said city; and may take and hold, by purchase or otherwise, such real estate as may be necessary therefor; and may carry and conduct the said pipes over or under any water-course, or any street, turnpike road, railroad, highway, or other way, in such manner as not to unnecessarily obstruct or impede travel thereon; and may enter upon and dig up any such road, street, or way, for the purpose of laying the said pipes and for maintaining and repairing the same.

SECT. 3. The city of Boston shall be liable to pay all damages sustained by any persons in their property, by the taking of any real estate as aforesaid, or by any of its doings under this act; and in regard to such taking, and the ascertainment and payment of all such damages, the city of Boston, and all persons claiming damages, shall have all the rights, immunities, and remedies, and be subject to all the duties, liabilities, and obligations, which are provided in the one hundred and sixty-seventh chapter of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and forty-six, the one hundred aud eighty-seventh chapter of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and forty-nine, and the three hundred and sixteenth chapter of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and fifty.

SECT. 4. For the purpose of defraying all the costs and expenses of such real estate as shall be taken, purchased, or held, for the purposes mentioned in this act, and of constructing said reservoir, laying said pipes, and doing all other things incident thereto, the

said city council may issue, from time to time, notes, scrip, or certificates of debt, to such an amount as may be necessary, and in such form, on such length of time, and bearing such rate of interest, not exceeding six per centum per annum, as they shall deem expedient.

SECT. 5. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

[1846, 167; 1849, 187; 1850, 316; 1875, 80.]

May 14, 1873.

1873. CHAPTER 298.

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED AND

SEVENTY-ONE OF

THE LAWS OF THE YEAR EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-TWO,
RELATING TO THE REGULATION AND INSPECTION OF BUILDINGS IN
THE CITY OF BOSTON, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Be it enacted, etc. :

1872, 371, § 1.

SECTION 1. Section one of chapter three hundred and seventy-one Amendment to of the laws of the year eighteen hundred and seventy-two is amended by adding the following at the end thereof:

"The amount of materials above specified for external walls may be used either in piers or buttresses: provided, the external walls between said piers or buttresses shall in no case be less than twelve inches thick. If adjoining owners, instead of a party-wall, shall each at the same time erect a wall on his own land, such walls may be twelve inches each in thickness, to such height as they shall be contiguous.

1872, 371, § 5.

SECT. 2. Section five of said act is amended by striking out the Amendment to words "into the backing," and substituting therefor the words "with Flemish header or"; also by striking out the words "and shall not be built to a greater height than prescribed for twelve-inch walls," and substituting therefor the words "and each stone of said ashlar work shall be securely tied to the backing by one or more suitable metal anchors."

1872, 371, § 6.

SECT. 3. Section six of said act is amended by inserting after Amendment to the words "wooden columns," the words "or brick piers"; also by striking out all after the words "footing course," and substituting therefor the words," or leveller for each column not less than three feet six inches square, and one foot six inches thick. If the girders · resting on said columns are entirely of wood, said columns shall not be more than twelve feet apart on the line of the girders." SECT. 4. Section seven of said act is amended by striking out all Amendment to words after the words "commonly used except," to and including the words "ends of the same," and substituting therefor the words "arch-forms for interior arched openings."

1872, 371, § 7.

1872, 371, § 8.

SECT. 5. Section eight of said act is amended by striking out all Amendment to after the words "wet when laid," and substituting therefor the following:

"Isolated brick piers under all lintels, girders, iron, or other columns, shall have a cap-iron at least two inches thick, or a granite cap-stone at least twelve inches thick, the full size of the pier. In the case of an external brick pier, the plate may be reduced sufficiently in size to allow four inches of brick-work to intervene between the edge or edges of the plate and the face or faces of the pier exposed to the weather. Columns supported by brick walls or piers, shall rest upon an iron plate at least two inches thick, or upon a granite capstone at least twelve inches thick, of a size satisfactory to the in

Amendment to 1872, 371, § 13.

Amendment to 1872, 371, § 16.

Amendment to 1872, 371, § 18.

Buildings not to be more than eighty feet in height, except churches and

spector of buildings. Under iron columns shall in all cases be an iron plate of not less than one and one-half inches in thickness." SECT. 6. Section thirteen of said act is hereby amended by substituting the following words therefor:

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"In any building hereafter erected, to be occupied as a tenement or lodging house, in which the lower part is intended to be used for business or manufacturing purposes of any kind, or which is intended to be occupied by more than four families, the hall partitions from the cellar to the second floor shall be built of brick."

SECT. 7. Section sixteen of said act is amended by adding to said section, the words "and no wood-work shall be placed on the outside thereof."

SECT. 8. Section eighteen of said act is hereby amended by striking out the words " or engine," wherever they occur.

SECT. 9. All buildings hereafter erected or increased in height, except churches and grain elevators, shall not exceed a height greater than eighty feet to the highest point from the level of the sidewalk, grain elevators. exclusive of chimneys and party-walls above the roof: provided, however, that an additional height may be added, if said addition shall be constructed in a fire-proof manner, as herein named, to wit: All joists, beams, rafters, purlins, jack-rafters, plates, studs. ties, and arches, shall be made of cast or wrought iron, or some other metal, stone, brick, cement, mortar, or other incombustible material, and covered with corrugated iron, sheet or cast iron, tin, copper, zinc, or other metal, or slate, stone, brick, cement, mortar, or other incombustible material. All structures or projections above or outside of the roof, such as domes, cupolas, pavilions, towers, spires, pinnacles, buttresses, lantern louvres, luthern or dormer windows, skylights, scuttles, ventilators, cornices, and gutters, shall be made, constructed, framed, and covered, with cast or wrought iron, tin, copper, zinc, or other metal, or stone, slate, brick, cement or mortar or other incombustible material. Section twenty of said act is hereby repealed.

Repeal of 1872, 371, § 20.

Amendment to 1872, 371, § 23.

buildings to in

reported to be dangerous or unsafe.

SECT. 10. Section twenty-three of said act is hereby amended by inserting after the words "shall erect or alter any building or structure in the city of Boston, in violation of any or either of the provisions of this act, of the act of which this act is an amendment, or or of any amendment thereof," the words "or in violation of any ordinance enacted by the city council of the city of Boston, under authority given it by chapter two hundred and eighty of the laws of the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one, or of any law or laws in addition thereto or amendment thereof."

Inspectors of SECT. 11. If any building or parts of a building, staging, or other spect buildings structure, or anything attached to or connected with any building or other structure in the city of Boston, shall, from any cause, be reported dangerous or unsafe, so as to endanger life and limb, it shall be the duty of the inspector of buildings to inspect such structure, and if, in his opinion, the same be dangerous, he shall immediately notify the owner, agent, or other party having an interest in said structure, to cause the same to be made safe and secure, or removed, as may be necessary.

Building to be

made safe or to be removed as

SECT. 12. The person or persons so notified shall be allowed until twelve o'clock noon of the day following the service of such notice, in soon as possible. which to commence the securing or removal of the same; and he or they shall employ sufficient labor to remove or secure the same as expeditiously as can be done: provided, however, that in cases where the public safety requires immediate action, the inspector of buildings may enter upon the premises with such workmen and assistants as may be necessary, and cause the said unsafe structure to be shored

Proviso.

up, taken down, or otherwise secured, without delay, and a proper fence or boarding to be put up for the protection of passers-by.

lects to comply

a careful sur

made.

SECT. 13. If the owner, agent, or other party interested in said If owner neg. unsafe structure, having been notified, shall refuse or neglect to with requirecomply with the requirements of said notice within the time specified ments of notice, in section ten, then a careful survey of the premises named in said vey shall be notice shall be made by three disinterested persons, one to be appointed by the inspector of buildings, one by the owner or other interested party, and the third chosen by these two, and the report of such survey shall be reduced to writing, and a copy served upon the owner or other interested party; and if said owner or other interested party refuse or neglect to appoint a member of said board of survey, then the survey shall be made by the city engineer and the chief engineer of the fire department of Boston, and in case of disagreement they shall choose a third person.

declares that the

spector shall

SECT. 14. Whenever the report of any such survey, had as afore- If the report said, shall declare the structure to be unsafe, or dangerous to life or structure is limb, the inspector of buildings shall, upon continued refusal or unsafe, the inneglect of the owner or other interested party, cause such unsafe or take it down. dangerous structure to be taken down or otherwise made safe; and the costs and charges shall become a lien upon said estate, to be collected according to law, but without prejudice to the right which the owner thereof may have to recover the same from any lessee or other person liable for the expense of repairs: provided, that nothing herein Proviso. contained shall authorize the recovery by the lessor of the lessee of the cost of any charges which may have been rendered necessary through the default or negligence of the lessor, or through want of repair or defects existing in said premises at the commencement of the lease.

SECT. 15. Upon the citation of any structure as unsafe or dan- Penalty for neglecting to make gerous, by the inspector of buildings, if the owner or other interested structure safe. party, being notified thereof in writing, shall refuse or neglect to cause the said structure to be taken down or otherwise made safe, said owner or other interested party shall forfeit to the use of said city, for every day's continuance of said refusal or neglect, a sum not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars; said sum to be recoverable as debts are now by law recoverable.

SECT. 16. Any owner or other interested person aggrieved by any Owner may ap such order may, within three days after the service thereof upon him, ply for a jury. apply for a jury to the superior court, if sitting in the county, or to any justice thereof in vacation. The court or justice shall issue a warrant for a jury to be empanelled by the sheriff within fourteen days from the date of the warrant, in the manner provided in chapter forty-three of the general statutes relating to highways.

or annul the

SECT. 17. The jury may affirm, annul, or alter, such order, and Jury may affirm the sheriff shall return the verdict to the next term of the court for order of inspector. acceptance, and, being accepted, it shall take effect as an original order.

costs.

SECT. 18. If the order is affirmed, costs shall be taxed against Taxation of the applicant; if it is annulled, the applicant shall recover damages and costs against the city; if it is altered in part, the court may render such judgment as to costs as justice may require.

enforced if the

nulled.

SECT. 19. Nothing contained in the three preceding sections shall Penalty may be be construed to bar the right of the city to recover the penalty en- order is not anacted in section thirteen, for the continuance of the refusal or neglect of the owner or owners, or other interested party or parties, to cause the structure in question to be taken down or otherwise made safe, unless the order is annulled by the jury; but, in default of such

Supreme judicial court may restrain by injunction erection of unsafe building.

Buildings unsafe

in case of fire to

provisions of this act.

annulment, the city shall have the right to recover said penalty from the day of the original notice as enacted in said section.

SECT. 20. In case the building or structure cited as unsafe or dangerous shall be in process of erection, alteration, or repair, it shall be lawful for the supreme judicial court, or any justice thereof, either in term time or vacation, to issue forthwith an injunction restraining further progress in the work on said building until the facts of the case shall have been investigated and determined as herein provided.

SECT. 21. If any building in the city of Boston shall appear, upon come within the examination by the inspector of public buildings, to be specially dangerous to life or limb to members of the fire department or to citizens, in case of fire, by reason of insufficient thickness of walls, overloaded floors, defective construction, or other causes, such building shall be held and taken to be dangerous within the meaning of and subject to all the provisions of this act; and the inspector of buildings, besides proceeding as herein before provided, may affix a notice of the dangerous character of the structure to a conspicuous place on the exterior wall of said building. Any person or persons removing such notice, so affixed, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than ten or more than fifty dollars for each and every offence.

Facilities for escape in case of fire to be pro

etc.

SECT. 22. It shall be the duty of the inspector of buildings to inspect all dwelling-houses now erected in the city of Boston, occupied vided in hotels, by two or more families on any of the floors above the second floor from the level of the street, and any building now erected and occupied as a hotel, boarding or lodging house, factory, mill, or manufactory, or for offices or workshops, in which persons are employed in any of the stories above the second story; and if in his opinion such building is not provided with proper facilities for the escape of such persons in case of fire, he shall immediately serve a notice in writing upon the owners, agent, or other party or parties having an interest in said building, requiring such facilities to be provided without delay.

If facilities for escape are not

provided, a sur

SECT. 23. If the person or persons so notified shall refuse or neglect to provide such facilities to the satisfaction of said inspector, vey may be had. within such time as the inspector may designate, then such a survey of the premises shall be had as provided by section thirteen of this act.

Report to specialterations.

SECT. 24. If the report of such survey shall require the furnishfy the necessary ings of the facilities as aforesaid, the requisite changes or alterations in the building shall be particularly specified; and the inspector of buildings shall, upon the continued neglect or refusal of the owner or owners, or other party or parties interested in said building, cause such changes or alterations to be made, in the manner and subject to all the provisions specified and contained in sections fourteen to nineteen, inclusive, of this act.

Officers may

SECT. 25. The officers of the department for the survey and inenter buildings. spection of buildings in the city of Boston, and all surveyors or other persons required to execute the provisions of this act, shall, as far as may be necessary for the performance of their respective duties, have the right to enter any building or premises in said city.

Repeal of 1871, 280, §§ 51-58.

SECT. 26. Sections fifty-one to fifty-eight, inclusive, of chapter two hundred and eighty of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one, are hereby repealed.

SECT. 27. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

May 20, 1873.

[1871, 280; 1872, 371; 1876, 69, 176; 1882, 252; 1883, 155, 173, 251; 1884, 223.]

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