TOWN OF GORHAM
BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES
DECEMBER 26, 2001
The December 26, 2001 meeting of the Board of Appeals was held in the auditorium at the Gorham High School.
Roll Call: Present; Chairman Owens McCullough, Board members Audrey Gerry, James Pellerin, Michael Webb, David McCullough, and Stephen Scontras. The Code Enforcement Officer and the Assistant Town Clerk. Absent; Peter Traill.
Moved, Seconded and VOTED to accept the minutes of the November 15, 2001 regular meeting as printed and distributed. 6 Yeas.
Appeal# 01-54. The appeal of Art and Rachel Hewes requesting a permit to enlarge a non-conforming structure, namely to remove an existing non-conforming shed and replace it with a single bay garage and add a second level to their existing home with a full length dormer in the rear on property they own at 24 Elizabeth St. (Map 100, Lot 47) which is in the Urban Residential District and which is less than 15 feet from the side property line.
Arthur Hewes spoke on behalf of this appeal and explained that he wants to tear down an old shed and bring the garage forward; the footprint of the structure would be less. A letter from neighbor indicated that she did not object to the applicant’s plans.
There was no public comment and the hearing was closed.
Moved, Seconded and VOTED to approve the permit to enlarge a non-conforming structure. 6 Yeas.
The Findings of Fact as read aloud by the Code Enforcement Officer were Moved, Seconded and VOTED. 6 Yeas.
Appeal# 01-55. The administrative appeal of Gorham Sno-Goers requesting the Board reverse the decision of the Code Enforcement Officer whereby he refused them a permit to locate a hot dog wagon on property owned by Central Maine Power at Mighty Street (Map 65, lot 15) which is in the Rural Zone. The Code Enforcement Officer has determined that the mobile vending units are only allowed in the Roadside Commercial District with approval by the Planning Board and not in the Rural District.
No one appeared on behalf of this appeal.
Chairman McCullough read a letter aloud from the Town Clerk stating that the applicant needs to get a victulars license from the Clerk’s office and approval from the Town Council to sell food. Chairman McCullough also noted a letter of agreement from CMP that was distributed to the Board Members.
The Code Enforcement Officer explained that the Sno-Goers wanted to place a cart on CMP power lines to serve food to the sliders. Also that Mobil vending units are only allowed in certain areas and need special planning Board approval. In response to questions of the Board, the Code Enforcement Officer explained that Mobil vending is defined in the ordinance and the difference between a Mobil vending unit and a roadside vender would be a wheeled vehicle that could be moved.
There was no public comment and the hearing was closed.
During deliberations, the Board discussed the definitions in the ordinance and whether or not a snowmobile trail came into the roadside district anywhere else.
Moved, Seconded and VOTED to overturn the Code Enforcement Officer’s decision based on the Boards interpretation of the ordinance that this particular use is more closely aligned with section 8 B(12) Rural District under permitted uses and that this use does not appear to meet the strict definition of a Mobil vending unit due to its limited times of operation (weekends & holidays during daylight hours) and that it will be highly variable due to seasonal conditions and is intended to support a winter time function for a non-profit organization. 5Yeas. 1 Nay (Pellerin)
The Findings of Fact as read aloud by Chairman McCullough were Moved, Seconded and VOTED. 6 Yeas.
The Board recommended that the planning staff and ordinance review committee consider modifying the land use ordinance to allow Mobil vending units under specific conditions similar to the Sno-Goers appeal that recently went before the ZBA on 12/26/01.
Moved, Seconded and VOTED to adjourn. 6 yeas. Time of adjournment 7:55 P.M.
A TRUE RECORD OF MEETING Attest:
Assistant Town Clerk
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