ANTRIM ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
May 2, 2006 meeting
Members Present:
Doug Crafts John Kendall Frank Scales Don Winchester Paul Young
Member Absent
Carol Court Len Pagano Tim Quachenbush
Public Attendees:
Charles Boucher Erik Anderson Julie Anderson
Chairman Winchester opened the meeting at 7:00 PM by appointing Mr. Crafts to sit for Mr. Pagano.
Anderson, Erik & Julie File # 2006-04ZBA: At 7:15, Mr. Winchester opened the public hearing on the appeal of Erik and Julie Anderson for an Equitable Waiver of Dimensional Requirement. Members of the Board introduced themselves and Mr. Winchester explained the procedure to be followed for the Public Hearing. He asked the Andersons to present their request. Mr. Boucher addressed the Board and said he was a realtor who was acting as the Anderson’s agent. He explained that the Andersons wished to sell their house; however, a title search revealed that the house was located only 31 feet from the road right of way. The mortgage company would not proceed with the closing unless they had some sort of assurance from the town that the house is “legal” even though it is not sited within the 50 foot set back from the
road required by the zoning ordinance. Mr. Boucher pointed out that the house had been there for more than 25 years and had been bought and sold a number of times and this problem had not surfaced before. It was his opinion that the location of the house had no adverse affect on the maintenance of the road. He summarized by requesting some documentation from the town that would satisfy the mortgage company.
Mr. Vasques explained that there were various factors which should be considered by the Board. He referred to the building permit which was issued in May of 1988. Attached to it was a drawing showing that the house would be sited 50 feet back from the edge of the road. The building permit was signed by the three selectman in office at that time. Apparently, the town did not have a Building Inspector on the staff in 1988. Another factor to consider was that the zoning ordinance in 1988 stated that the front yard setback in the Rural District was 50 from the centerline of the right-of way (center of the road). In 1989, the zoning ordinance was changed to establish the front yard setback as 50 feet from the right-of-way (edge of the road). There was some discussion of whether or not the 50-foot set back under the 1988 ordinance would provide 50
feet from the center of the road to the house. It was decided that without knowing the width of Beaver Dam Road, this could not be determined. Furthermore, it was deemed irrelevant considering the sketch attached to the building permit showed the house set back 50 feet from the edge of the road. The consensus was that it appeared that a decision was made during the building inspection process to allow the house to be sited 31 feet from the edge of the road despite the requirement of the zoning ordinance. That being the case, it would be appropriate to review the appeal in accordance with RSA 674:33-a.
Mr. Winchester made a motion that based upon the evidence presented, an Equitable Waiver of Dimensional Requirement be granted to the applicant. Mr. Young seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Mr. Winchester – aye, Mr. Young – aye, Mr. Scales – aye, Mr. Crafts – aye, Mr. Kendall – aye.
Business Meeting: Mr. Scales moved to approve the minutes of the April 25, 2006 meeting as corrected. Mr. Crafts seconded the motion which passed.
Because of denying a request for a variance to locate a porch closer to the water line at the previous meeting, members spent some time discussing the role of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Much of the discussion centered on what constitutes a hardship. The consensus was that there was no concise definition for hardship and it needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Mr. Kendall pointed out that an active, engaged Board; with members having diverse opinions, is in the best interest of the town.
Members attention was called to the meeting scheduled for May 23rd. There being no other business, Mr. Scales moved that the meeting be adjourned. Mr. Crafts seconded the motion.
Mr. Winchester adjourned the meting at 8:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul L. Vasques, Secretary
Antrim Zoning Board of Adjustment
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