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Minutes of 9/15/2005
September 16th, 2005
Carroll Zoning Board of Adjustment
Meeting Minutes
September 15, 2005
Members of the board present: Joan Karpf, Ed Martin, Russ Freidman, Paul Bussiere, Nancy Mitiguy
Meeting called at 7:00 PM
Minutes taken by Vicki Brodeur, Secretary
Members of the public present: John Burt, Jay Ouellette, Jeff Duncan, Bill WrightKathy & George Saffian,
Tom Gately, Linda & Bill Dowling, Roberta McGee,
Pat Martin, Howard Hoffman, Guy Jubeniville, Joe Cabral, Ron Brown, Donna & Mike Matz, Dave & Jane Ikasalo, Warren Walsh, Evan Karpf, William Rines, Sandy & Allen Kent, Tom & Dot Upton
Mr. Bussiere stated the process of how a public hearing is held.
He said the applicant will state his case and then abutters will have a chance to voice their concerns. He said any others who have questions or concerns will be able to speak after the applicant and abutters.
Jay Ouellette handed out to the board members a description of what he and John Burt are proposing as well as pictures of the lot. He read his hand out aloud
(copy available at the townhall)
Joan Karpf said she did not see anywhere on the application what the map and lot were.
Mr. Ouellette stated the property is located at Map 207 Lot 40.
After looking at the pictures and reviewing the handout, Mr. Freidman asked if there would be any cars placed on the grass area in the front of the property.
Mr. Ouellette said no the area is a parking area as one can see there is two vehicles parked there now that are owned by Mr. Burt.
He said there is a possibility he will have specialty cars in a specific area.
Mr. Freidman asked how many used cars would be parked on the property.
Mr. Ouellette said there is parking for up to 150 used cars.
Mrs. Karpf asked about customer parking.
Mr. Ouellette said the customer parking area will be off to the side of the building.
Mrs. Karpf asked about landscaping plans.
Mr. Ouellette said his wife will be doing some landscaping with flowers and there are natural buffers there as well.
Mr. Bussiere asked if there was going to be any repairs such as oil changes being conducted on the property.
Mr. Ouellette said oil maintenance as well as sales paperwork will be done at Bumper to Bumper located on Route 115.
Mrs. Karpf asked if the existing building on the property will be the office area.
Selectman Ouellette said there will be an area used for customers in case of bad weather, but there is going to be no sales conducted at the Route 3 property.
Ed Bousquin asked Mr. Ouellette if he would be working off the site or if he will be hiring personnel.
Mr. Ouellette said he will be hiring personnel to work there.
Mr. Bousquin asked how one would be told to reach him if they were interested in purchasing a vehicle.
Selectman Ouellette said the customers will either be given his phone number and directions to his property as well.
Mrs. Karpf asked about delivery days, if a vehicle is being delivered to the property will there be any view obstructions on Route 3.
Mr. Ouellette said that would not be an issue, he said he owns a ramp truck in which he would be utilizing.
Mr. Bousquin asked about the parcel of land across the street. He wanted to know if that parcel was part of the proposed used car lot.
Mr. Ouellette said the lot has nothing to do with the proposal.
Mr. Freidman asked if there were any plans on improving the existing buildings on the property.
Selectman Ouellette said he is not aware of any upcoming repairs, he said there was talk of possibly demolishing the barn.
Mr. Bussiere asked about getting a driveway permit from the State.
Mr. Ouellette said there is already an existing driveway there and felt he did not need one.
Mr. Bussiere said it has been a while since any business had been conducted at the property.
Mr. Bussiere said he would like to see a clearer plan of what is actually being proposed for this property.
Mrs. Karpf asked what the condition of the cars is going to be.
Mr. Ouellette said the cars will be first class, they will be all state inspected.
He said the cars will not stay on the property long as when they are sold then another car will come in to replace the vacant spot.
Mr. Freidman asked if the cars would be sold as is.
Mr. Ouellette said they would be sold as is.
Nancy Mitiguy asked about signage for the proposed business.
Mr. Ouellette said he will place one sign in the existing steel frame that is currently on the property. He said he may use the frame of the sign across the street as well but was not sure as of yet. He said he may have one illuminated sign.
Ms. Mitiguy asked about flags or penances.
Mr. Ouellette said there may be writing on the cars windows and possibly small flags.
Mr. Bussiere said the Planning Board will need to approve the signage.
Mr. Bousquin asked about having more then 150 cars on the lot.
Mr. Ouellette again stated he would have no more then 150 cars at one time on the lot.
Mr. Bussiere said if Mr. Ouellette decided he wanted to have more then 150 cars then he would need to come back to the board as the town has the right to limit how many vehicles will be allowed on the property.
Ms. Mitiguy asked if the property would be maintained in the winter months.
Mr. Ouellette said he would be maintaining the property in the winter months.
Howard Hoffman, an abutter to the property has the following concerns.
He said the building has been vacant for such a long period of time and is falling down.
He asked if there were any future plans for upkeep to the buildings.
He aid the he feels the appearance of a used car lot is a not good for the town.
Sandra Kent an abutter to the property had the following concerns:
She said with cars constantly coming in and out of the property she sees the potential for car accidents. She said cars will be pulling off the road looking at the used cars and they may cause traffic accidents.
Ms. Grant stated the building has increasingly become a fire hazard and by placing vehicles on the lot it may create an even bigger fire hazard.
She wanted to know if there were going to be restrooms provided for the customers and if so where would they be.
Dave Ikasalo, a property owner on Twin View Drive had the following concerns:
Mr. Ikasalo said he can hear everything from Route 3 and he wanted to know when the cars would be getting delivered to the property. He wanted to know the hours of operation as well as lighting for the proposed business.
He said he moved here because it is a quiet area and wanted to be assured the business would not be operating all hours of the day/night.
Kathy Saffian asked what the date was the application was received.
Mr. Bussiere said the date was August 4, 2005.
Mrs. Saffian said according to the zoning ordinance the application was not received within the proper deadline.
Mr. Bussiere said the zoning board has been flexible in the past and have waived it.
He said the zoning board is actually reconstructing the application to make it more user friendly.
Mrs. Saffian asked why the pictures were handed out by Mr. Ouellette at this meeting and
not submitted with his application prior to the meeting.
Mr. Bussiere said the application was accepted at the previous meeting and the applicant was told the board needed more information.
Mrs. Saffain said it is very confusing, she said how does the board as well as the public form an opinion when all the facts are not presented at the time of submitting the application.
Evan Karpf reminded the public the application was for a special exception for a non permitted use and the board needs to take into consideration how the general public feels on the issue.
He said the Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey and from that it showed 60% of residents did not want to see an increase in growth.
Ron Brown stated the following with regards to the application:
Mr. Brown stated Mr. Ouellette has been a neighbor of his for many years and has never had a problem with his garage on Route 115. He said his concern is that the proposed use of the property is not what people come to the area to see. He said he applauds the Chamber of Commerce for trying to improve the towns appearance by adding the large wooden flower boxes at the intersection, the flags hanging from the utility poles and the wooden moose statues. He said the proposed use of the property would detract from the efforts that are being put forth by the Chamber. He said if the use is approved there needs to be restrictions placed on it. He said if there were ever a fire Route 3 would need to be closed and an alternate route would need to be sought.
George Saffian said he did not see where the current owner of the property has signed the application for special exception.
Mr. Bussiere said if Mr. Burt were leasing out the property then yes, he would need to sign the application.
Ms. Mitiguy said the special exception applies to the property.
Mr. Bussiere said the board can put restrictions on the proposed business if approved.
Linda Dowling said Mr. Ouellette has been a good neighbor but she is concerned with traffic. She said there is a slight curve in the road going north and she says she sees the potential for traffic accidents. She said the proposed business is also coming into a neighborhood with a motel, single family homes and a church. She said a used car lot is just not in the character of the neighborhood.
Tom Gatley said as a business owner he said one car lot within the town is plenty.
He asked the public does the Town need another used car lot?
He said many businesses like his own are trying to attract tourism and a used car lot will not attract tourists to the area.
He said part of the roof is almost ready to blow off the existing building. He said it needs to be removed before it blows off and hurts someone.
He said the main building is an eyesore, the sign across the street has not been repaired and it has been discussed a Selectmen�s Meetings and it still remains untouched. He said the swimming pool still has water in it. He said the owner of the property has done nothing to clean up what is already there.
Mike Matz said the general appearance of the building is an eyesore in town. He said in the past there have been businesses approved and conditions have been set and have not been followed and nothing was done.
He said used cars on the lot will leak oil, gas ect, he said it is something the board needs to be aware of.
A letter of concern was submitted by Lee & Robin Hallquist along with signatures from other townspeople.
A portion of the letter stated �another used car lot for Carroll? This is the foresight of our Selectmen? We are in trouble if this is what they want our locals and tourist to look at forever. This is another example of how we should be more careful who gets on these boards�.
(the full letter is available at the townhall)
Ed Bousquin said he would like to see a landscaping plan in writing.
Mr. Ouellette said landscaping will be ongoing, he said he takes pride in what his property looks like. He said it will be done right.
He said Mr. Burt does plan to get the roof repaired.
Mr. Burt got up and spoke with regards to the building.
He said the building on the property is in disarray and circumstances beyond his control have prevented him to go forward with repairs to the property.
He said with the proposal of the used car lot he is hoping with the some of the revenue generated he can fix up the building.
He said there have only been two to three residents in town that have voiced their complaints regarding the property to the Board of Selectmen.
He agreed on what the abutters of the property were saying he said he would like bring back the property as it was several years ago.
Mr. Burt said with regards to noise he said Route 3 is noisy now he said he does not see that noise is an issue with the proposed use.
Bill Wright said he was concerned with the standing water that has been in the swimming pool for sometime.
Mr. Burt said there is between three and four feet of water in the pool and it has not been used for a long time.
Mr. Wright said with the current scare of mosquitoes carrying deadly disease it might be in Mr. Burt�s best interest to get the water out of the pool.
Mr. Bussiere asked Mr. Ouellette what the hours of operations would be.
Mr. Ouellette said 8 AM �quot; 5 PM, six days per week.
Mr. Bussiere asked if there would be cars delivered after business hours.
Mr. Ouellette said it is possible.
Mr. Freidman said that may be a stipulation if the use is approved.
Mr. Ouellette said he had no problems putting that stipulation on.
Mr. Bussiere was concerned with gas and oil leaks as well.
Mr. Ouellette stated again all repairs to automobiles will be done at Bumper to Bumper located on Route 115.
Mr. Bussiere asked Fire Chief Jeff Duncan if he felt with the cars on the property if that increased the risk of fire.
Chief Duncan said the possibility for fire is always there on any structure. He said he has more concerns with the increased traffic causing the accident rate to increase. He said by putting vehicles on the property, he felt did not increase the risk of fire.
He said if approved he wanted to make sure there is room enough between vehicles
so a fire engine could get through if needed.
Ed Bousquin asked about gating the property after operating hours.
Mr. Ouellette said there should be no reason for an increase in traffic after hours.
He said if people are stopping to look at cars there is plenty of room in the front of the property for them to pull off.
Ms. Mitiguy asked about lighting.
Mr. Ouellette said he was not sure as of yet if he would be using halogen or gas.
He said gas does produce a softer light. He said the lighting will be directed toward the business and away from Route 3. He said if there are problems, he will fix it at his expense.
Mr. Bussiere asked if there would be motion detectors anywhere on the property that would come on at night.
Mr. Ouellette said no and that the police go by the area during their patrol.
Mr. Freidman asked if the cars would have lock boxes on them and if not where the keys would be stored.
Mr. Ouellette said the cars will not have lock boxes and all keys will be stored at Bumper to Bumper on Route 115.
Mr. Bussiere asked if there would be lighting left on all night.
Mr. Ouellette said there will be some lighting left on for security purposes but said he will make every effort with regards to lighting to what the townspeople want.
Ms. Grant again spoke of the concerns she had with the fire and generated traffic on the sides of the roads.
Mr. Ouellette said he estimates about fifty to sixty people a week stopping in to look at the cars.
Ms. Grant stated if for some reason the building is removed then that openly exposes the car lot.
Mr. Ouellette said he does not foresee the whole building coming down as the first floor of the building is being utilized.
Mr. Ikasalo asked if Mr. Ouellette will have the business insured.
Mr. Ouellette said he will have insurance on it.
Ms. Mitigy said there were a few people that felt the proposed business would adversely affect the character of the neighborhood.
Mr. Ouellette said several years ago the building housed a bar, he said if anything a bar diminished the value of the community whereas his proposed business would make the property more presentable. He said it would be a lot more pleasing rather then leaving the property unmaintained.
Tom Gately asked if any type of clause could be put in stating if Mr. Ouellette stops operating the used car business then the use stops as well.
Mr. Brown said he thought the special exception goes with the land.
Mr. Bussiere said he believes if the property goes over a year without any use then it loses the use.
Mr. Bousquin said the outcome of whether the building gets repaired is going to be solely based on whether the used car lot is approved.
Evan Karpf asked if there was any landlord tenant agreement which was going to be signed.
Mr. Ouellette said that really has not been discussed between both parties.
Mr. Ikasalo said if a new owner should come in later on down the road he could run it down.
Mr. Bussiere said if someone new comes in to run the operation they would have to apply to the board.
Mrs. Karpf made a motion to take all the information given and have the board members review it and come back in one month (October 13, 2005, 7:00 PM, Townhall) with their decision.
Ms. Mitiugy seconded the motion.
All were in favor.
The previous months meeting minutes were tabled until the next meeting.
At 8:45 PM, the Chairman of the board made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Mr. Freidman seconded the motion.
The meeting was adjourned.