A city inspector said he has sent a cease-and-desist order to the Stigmatine Fathers and Brothers Espousal Center after violations were found on the group's Lexington Street property.
City Zoning Officer Patrick Powell said he and another inspector visited the Stigmatines property at 554 Lexington St. last week following a complaint. They found an illegal dump, which included piles of asphalt and other material. He said the city had not issued a permit for the dumping.
Powell said some type of construction and landscaping business has been set up on the property, which Powell said is in a residential zone. "Businesses are not allowed to operate from that site," Powell said.
Santo Signa, administrator for the Stigmatine church, said a building used by the property's caretaker houses equipment, but no commercial work is being done there.
"We're not operating a business," Signa said.
As for the dump, Signa said the city's inspectors visited the Stigmatine site Thursday and a crew picked up the piles of materials on Saturday.
"It's all been cleaned up," Signa said.
He said the church had been waiting to take the materials to a recycling area.
Signa said while the piles inspectors found last week were from the church, he said over the years other people have dumped things on the church's 50 acres.
"We're trying to prevent it from becoming a dumping ground," Signa said.
Powell said the cease-and-desist order was sent yesterday. The organization will have 30 days to respond.
Powell said the Building Department was simply seeking a "good faith effort" to correct the violations. If that happens, fines could be avoided, Powell said.
Signa said the Stigmatine church wants to cooperate with the city.
Richard Conn can be reached at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
