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01-15-09 ZBA Minutes

February 5th, 2009

Carroll Board of Adjustment
Meeting Minutes January 15, 2009



“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: Joan Karpf, John Goodney, Leslie Bergum, Jim Early, Paul Bussiere,

Members of the Public present: Mark Catalano, Bill Rines, Jack Catalano, Kelly Chase

Meeting called to order at 7:05 P.M.

The Chair, Joan Karpf , asked if the board would allow the minutes to be accepted at the end of the meeting to allow the 3 agenda items to be dealt with first. The board agreed with the Chair.

Joan explained to the board that there were 2 applications before them for Special Exceptions. One of them is from her family and the second one is related to her Special Exception, so she would be stepping down due to conflict of interest. The Vice Chair, Paul Bussiere would be taken over the meeting until the Special Exceptions were dealt with.

At this point, the overlooked Pledge of allegiance was said.

At 7:13 Paul Bussiere took over the meeting. He stated that the applications were filled out very well and the abutters lists were given. He asked the board to read over the applications and for everyone to understand that tonight they will only be excepting the applications.

When the board was ready, Joan Karpf started with her Special Exception, which is for the sale or rental of new or used OHRV. This is a Special Exception as specified in the zoning ordinance Article III, Section 303.3. In 2008, the Karpf’s, Twin Mountain FLP, bought the Northlander Motel with the intent to change it from a 10 unit motel and office space, to retail spaces. This is pending the application that is with the Planning Board. It is a legal use of the property, but will need Site Plan Approval. The location of the property is on Route 3S, Map 206, Lot 074, zoned Residential/Business. The business will be provided by Outback Kayak of Lincoln, N.H. The manager will be Kelly Chase.

The explanation of how the proposal meets the Special Exception as specified in Article III, section 305.1.d of the zoning ordinance is listed below in the three criteria:
1. The Snowmobile rental business will not adversely affect the capacity of existing or planned community facilities. The center office of the existing building located on a 4.40 acre lot will be used as the office of the Tour Guided Snowmobile rentals. There will be no additional structures. The lot has adequate parking for the intended business so there will be no street parking. Snowmobile renters will be taken directly to the snowmobile trails located on the rear of the lot by a tour guide to maximize safety precautions. The driveway will be snowplowed and maintained by the property owner.
2. The Snowmobile Rental business will not adversely affect the character of the area. Snowmobiling is a major recreation in the area during the winter season. The lot involved is linked to the snowmobile trails groomed and maintained by the Twin Mountain Snowmobile Club. The Snowmobile rentals will be available only during the snow season. The rentals will be managed by guided tour with a maximum of 6 sleds per tour. All precautions will be taken to keep the activity under control including roped off sections.
3. The Snowmobile Rental business will not adversely affect traffic conditions on the roads in the immediate vicinity. The Lot is located on Route 3 South which is a State road in the business area of town. The existing 25ft driveway is clearly visible from Route 3 and is adequate for the flow of traffic in and out of the lot. The amount of traffic in and out of the lot will be minimized by the regulated guided tours staggered throughout the day .No more than 12 sleds will be available for rent.

After going thru the application, Vice-Chair Paul Bussiere asked if there were any questions? Leslie Bergum mentioned that there were no signatures on the application. Joan Karpf took care of that immediately by signing the applications. Jim Early asked what the hours of operation would be. Kelly Chase said that the normal hours would be 9 to 5 but there would be times that their hours would be 8 to 6. Other questions were if there would be any selling of the snowmobiles or if any additional lighting changes would be needed on the property. The answer to both was no. It was also determined that there was sufficient parking and that the snowmobiles would not be visible from the road. There would also be no storage of equipment over the summer months.

Vice Chair Bussiere said he would entertain a motion to accept or reject the application. Jim Early made a motion to: accept the application for a Special Exception. John Goodney seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Next on the agenda was a Special Exception from Mark Catalano for sale or rental of new or used OHVR’s. He is looking for this to be seasonal/temporary business. The explanations of how the proposal meets the Special Exception are:
1. The snowmobile rental business will not adversely affect the capacity of existing or planned community facilities because the area is currently used by snowmobile owners. Additional parking will not be required as the existing parking at the site is sufficient.
2. The character of the area should not be adversely affected as it is already used for parking of trailers, cars, trucks, snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles. The rental trailer will be set back over 100 feet from Route 302 East and is on wheels.
3. This Snowmobile Rental should not adversely affect the traffic conditions because parking for customers (2 to 3 cars at any one time is expected) will be on my business property and should not add to or adversely affect traffic patterns. The area is already used as parking for snowmobile owners and renters.
The rentals will be done by Outback Kayaks, with Kelly Chase as manager. Kelly was at the Silver Fox for the past few years. It was brought out, that renting from the Bretton Woods Station, would eliminate the renters from having to cross the road to reach the trails.
Paul Bussiere asked Mark Catalano if he owned the property. He said that he was in the process of buying the property. It would be a long process he said due to the gas tanks, so he is in a long term lease. It was stated that the Irving Co. needed to send a letter of consent noting the liability of the business on the property. It was stated also that Pat Corso, Manager of the Mount Washington Hotel, wanted to make sure the rental area was not on MWR land or start on the property because of liability.
Vice-Chair Bussiere asked if Mr. Catalano could please expand on the site plan to make sure that signage is up so the snowmobilers do not “start” off on the MWR land . Catalano said it would not be a problem. Bussiere said it is not a requirement right now, he just wants to make sure that there are signs for directions. Kelly Chase said that there will be mostly guided tours, with approximately 12 rentals a year with no guides.
John Goodney made a motion: to accept the Special Exception with the understanding that the owner of the land will sign a notice of consent of knowledge. Jim Early seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Next on the agenda was Bill Rines for a consultation. In May of 2007 a Use Variance was granted to Bill Rines. He was granted the Variance to reclaim land and to excavate 20,000 yards of dirt/sand/gravel for a state bridge project in Bartlett. An 18 month timeframe was attached to the acceptance as it was stipulated that this was t be a temporary job.
In April of 2008, Bill approached the ZBA to see if he could continue the project to excavate within the given timeframe of 18 months or Nov 30, 08. It was assured at that time that everything was still in place regarding the bond for reclamation, amount of gravel, permits etc.
Mr. Rines is now before the board to see what he can do to remove the gravel that has been stockpiled and to lower the hill behind his house and behind Mrs. Mason’s house.
Perhaps one year for the excavation and another year to remove it from his property. He would like to remove approximately 40,000 cubic feet. He is asking guidance from the board as to how to go about this.
The board is not really sure where to go at this point as you cannot extend a variance. Chairman Karpf said that she feels the board should ask the LGC for guidance now. The board agreed with her and said they would table this to get advice and guidance.
Paul Bussiere made a motion to: accept the minutes of May 8, 2008 as written. John Goodney seconded and motion passed with two abstentions.
Leslie Bergum made a motion to: accept the minutes of August 14, 2008 as written. Joan Karpf seconded, and the motion passed, with two abstentions.
After a brief discussion on the minutes of June 12, 2008, it was decided that the minutes accurately showed that Leslie Bergum was not at that meeting and the minutes were tabled again.
Joan wanted the board to know that a gentleman called for a client that wants to buy property of Birch Road. It is a non-conforming lot and they wanted to know if they could still build. Joan asked him to come before the board tonight. She told him that it was okay to build on the non-conforming lot as long as they built within the setbacks given. He never showed up at the meeting.
At 9:45, Leslie Bergum made a motion to: adjourn the meeting. John Goodney seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

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