June 5, 2003
FINAL MINUTES
OF PUBLIC MEETING
VOTING BOARD: Acting Chairperson Silas Little; Nate
Chamberlin, Honey Hastings, Don Kraemer &
John Pierce;
alternate member Don Fonda was present but did not vote.
CALL TO ORDER: By Silas Little at 7:30 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS
Case # 6/5/2003-1 US CELLULAR (applicant) & MANCHESTER NASHUA CELL. TEL. (owner)
US Cellular & Manchester Nashua Cellular Telephone have applied for a Special Exception under the terms
of Article IV, Section 13, of the Temple Zoning Ordinance. to permit the addition of six panel antennae to
their existing tower on Temple Mountain, Map 2A, Lot 63, NH Route 101, in the Mountain District.
Mr. Little explained the procedure for hearing cases. He then stated that he had, in the past, represented
Temple Mountain Ski Area, an abutter, and asked if anyone felt that he should step down from hearing
this case. The board felt that there as no conflict and asked him to stay on. He then read the application and
stated that all abutters had been notified.
Kenneth Kozyra of KJK Wireless, represented US Cellular, and explained that presently there are two types
of receivers on the Temple Mountain tower; analog and TDMA. The applicant wants to add 6 panel antennae
of CDMA receivers, an upgradable system. He presented plats of the proposed project and photos of the Temple Mountain tower as it is today and similar towers with more panels. He said that currently the tower has 4 panel antennae, 2 microwave dishes and some smaller antennae below the dishes which belong to Temple Emergency Services. He said that they would like to add new mounting hardware to the top of the
tower which will allow them to mount the 6 new panel antennae as well remount the existing 4 panel antennae. They will remove the 2 microwave dishes and replace them with two new ones which will be
located a little further down the tower and they plan to relocate the emergency services antennae further down
the tower as well. He said that the existing panel antennae are 51” long x 10” wide. The 6 new panel antennae
are 96” long x 11” wide. He said that the new installations will not increase the height of the tower.
Board members noted that the drawing on the plans shows that the panel antennae is higher than the tower.
Mr. Little read the 6 Special Exception criteria in Section 13 and the Board agreed that these criteria are met.
John Kieley said that the tower is visible from Route 101. He said that the most negative impact of the tower
is to hikers on the Wapack Trail who come out of the woods and run right into the tower. He asked if US
Cellular would be willing to mitigate this impact by possibly helping to fund the cost of moving the trail so it
doesn’t come near the tower. Mr. Kozyra said that if a project like that comes about, the group should write a
letter to US Cellular and they might consider it. He said that he could not speak for US Cellular in that regard.
Connie Kieley asked about health risks to people or wildlife from the radio waves. Mr. Kozyra said that the
FCC regulates radio waves that are allowed to emanate from each facility. This facility will generate less than
2% of the allowable level. At peak usage, the tower might generate 1,500 watts of output.
Mr. Kozyra said that all the antennae and dishes, except for the emergency services antennae, are used for US
Cellular only. They are willing to co-locate with other companies, but at this point only US Cellular antennae
are present.
Don Kraemer asked about the plan to relocate the emergency services antennae lower than they are presently
located. He was concerned that moving these antennae lower on the tower might interfere with the signal. Mr.
Kozyra said that at present 2 of these antennae are mounted at 41’ and one is mounted at 39’. The proposal is
to move them down to 30’. He also said that the owners of the antennae would be notified before they were
moved, and US Cellular would have to have their approval before moving them.
Mr. Kozyra said that since the new network won’t be operational until sometime in the fall, it may be that the
old and new microwave dishes will both be in place for a number of weeks or months until the new network
turns on.
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US CELLULAR
Mr. Kozyra said that some towns ask that the panels are painted blue or gray or some other color.
Charlene Eddy asked how far the radio signals radiate from the tower. Mr. Kozyra said that typically the
distance is from 2 – 5 miles, but in this hilly region it would be closer to 2 miles.
MOTION: Ms. Hastings moved to close the public part of the hearing. Second by Mr. Kraemer with all in
favor. The public hearing was closed at 8: 15 p.m.
Mr. Little reiterated that each of the criteria in Article IV, Section 13 are met. His concerns were that the drawing on the plan shows the panel antennas to be located higher than the tower; that the board should
specify removal of the second satellite dish set in some amount of time; and that the emergency service
antennae, if moved, must have a good signal. Board members agreed.
MOTION: Mr. Little moved to grant the Special Exception with the following conditions: 1. that the top of
the new panels installed not be of greater elevation than the tower; 2. that there not be more than
two microwave dishes on the tower for a period of greater than 10 days; 3. before relocation of
the antennae used by Temple Emergency Services, a new location be determined which will not
be detrimental to the operation of the Emergency Communications Facility. This to be coordinated
with the Town of Temple and KCF415. The motion was seconded by Mr. Chamberlin and all
were in favor.
Case # 6/5/2003 – 2 JEAN AND ARNOLD THIBODEAU
Jean and Arnold Thibodeau have applied for a Variance from Article IV, Section 5, of the Temple Zoning
Ordinance, to permit an increase in the footprint of their dwelling, which will reduce their side setback to
19 feet, on Map 6A, Lot 53, 30 Fisk Hill Road in the Rural Residential and Agricultural District.
Mr. Little read the application and stated that all the abutters had been notification. He then said that Jean
Thibodeau used to work for him and if anyone felt that he should not hear this case he would be happy to step down. There were no objections, so he stayed on the board. Mr. Little read a letter from abutter Gail
Cromwell, which said that she had no objections to the Thibodeau’s project.
Mr. Thibodeau explained that they have to list up their house and replace their foundation because it is
disintegrating. At present they have only a one car garage under. When they replace the foundation, they
would like to enlarge it by 14’ – from 26’ x 40’ to 26’ x 54’ to allow room for a two car garage under. They would like to increase the size of the foundation 8’ in the direction of the leach field and 6’ in the direction of
the side setback. However, because of the angle of the stone wall, the 6’ extension would only encroach into the side setback by 4’, reducing the side setback to 19’. He stated that they cannot add the 14’ extension entirely in the direction of the leach field without encroaching on the leach field. They have a pre-existing non-conforming lot in that the house presently sits only 23’ from the side lot line and the Ordinance calls for
35’ side setbacks, and the lot is only 1.5 acres and the Ordinance calls for a 3 acre minimum lot size.
Mr. Chamberlin asked why the house can’t be shifted entirely in the direction of the leach field. Mr. Thibodeau said that in addition to encroaching on the leach field, there is an issue with ledge and also some
large trees would have to be removed.
Abutter Dave Yetman, Fisk Hill Trust, said he was the closest abutter to the Thibodeau property and he had
no objection to the request.
Mr. Little went through the list of 5 criteria necessary to grant a variance request:
1. He didn’t feel that granting the variance would diminish the value of abutting properties because the
abutters have all agreed to it and the abutting properties are substantially far away from it.
2. He didn’t see any evidence that granting this variance would not be in the public interest.
4. Granting the variance would do substantial justice because the structure is a non-conforming structure that
pre-exists the Zoning Ordinance. There is already a substantial violation of the setback requirement and Mr.
Little didn’t see that the additional 4’ encroachment, particularly in light of the abutters lack of concern, would
cause a problem.
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THIBODEAU
5. He didn’t feel that the request was contrary to the spirit of the Ordinance because the applicants’
situation is beyond their control, resulting in the need to make improvements. He was sympathetic to the request in that since they have to jack the structure up and pour a new foundation, making some minor
improvements without having to shift the whole building is within the spirit of the Ordinance.
3. Mr. Little felt that special circumstances exist relating to this property that are unique to it, such as the
pre-existing non-conforming location of the structure, and the need to replace the foundation. The placement
of the structure on the lot makes it difficult to comply with the setback requirement; lot conditions such as the
presence of ledge and the location of the septic system impede the ability of the applicants to move the structure to a location that would bring it into compliance. There is no public interest in the property which
could be adversely affected by granting the variance. The Zoning Ordinance as applied in this case is
unreasonable in terms of the imposition the setback requirement imposes in allowing the applicants reasonable
use of their property. He said that he was persuaded, largely because the abutters have no objection, and
because of the conditions of the lot and the conditions the applicants are undergoing, that this is not an
unreasonable request to make of the board for a variance under that part of the Simplex Decision.
Board members were in agreement. A question arose as to the accuracy of the 19’ measurement from the
stone wall to the new foundation. The board decided to use 18’ so that there would be a cushion for any
error, with the understanding that the applicants should try to keep the size of the setback at 19’ or more.
MOTION: Mr. Little made a motion to grant the variance request for a further encroachment into the side lot
line, no closer than 18’ from
the boundary line, for the reasons listed above. Second by Mr. Fonda and all in
favor.
OLD BUSINESS
MINUTES – 5/1/03
MOTION: Mr. Kraemer moved to accept the 5/1/03
minutes as written. Second by Mr. Chamberlin and all
were in favor.
RULES
OF PROCEDURE
The board read
over suggested rules of procedure and made corrections and suggestions. The
clerk will make
the
changes and bring copies to the next meeting.
MOTION: Mr. Little moved to change the days allowed for
an appeal from an administrative decision taken
under RSA 676:5 from within 21
days of the decision to within 30 days of the decision. Mr.
Kraemer seconded the motion
and all were in favor.
ELECTIONS
MOTION: Mr.
Little nominated Don Kraemer as Chairperson, seconded by Ms. Hastings and all
in favor.
MOTION:
Mr. Pierce nominated Mr. Chamberlin as
Vice Chairperson, seconded by Mr. Little and all in
favor.
MOTION: A motion was made to nominate Mr. Little as Clerk, seconded by
Ms. Hastings with all in favor.
MOTION: A motion was made to adjourn the meeting.
All were in favor and the meeting was adjourned at
9:40
p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Nilsson, Recording Clerk
Posted
6/9/03