Edgartown building inspector Leonard Jason Jr. has issued a cease and desist order for renovations on the Harbor View Hotel’s Mayhew building, a nearly 50-room annex to Edgartown’s largest hotel.
According to Mr. Jason, who conducted a site visit earlier this month, the hotel had conducted demolition that were outside the scope of its permits.
“You have exceeded the terms of your building permit and you are hereby ordered to cease and desist from any further construction,” Mr. Jason wrote to Conover Restorations, the Edgartown contracting firm in charge of the renovations.
Mr. Jason said the Harbor View had obtained permits to change windows and doors on the building, add a handicap-accessible bathroom and fix damage from a fire that occurred in January.
But when he went to inspect the property, Mr. Jason said the building had undergone a far more extensive demolition.
“They had increased the scope of the work and hadn’t submitted any permits for it, and hadn’t submitted any of the plans for it,” Mr. Jason said.
Hotel general manager Chris Bird said he had been in contact with the town to address the concerns.
“We really just believe that there was a misunderstanding,” Mr. Bird said. “The town authorized us as of last week to resume construction on the exterior of the building, and we are working with the building department to answer any questions that they have.”
Renovations on the Mayhew Building began in December of last year. The fire occurred a month later.
Mr. Bird said the hotel plans to overhaul the decor, upgrade bathrooms, and modernize rooms — similar to the renovations conducted on the main building this past winter. He also said they need to repair damage from the fire.
“We’re going to redo everything in the building as far as the decor, replace the beds . . . and bring it up to date with an integrated design,” he said.
Mr. Jason said while the hotel had received a permit for cosmetic renovations, it did not cover a more expansive interior demolition.
“The building is almost completely gutted,” Mr. Jason said. “The wire inspector had to upgrade the wiring, plumber had to upgrade the plumbing. It’s one of those things . . . Give a guy a hammer, and sometimes they just go crazy.”
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