Town of Buxton Board of Appeals
Minutes
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Recorded by Krystal Dyer
Members in attendance: Stephen Heroux, Peter Leavitt, Charlene Libby, Scott Warchol, and Patrick Hanna.
Members not in attendance: none
Others in attendance: Ron and Kristi Dearborn, Deb Young, John Hart, Rich Chaisson and Alton Shurtleff.
Chairman Stephen Heroux calls the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. He begins by explaining the procedure for the meeting.
Stephen recognizes and thank Fred Farnham for many his years of service as Code Officer in the town of Buxton and introduced Peter Gordon as the new Code officer.
John Hart is requesting a sideline setback variance for a single-family dwelling on Spruce Swamp Road, currently used as an excavation site. The parcel is a legal 5.02 acre lot, located in the Rural District; Tax Map 7, Lots 73C.
- Motion by Stephen, seconded by Charlene to open the public hearing for a variance request from John Hart. A unanimous vote.
John Hart is requesting a sideline variance due to the limitations of the ground that the Dearborn family tried to reclaimed and use as a pit area, tried to bring it back to life. Because of this, the ground area has limitations for building doe to the unstable fill area. Mr. Hart is requesting 10 more feet to give a more usable space. The actual area of the lot is 115 feet wide and 180 feet deep. The five acre lot is a bit misleading. Trying to be far away from the road and position the building so it will be comfortable and appealing.
Stephen explained that the property is still owned by Dearborn Family, LLC, and Kristi and Ron Dearborn are in attendance. But an application has not been applied for. Stephen explains that standard procedure is for Mr. Hart to apply for a permit and then be denied by the code officer. The code officer will then send Mr. Hart to the BOA to process the variance request.
Charlene agreed with Stephen and to follow up would need a map to show the layout of the buildable area of the lot. It would not suffice for a building permit or the appeal for the. If the Board reviewed and denied this application, this would leave the Dearborn’s in a situation of what else could be done with the lot. Charlene asks if they could put the application on hold until these steps are completed and then reconvene at the next meeting.
Mr. Hart did not understand the steps he was to take. He did not think he could get a building permit until he had ownership of the property. But before he could get the permit, he needed to have the location approved. Stephen explained, that the owner (The Dearborn’s) could request with the same building plans, and then they could pass the variance on with the ownership.
Code Officer Peter Gordon asked the board, if Mr. Hart had a purchase and sale agreement, which shows right title and interest in the property, and he applies for a building permit, once it is denied. Would the purchase and sale agreement suffice the board as a right title and interest? The board has not seen a purchase and sale agreement.
Stephen explains he does not know historically of any applications that have been processed in that manor.
The options are to withdraw the application and re-submit with proper documentation to get the variance; continue with the information provided tonight and possibly be denied. Or table it until the next meeting. When you table an application, the applicant is allowed to submit more information, but it is typically done with a very small amount. It seems there is a lot of information needed for this application. Stephen suggests to withdraw and come back at another time. Scott agrees.
Mr. Hart stated he “would like to withdraw his application at this time and re-apply at a later date. “
Milton Shurtleff, of Gorham is also on the town of Gorham BOA – in Gorham they could give them the variation based on the information that we had, predicated on the fact that the Planning Board approved what was applied for. All they needed was the location, setback etc… Mr. Shurtleff said he thinks the board has enough information to expedite the situation so the applicant does not have to come back. If he continues her feel he has enough information so he does not need to re-apply.
Charlene explains that with the information given, we can not see the limitations of the property. We are seeing a five acre parcel, it does not show the slop of the land or that the land is unstable.
Mr. Shurtleff questions the process, if the Dearborn’s are here to answer questions we should continue the meeting. The foundation has to have undisturbed soil and the property has been used for the storage of excavation material. The board needs more documentation showing this, so Mr. Hart can meet three cases of hard ship. Town of Gorham as a form based permitting process, which is different from Buxton. The Board needs to see the house design, size, location, building envelope, how it relates to the abutters, and an expert evaluation of the soil conditions would be helpful, if available.
Charlene adds, “If the Board were to review this application tonight, it would be reviewed on the four cases of hardship, because it is not the Dearborn’s primary place of residents. This would be a tough criteria to meet and if we made the decisions with incomplete information.
The Stephen explained the process to Mr. Shurtleff.
Peter asked Mr. Hart, “If you did not get the variance, would you still build the house?” Mr. Hart said “Yes, I would like to make it work.”
- With the applicant withdrawing his application, Stephen motioned to close the public hearing, seconded by Charlene, 5 - 0
Approval of Minutes:
May 5, 2015 – motioned by Charlene, seconded by Scott to approve the minutes as written. The motion passed with a 4 – 1 – 0 vote. Stephen abstained.
CEO Report: Peter Gordon said he did review the folder of the applicant today and there was a permit issued on this lot previously, but it was never built. Not sure of the circumstance.
The “CEO section” can be formulated any way the new code officer would like. It is intended to inform the board of issues they should be aware of, things in the pipe line, ordinance issues, etc... Charlene said that Fred use to layout the options in a letter before the meeting.
There was further discussion of Article 9.6 sections (3), (4) and (5) it has to be definitive in what the code officer is allowed to do. Stephen will discuss with the Planning Board at their next meeting.
Approval of bills: Approve to pay Portland Press $44.12.
- Stephen motioned to approve payment for Portland Press Herald, seconded by Charlene. A unanimous vote.
Communications:
Maine Townsman – May, June, July, August-September issues
Thank you letter from Saco River Theatre
Other Business:
Any new MMA conference information. Krystal will check and email to all board members.
Adjourn:
- Motioned by Stephen to close the meeting at 7:32 pm, Scott seconded the motion. A unanimous vote.
Date approved___________
________________________________ ___________________
Stephen Heroux, Chairman Date
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