Attorney: 2006 compliance certificate lists wrong lot number, complicating pending sale
March 11, 2026 | Springfield City, Hampden County, Massachusetts
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At a public meeting of the Springfield City Commission, attorney Tim Reynolds said a 2006 partial certificate of compliance recorded against 25 Angelica Drive contains a lot‑number error that is blocking a pending sale.
"They put restricted to Lot 3…as my understanding, that's not correct. It is Lot 10," Reynolds said, asking the commission to correct the record so the buyers’ counsel could complete the closing.
Staff told the commission their inspection and aerial photos show that a pool, garage and shed were added after 2013 and that the lot lies within mapped wetland buffer zones. Staff said they found no record of required filings (NOI/RDA) for the pool or shed and that the original certificate appears to have been issued as a partial release when lots were sold individually.
The homeowners explained the pool was installed for therapeutic access for a family member and that work was paid for with a no‑interest loan through a program the speakers called HAP. The homeowner said contractors handled permits on their behalf and that some records could not be located because the contractor has since closed.
Commissioners and staff said a partial certificate issued in 2006 may have accurately reflected the file at that time, but the property is not currently compliant. Staff told the homeowners a full certificate requires establishment and maintenance of the conditions in the original order — including plantings and permanent monumentation — and that, absent another legal pathway, the lot must be brought back into compliance or the commission must consider a formal proposal to modify conditions.
"The short answer is without someone developing some other alternative, it's gotta be brought into compliance," the chair said.
No waiver or corrective recording was approved at the meeting. Commissioners advised the homeowners and attorney to compile documentation (original filings, HAP paperwork and any contractor records) and noted the buyer’s counsel should be informed of the possible encumbrance. The commission did not adopt a specific remediation timeline at the hearing.
The matter began at SEG 020 and continued through SEG 1323 of the transcript.
"They put restricted to Lot 3…as my understanding, that's not correct. It is Lot 10," Reynolds said, asking the commission to correct the record so the buyers’ counsel could complete the closing.
Staff told the commission their inspection and aerial photos show that a pool, garage and shed were added after 2013 and that the lot lies within mapped wetland buffer zones. Staff said they found no record of required filings (NOI/RDA) for the pool or shed and that the original certificate appears to have been issued as a partial release when lots were sold individually.
The homeowners explained the pool was installed for therapeutic access for a family member and that work was paid for with a no‑interest loan through a program the speakers called HAP. The homeowner said contractors handled permits on their behalf and that some records could not be located because the contractor has since closed.
Commissioners and staff said a partial certificate issued in 2006 may have accurately reflected the file at that time, but the property is not currently compliant. Staff told the homeowners a full certificate requires establishment and maintenance of the conditions in the original order — including plantings and permanent monumentation — and that, absent another legal pathway, the lot must be brought back into compliance or the commission must consider a formal proposal to modify conditions.
"The short answer is without someone developing some other alternative, it's gotta be brought into compliance," the chair said.
No waiver or corrective recording was approved at the meeting. Commissioners advised the homeowners and attorney to compile documentation (original filings, HAP paperwork and any contractor records) and noted the buyer’s counsel should be informed of the possible encumbrance. The commission did not adopt a specific remediation timeline at the hearing.
The matter began at SEG 020 and continued through SEG 1323 of the transcript.
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