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Minutes of 9/12/2013 APPROVED

October 15th, 2013

TOWN OF CARROLL
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

MINUTES

September 12 2013

APPROVED

Members present where: Chairman, Paul Bussiere, Vice Chairman, David Scalley and member, Joan Karpf.

Also present was William Dowling.

7:05 PM. A quorum being present, Chairman Bussiere called the meeting to order.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Minutes Review:
Minutes of April 11, 2013

Ms. Karpf offered a motion to approve the minutes of April 11, 2013 as written. Mr. Scalley seconded the motion. The vote was 3 – 0. The motion carries.

Communications and Miscellaneous:
From NH Wetlands Program Specialist Matt Urban re: Dredge and Fill Application for NH DOT – Lennon Road – Informational purposes

Unfinished Business:
Vote on Amendments to the Rules of Procedure

Amendment #1 added under,.

MEETINGS

5. In the event the date for submission of an application has passed and no new business is to come before the Board, but during the previous meeting the Board ruled on an application and a Notice of Decision was generated, the Board shall meet at a time and day convenient to support a quorum, to address the minutes of the previous meeting in which a decision was
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Zoning Board of Adjustment
September 12, 2013

reached. This meeting shall be posted per RSA 91-A and all other statutory requirements shall be met.

Amendment #2, added under,

AMENDMENTS

While these Rules of Procedure may be amended during the year, the amendment will be noted at the end of the document until the Board reviews and updates these Rules of Procedure. This annual review and updating process shall begin in April after the Officers are voted. After the Rules of Procedure are reviewed and approved incorporating the amendments, the amendments shall become part of the document.

It was explained that the amendments to the Rules of Procedure must be discussed at two consecutive meetings before they can be adopted and made part of the document. These amendments were discussed at the April meeting and again at this meeting.

After discussion:
Ms. Karpf offered a motion to accept the amendments as written and incorporate them into the Rules of Procedure. Mr. Scalley seconded the motion. The vote was 3 – 0. The motion carries.

2014 Budget

Discussion began regarding another possible amendment to the Rules of Procedure which segued into the budget process. Regarding the amendment, Chairman Bussiere said he thinks the Board should meet at least every three months even if there is no appeal application. After much free flowing conversation it was agreed that the Board must meet in April as is already in the Rules of Procedure, and must also meet in August to discuss the budget request for the following year, and again in September to finalize the budget and again review Procedures. This discussion will be continued at the October meeting at which time a vote to amend the Rules of Procedure can take place.




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Zoning Board of Adjustment
September 12, 2013

Ms. Karpf, the former Chairman, said she based her budget on 6 meetings a year.

A lively discussion took place regarding individual line items in the budget request for 2014. Ms. Karpf suggested raising the stipend that the Board members get with the goal of attracting more members. The members agreed that $20.00 a meeting for 5 members for 6 meeting would be put in the budget. Chairman Bussiere said he unintentionally reduced the Secretary’s salary and must change it back to $1000.00.

After further opinions and suggestions and moving amounts between line items:
It was the consensus of the Board to keep the bottom line the same as it was in 2013 - $2692.00.

Chairman Bussiere will take this budget to the Selectmen.

Letter of Application

Chairman Bussiere said he received a request from John Trammell volunteering to fill an open seat on the ZBA. This appointment would be until the next election in March. It was asked if Mr. Trammell would then run for the seat. Chairman Bussiere said that was not mentioned in the letter.

Joan Karpf offered a motion to appoint John Trammell to the Board of Adjustmentseat as a full member to serve until the March 2014 election. Mr. Scalley seconded the motion. The vote was 3 – 0. The motion carries.

The Secretary was instructed to notify Mr. Trammell via letter of his appointment and make sure that he has all pertinent documents.

Chairman Bussiere said he will try to recruit alternate members. The Secretary is an alternate member for emergencies only. If there is a public hearing and only 2 members attend, the Secretary could sit as an alternate to complete a quorum so the appeal could be heard.

Mr. Scalley said the Board should strive to furnish information to applicants in a consistent way. He said everyone should be made to follow the same rules. The Board agreed wholeheartedly.

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Zoning Board of Adjustment
September 12, 2013

Chairman Bussiere asked the Secretary to change his e-mail address on the application information adding a “1”, to be paulbuss1@earthlink.net.

New Business:
Ex-Parte Communication

Ex-Parte Communication was discussed at length. Mr. Scalley said he had had a phone conversation with a possible applicant which was hard for him to tell him (Mr. D’Urso that he could not talk to him about his application.. He felt that the Secretary was accusing him of ex-parte communication in an e-mail to him and all members. The Secretary said she was not accusing but was very concerned that such communication could affect the integrity of him and the Board should the appeal come before it. Chairman Bussiere told Mr. Scalley to just say, “I can’t talk about this” and hang up. He should refer the person to the Secretary.

ZBA Process and Procedures

The Board read the e-mail dated November 17, 2011, from former Town Counsel to former ZBA Secretary Rena Vecchio regarding decisions by the Board. Generally speaking, the Board should accept and discuss applications at a public hearing with all noticing requirements met, but continue the hearing to the following meeting to make their decision. At the time of decision the members should have written out their opinion on each criteria required for the appeal. This was changed a few years ago to this process from a one meeting, hearing and decision together. Voting procedures were discussed. If there were only three members present, the vote must be unanimous. If there were 4 members present a majority would rule. If there was a 2 – 2 vote, the motion would not carry.


ZBA consultation with applicant

An e-mail dated April 16, 2012 from LGC, explained that the ZBA does not conduct “consultations” with the applicant. The Planning Board may do this but not the ZBA.

Other Business:

The members contact information was made available to the members.

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Zoning Board of Adjustment
September 12, 2013


As there was no further business:
Ms. Karpf offered a motion to adjourn. Mr. Scalley seconded the motion. The vote 3 – 0. The motion carries.

8:45 PM Chairman Bussiere adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,
Linda J. Dowling
Secretary
Carroll Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024