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Minutes of 8/8/2019
August 15th, 2019
TOWN OF CARROLL ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
92 SCHOOL STREET
TWIN MOUNTAIN, N.H. 03595
August 8, 2019
Members Present: Chair Aaron Foti, Vice-Chair Andy Smith, Janet Nelson and Joan Karpf
Public: Cathy Conway/Horizons Engineering, Ron Wareing and James Phillips
Minutes taken by: Rena Vecchio
Pledge of Allegiance: 7:00 PM
Approval of Minutes
Chairman Aaron Foti asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of March 14, 2019. There were none. Andy Smith made a motion to approve the minutes of the March 14, 2019 meeting. Janet Nelson seconded and the motion passed with 3 ayes and 1 abstention.
Chairman Aaron Foti asked if the board was ready to approve the minutes of April 11, 2019. Andy Smith made a motion to approve the minutes of April 11, 2019. Janet Nelson seconded and the motion passed with 3 ayes and 1 abstention. Joan Karpf abstained on both motions as she was not present at those meetings. Janet said she thought that Judy Ramsdell did a great job on the minutes. The board agreed.
Equitable Waiver Application for Boulder Mountain View/Map 418-001-000-000
Cathy Conway/Horizons Engineering, representing James Phillips and Melissa Burke, new owners of the Boulder Motor Court. They are changing the name of the business to Boulder Mountain View.
Cathy said that she checked the tax maps on the business and she found some of the cabins were from the 1960’s with house/office and others there was no date. This is a 1.92 acre parcel. The proposed plan is to demolish the 10 cabins and put in 9 Park Model RV Log Homes and one Carriage House. They are widening out the road for the cabins which helps with access for the rescue vehicles. They are also moving the road down a little to help with setbacks and to comply with Fire Chief Jeremy Oleson on the cabins being 20 feet away from each other. The setbacks for the perimeter cabins are driven by size of lot, boulders, wetlands and the needs of the rescue vehicles. Cathy has handed out the pamphlets of the RV Log Homes and the Carriage House. These are to be all rentals with no long term rentals.
Cabins in the center, #’s 2, 3, 7 & 8 meet required setbacks. The cabins on the perimeter:
• #1 currently 3’ proposed 6’ (side setbacks) required 20’
• #4 “ 2’ “ 15’ “ “ 20’
• #6 “ 2’ “ 6’ “ “ 20’
• #11 “ 10’ “ 15’ (rear setbacks) “ 25’
• #10 “ 11’ “ 11’ “ “ 25’
• #9 “ 2’ “ 5’ “ “ 35’
• Office “ 20’ NO CHANGE-------------------------------------------
& House
The property has an easement across the street for the septic system on a 4.8 acre parcel. This happened when the road was changed in the 70’s. Right now the system is a chambered system and that may change. They have already spoken to DES & DOT. The flow is going to be the same as the bedrooms have remained the same.
The Chairman has opened the meeting for discussion from the board. Joan Karpf said she feels that the application for an Equitable Waiver is wrong. She believes the application should have been for a Variance. Chairman Foti said the Equitable Waiver is for a “oops” in the building of a new structure. Something is built and they find out after that during the building a setback was not met. This would not be an intentional thing. You can’t tear down a new building to meet the setback now. Other members of the board agree. The secretary said that Cathy had asked if this was a Variance twice and she had told her no it was an Equitable Waiver. So the mistake on the application is hers only.
Joan also asked if this was a sloped parcel and Cathy said yes. She said there was wetlands on the property also. Joan said she would like to see the decisions on the setbacks for the each of the new buildings
Chairman Foti said he agreed and read the requirements for the Equitable Waiver. This is definitely a Variance. But the board will decide. The buildings existing are established and as they sit, they are fine. They were built before the Zoning Ordinance was voted in. But by tearing them down and putting in new ones, you now have to abide by the Zoning Ordinance and the setbacks. By applying for a Variance, you show the board why that can’t be done.
Owner, James Phillips said they are confined to the size of the parcel and its topography, wetlands and the existing septic lanes.
Chairman Foti made a motion to deny the application for an Equitable Waiver because the application should have been for a Variance. Joan Karpf seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Discussion:
• Andy Smith explained that if there was a 20 x 20 existing building that did not meet setbacks because it was established before Zoning and the owner tore it down and replaced it with a new 20 x 20 building it would be the same footprint and would still fall within the grandfathered existing buildings
• Cathy told the board that the road around the cabins would now be paved.
• Joan Karpf said get as closed to zoning setbacks as close as possible. Why you cannot meet setbacks now for each of the cabins. Joan also wanted to know why the cabins were not set closed together as the ones in new log cabins in Bethlehem were? Would that help with setbacks? Cathy said she didn’t know the zoning in Bethlehem and that James and Melissa did not want to change the nice feeling of the business now.
• Ron Wareing asked if they could apply for the Variance tonight instead of waiting till the next ZBA meeting. The Chairman said he was not sure if they could do that or not and he wanted to make sure the applicant and the board were doing everything legally. This way the applicant was protected and so was the board.
• Cathy said anytime you do a layout of a property you start with the road. We then placed the cabins close to where they were with parking and the driveways with easy access for the fire and rescue vehicles. Also the fact that the Fire Chief said all buildings are to be 20 feet apart and had helped layout the driveways and parking.
• Janet Nelson wanted to know why the Carriage House wasn’t just a cabin? James Phillips said the bottom of the Carriage House would be a community room for the guests of the business. The top would be a rental. He said the house is two storys and is placed in the back because of the height of the building. If placed elsewhere it would block views of the mountains.
• Chairman Foti said he thinks the board has enough information and that the discussion has helped the applicant see what they need to do. Proving Hardship is the hardest part of the Variance. Maybe the board can take a tour of the property. James said that is fine but to call him first and he will let the manager of the business know when the individual board members want to take a look.
• Cathy said that the parcel has a lot of outcrop of boulders too. They cannot be moved.
• The board is in agreement that a Variance application is needed.
Andy Smith made a motion to have the applicants apply for a Variance with the cost of the application to be offset by the funds already given. Aaron Foti seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
The secretary asked if the board could please try to accommodate the applicant as this was her fault. The board said they will do what they can. It was decided that the board will hold a Special Meeting for the Variance application for the Boulder Mountain View on Thursday, September 5th, at the Town Hall. Joan said this most probably is a two meeting night. So the board can either meet after the PLBD meeting or continue till the next scheduled ZBA meeting. Joan said this could have been a two meeting night anyway.
The board said that the information given tonight was great but this was the wrong application. Andy said that any information tonight is conceptual and not binding.
RULES OF PROCEDURE
The board decided that they would accept the Rules of Procedure tonight and take note of any changes they may want later. Joan Karpf made a motion to accept the Rules of Procedure. Andy Smith seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Foti made a motion to adjourn. Janet Nelson seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM.