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Minutes of 07/13/2006

July 28th, 2006

Carroll Board of Adjustment
Meeting Minutes July 13, 2006



“These minutes of The Town of Carroll Board of Adjustment have been recorded by its Secretary.
Though believed to be accurate and correct they are subject to additions, deletions, and corrections by The Board of Adjustment at its next meeting when the Board votes its final approval of the minutes. They are being made available at this time to conform to the requirements of New Hampshire RSA 91-A:2”

Members of the Board present: Paul Bussiere, Joan Karpf, Leslie Bergum, John Goodney

Members of the Public present: Mike Palmer, Jerry Warren, Kathy Saffian, Lorraine Monahan

Meeting called to order at 7:06 PM.

Joan Karpf made a motion to accept the minutes of June 8, 2006 as corrected. John Goodney seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Jerry Warren came before the board with his application for a special exception under Article III 303.3-m of the Zoning Ordinance. He is looking for approval of a 24 unit condominium development on Route 3/Mahilyn Drive Map 207 Lot 20.56. Mr. Warren stated that he had already had a public hearing and was approved by the Planning Board, and did he need another one. He also stated that this was actually the third time, that they’d had it approved with subdivision Master Plan, and somehow the record of that approval has been lost. Chairman Bussiere stated that the ZBA must go through the process of a public hearing before granting the special exception, and they could have met at the same time as the Planning Board, saving a month’s time in the process. Mr. Warren said they had everything in place except the town has not had Town Counsel review the condo regulations. Their attorney has contacted Bernie Waugh who stated he had not received authorization to speak to Mr. Sorg. The secretary will contact Mr. Waugh tomorrow to request this review. Leslie Bergum asked for a brief synopsis of this project, as she had not seen the plans or been to the Planning Board public hearing. Mr. Warren stated it was 24 units of 2 bedroom condominiums on 35 acres. They have septic approval, town water with 8” mains and hydrants approved. They have not broken ground, but the infrastructure is in place. There is 900 feet of frontage on Route 3, but no driveways off Route 3. There will be 2 parking spaces for each unit. There are 10.73 acres of conservation land that has been given to the state and a conservation easement along Little River to give public access to the river. Mrs. Bergum asked if Mahilyn Drive was a private road, and was told that it is for now, but was built to town specs with the intention of the town taking over the road at some point. When asked about conditions from the Planning Board, Mr. Warren stated the only conditions were the septic being approved, and the condo docs, and Town Counsel will review them. Joan Karpf asked about the building heights and was told they are 32 feet. Mr. Warren also stated there is a snowmobile trail on the plan on land donated to the state. Chairman Bussiere asked for a list of abutters, and was told we have one already. Ms. Karpf asked if there were Bethlehem abutters, and there are not. She then made a motion to accept the application for special exception, Mr. Goodney accepted, and the motion was passed unanimously. A Public Hearing will be scheduled for August 10, 2006 at 7 PM. Chairman Bussiere then asked if the Road Agent had approved the road, and Mr. Warren said he had, that the road was built to handle condo traffic. It is wider at the entrance, and narrows as you go back. Ms. Karpf expressed concern about the traffic from condos, and said the public hearing process would look at that factor. It was determined that it would be good if Billy Rines, the Road Agent, would attend the August hearing.

Chairman Bussiere stated that Dick Harris would not be coming before the board tonight. He had been directed to the ZBA by the Planning Board, but decided not to proceed with his plans at this time. However, Chairman Bussiere stated that in a public forum he would like to get the board’s interpretation of the zoning ordinance as it would apply to a situation such as Mr. Harris’s if it should come up. Chairman Bussiere stated several times in the discussion that Mr. Harris has not asked to do any of this, he is just wanting to clarify things in his mind. Mr. Harris’s lot is a non-conforming lot. At the time he built the storage sheds they were an allowed use, and did not come before the ZBA. Since then, zoning has changed and the sheds would be allowed only in the industrial zone. Thus his lot is now non-conforming, and the law says expansion will not be allowed. Mr. Harris wanted to split the lot into 2 lots, one of which (the one with the sheds) would be non-conforming and the other is conforming. Ms. Karpf feels he can subdivide, as long as he meets the current zoning ordinance. Chairman Bussiere said we know he cannot do anything with the lot that has the sheds, but the question is what could he do with the lot that has the house on it. He can’t put a mobile home on the shed lot, but can he put it on the lot with the house? The zoning ordinance allows one principle building per lot and accessory buildings incidental to its use. There was lots of discussion about places in town that have a home and business such as restaurant or gift shop on the same property, and they determined that noone had done that recently. Ms. Karpf thought an accessory building is not a business. Kathy Saffian said at the time the sheds were put on the same lot with the house, the ruling was that the house had to be an accessory to the business. He could not rent the house to just anyone, the occupant had to pay rent and be an employee of the owner of the sheds, and be the manager of the shed business. Ms. Saffian said that in line with what was said originally, the manager of the shed could not have a mobile home on the other lot. There would be no viable connection between the house to be used as a bank and the mobile home for the shed manager. Ms. Karpf said she thought the size of the lot would have a bearing, with one acre per building unless a second building would be an accessory building. Chairman Bussiere said that if you own 2 acres and want to open a business, you’d have to subdivide and build one building on each lot. Any second building on a lot would have to be an accessory to the first, and incidental to its use. Ms. Karpf brought up other elements if Mr. Harris’s proposal ever came before the board. There’s the driveway which would be a safety issue with the state. And the drive through for the bank would be a special exception. Further discussion included whether an existing lot that contains both a business and the owner’s home could be converted to a business and a rental house. Chairman Bussiere stated once again that these were all his question, not questions from Mr. Harris.

Leslie Bergum made a motion to adjourn the meeting. John Goodney seconded. All were in favor and the meeting was adjourned at 8:34 PM

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