May 2, 2002
FINAL MINUTES OF PUBLIC MEETING
Board
members present: Don Kraemer, Colleen Martin,
Silas Little, Don Fonda, Will Phillips (8:15 p.m.), Nat Chamberlin (8:15
p.m.)
Call
to order by Don Kraemer at 7:37 p.m.
Motion
made by D. Kraemer, seconded by S. Little to accept minutes of 4/4/02. Voted
affirmative.
Public Hearing
7:40
p.m. Case E Appeal from Administrative
Decision. Case E was read by C.
Martin. All return receipts received. Mr. Richard Messina stated he had previously
requested a change of use from the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) but it was
denied. On 2/13/02 he had applied for a
building permit but the Selectmen had denied the permit until the pending court
decision is made. He believes no
building permit is required but wants a ruling from the ZBA. He reviewed his court case for the ZBA. The court case has four parts as he has
appealed four decisions but does not have a building permit before the
court. S. Little reviewed the zoning
ordinance for clarification of whether a permit was required and he believed
that an alteration would require a permit.
Mr. Messina thought that the 25% ruling would mean a permit was not
needed. D. Kraemer read from the Zoning
Ordinance to re-iterate the requirement on building permits. Mr. Messina said he did not need one prior
to a special exception. S. Little
motioned that a building permit is required, as insulation is an alteration to
the building, seconded by C. Martin (reference article VIII, section 2). Voted affirmative. Mr. Donald Anderson asked if a building is grandfathered, would
Mr. Messina need to come before the ZBA.
S. Little said they would need to review the files and were not in a
position to address the question at this time.
S. Little said when the court has made an unappealable final decision,
the ZBA would allow Mr. Messina to renew his appeal. Motion by S. Little to deny the Appeal from Administrative
Decision, seconded by D. Fonda. Voted
affirmative.
8:00
p.m. Case C Application for Special Exception.
D. Kraemer read the application.
Mr. Richard Messina said the ZBA had denied his application previously
on the basis of an expansion of use. He
explained he wished to weatherize and insulate units 1 through 8. He said he is not expanding only altering
the buildings. He referred to ordinance
VII, section 2, paragraph 2. S. Little
asked if he was staying within the current footprint of the buildings. Mr. Messina said yes. S. Little said he would not need a special
exception but would need a building permit.
If the 3 dimensional boundaries do not change, no special exception is
required. Mary Nutting stated she was
not aware that building permit is required to replace windows. S. Little explained remodeling vs.
replacement. Debra Stark asked if the
living space was being enlarged. D.
Kraemer said Mr. Messina is not enlarging the footprint. Ms. Stark said if the porch is enclosed this
expands the living area. Mr. Messina
said he is replacing screens with windows.
S. Little said putting windows in place of screens means a special
exception is needed but it was previously denied. S. Little thought it was being appealed to superior court. Mr. Messina said it was not in superior
court and agreed the ZBA had previously denied a special exception. Ms. Stark reiterated the definition of
living space and said cabin #8 has windows which did not exist previously. D. Kraemer said the ZBA had not approved
anything for cabin #8. 8:15 p.m.
Hearing closed to public comment. S.
Little believed the application was requesting weatherization and therefore
does not fall under Article VII, section 2, paragraph 2 because he is expanding
the weather tight area. S. Little
motioned to deny the Application for Special Exception without prejudice
pending the final unappealable decision from superior court. C. Martin seconded. Voted affirmative. Discussion followed on the ZBA wishing to wait for the court
decision. Mr. Messina asked if he
needed to appeal the ZBA decision before taking the issue to court. S. Little referred him to his attorney for
clarification.
8:30
p.m. Election of officers. D. Fonda
motioned, seconded by C. Martin to elect D. Kraemer chairman of the ZBA for the
ensuing year, voted affirmative, D. Kraemer declined to vote. D. Kraemer motioned, C. Martin seconded to
elect W. Phillips as vice chairman, voted affirmative. D. Kraemer motioned, S. Little seconded to
elect C. Martin for clerk, voted affirmative.
8:40
p.m. Case #2002-5. D. Kraemer read the
Request for Special Exception submitted by The Lukas Foundation. C. Martin checked the abutters list against
return receipts. Mr. David Spears
described the future hope to sell two properties (Horizon House & Temple
Gardens) and consolidate their clients to one area. He presented a revised plan (revision dated 5/2/02) and explained
they are requesting three new residences.
He explained the population density is within the required limits
allowed and the open space is adequate as shown on the plan presented. Discussion followed on items needed for site
plan review such as a 100 foot setback from any existing dwelling. S. Little asked what the width of Memorial
Drive is. Mr. Spears did not know. S. Little asked if The Lukas Foundation was
willing to consider a right of way to increase the width of the road in the
future to allow for additional traffic.
S. Little believed future land use plans would need this
information. Mr. Spears said Tim Fiske
was to install a dry hydrant and had made recommendations regarding culverts. Frank Brookshire asked for clarification on
the 100 foot buffer. S. Little
explained it should be from the Lukas property to any existing residence, and
should show on the drawing. S. Little
asked if a Special Exception was needed.
Mr. Spears read from Section 21 to clarify the need. Discussion of a community well being installed
which would need DES approval. Mr.
Spears explained the requirement for a license and that no license can be
issued until 90-120 days from completion of the building but the Special
Exception requires a license. ZBA said
if the license has been applied for, it was adequate to meet the
requirements. Mr. Spears presented a
sketch showing what the buildings would look like. N. Chamberlin suggested a better parking sketch for the Planning
Board site review process. Floor plans
were discussed. R1 and R2 on the
drawings mean residents, SS means support staff. Mary Nutting asked if the other houses sold, would they be
taxable. Mr. Spears said it depends on
who buys them. Abutter Mr. Milkey had
no objection to the Special Exception and said The Lukas Foundation are good
neighbors. Abutter Stuart Weeks sent a
letter stating the same thoughts. 9:20
Hearing closed to public comment. S.
Little stated adequate water and septic would need to be proved for the site
plan review. He thought criteria was demonstratively
met and site plan would address these issues.
S. Little motioned to grant Special Exception based on revised drawing
dated 5/2/02, seconded by N. Chamberlin. Voted affirmative. The Lukas Foundation submitted a check for
$117.00.
Motion
made by D. Kraemer, seconded by C. Martin to adjourn meeting. Adjourned 9:30
p.m.
Minutes
submitted by Sherry Fiske