Owner tires of lake dispute

The embattled owner of a property on Crystal Lake said he has ``had enough of Newton" and wants to sell, giving the city first option to buy it for $4.5 million.

Patrick Hannon , owner of the waterfront acre and house adjacent to the city's beach at Crystal Lake, said he is moving to Maine.

``I don't like the way I've been treated by the city of Newton," said Hannon, who has had a rocky relationship with officials since his house at 20 Rogers St. was engulfed in flames in 2002, just after he bought it for $3 million.

The mayor last week said he knew nothing of Hannon's decision.

``He hasn't communicated it to me yet," Mayor David B. Cohen said in a telephone interview. ``Certainly if he wishes to discuss this with us, we would be happy to discuss it with him."

The offer came as a group of nearby residents filed a letter asking the city to consider the property for a community preservation grant. Citizens for a Better Lake, an ad hoc committee that obtained 400 signatures on a petition this summer supporting the idea, wants the funds to help pay for Hannon's property, as well as a redesigned bathhouse, boathouse, and park on the lake.

``We believe there is no time to waste in establishing negotiations and the acquisition process going forward," Robert Fizek, the group's president, said last week.

The funds for community preservation come from a 1 percent surcharge on property taxes, with a match from the state.

Hannon's problems with the city began when the Newton Historical Commission slapped a one-year moratorium on demolishing the 1924 Colonial, which had been condemned as hazardous. Hannon had wanted to raze the house and rebuild.

Relations were further frayed over 200 feet of beachfront that Hannon owned, but the city -- under a 1962 court settlement -- was permitted to use it as an extension of the public beach next door.

City officials contended that a wall behind Hannon's beach was unsafe and should be torn down, at his expense. After Hannon refused, the city placed a floating dock in front of the beach for the use of Crystal Lake patrons.

The move infuriated Hannon, who subsequently complained to state environmental officials about the city's handling of the lake. Hannon said a large underwater pump was stirring up muck, disrupting fish spawning grounds and plant habitats. He also said that arsenic was leaching into the lake from a retaining wall made of pressure-treated wood and that storm water streamed in from an asphalt parking lot.

The state rejected all but one of Hannon's concerns, saying the city needed to control the parking lot runoff.

Hannon, who is in the contracting business, said his $4.5 million offer would give him a smaller profit than if he demolished the house and built a new one. The moratorium expires in February.

The city assessed the property at $2.6 million in fiscal 2006.

A lifelong Newton resident, Hannon said he and his wife, Elizabeth, decided to move to a 300-acre lakefront property they own in Maine because they believe it offers a better environment for their four children, ages 5 to 11 .

``I always wanted to be on Crystal Lake, but you know what? -- the city, they're just not good neighbors," he said. ``On 300 acres of land, I can pick my neighbors."

Connie Paige can be reached at cpaige@globe.com.