Lyme Zoning Board of Adjustment
Minutes: May 19, 2005
Board members: Present - George Hartmann, Chair, Alan Greatorex, Vice Chair, Jim Poage, Ross McIntyre
Absent -Walter Swift
Alternate members: Present - Margot Maddock
Absent -Jackie Glass, Marcia Armstrong
Staff: Adair Mulligan, recorder
Public: Scarlett Dube, Tom Forward, Jan Williams, Elizabeth Glenshaw, Shawn Roberts
George asked Margot to sit as a regular member.
Minutes of April 21 were approved on a motion by Margot, seconded by Alan.
Scarlett Dube, Applicant, Permit Application 2005 - 035, M410/L11
Project: to build a deck with handicap ramp and stairs at 168 Baker Hill Road.
Scarlett Dube proposes to add a deck and ramp to her home in the Rural District. This requires a special exception to encroach into the road setback and into the wetlands conservation district under sections 8.22 and 8.24. Vickie Davis has visited the site with two Conservation Commission members who did not see a problem with the proposal, and a letter to this effect is on file.
Ross asked if the ramp could be put elsewhere, and Scarlett explained that it would be destroyed by snow plowing if it was run straight. She confirmed the location of the former stairs.
Deliberations: George agreed that the application is straightforward. Jim moved to grant a special exception under sections 8.22 and 8.24 for a deck and ramp, with the following findings of fact: the lot is in the Rural District, the house replaced a mobile home in 1986 and so the current house precedes zoning. The lot size after reductions is 2.2 acres, so additions of up to 1000 sf are allowed. All of the addition encroaches into the wetland conservation district and the road setback. 856 sf remain for further expansion. Conditions of section 10.50 are met. The Conservation Commission sees no additional impact on the wetland buffer, but recommends that there be no excavation behind the house. Best building practices will be used. Ross seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. George noted that there is
an error in the letter sent by Vickie to Scarlett, and that the amount of further allowable expansion is 856 sf.
Janet Williams, Applicant, Permit Application 2005 - 039, M403/L3
Project: to enclose a deck at 300 Dartmouth College Highway.
Jan Williams proposes to add a porch by enclosing a deck at her home in the Rural District. This requires a special exception to exceed the maximum building footprint under section 8.25. Jan reported that while she has a permit for the deck, it has not yet been built. It will face the Bailey property. Ross pointed out that the house was built in 1980, before zoning.
Deliberations: Ross moved to grant a special exception under section 8.25, with these findings of fact: the proposal is to add a porch to a pre-zoning home. The porch will cover a previously approved 5' x 8' deck. This requires a special exception to exceed the maximum footprint under 8.25. The applicant has the right to expand the existing structure by 1000 sf in this district. The project will add 40 sf, leaving 960 sf for future expansion. Conditions of section 10.50 have been met, and there was no public comment. Alan seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Peter and Elizabeth Glenshaw, Applicants, Permit Application 2005 - 044, M201/L22
Project: to add a garage, mud room, and deck at 14 Market Street.
Peter and Elizabeth Glenshaw propose to build an addition to their home in the Lyme Common District. This requires a special exception under section 8.22 to build within the road setback. Vickie Davis received a call from a neighbor (not an abutter) who was concerned about the wetlands near this house. She visited the site with two Conservation Commission members who determined that there are no probable wetlands within 100' of the proposal.
Elizabeth explained that there is a wet area in back of the house and that a recent septic system upgrade was designed around this. Shawn said that the wet area is 200-250' back, and that he placed markers before the Conservation Commission visit where he thought the edge of the buffer was located. He asked how the town identifies wetlands. Ross explained that the town has a wetlands map and that if there are questions, a wetlands scientist can delineate the wetlands on the ground. Elizabeth said that the leach field had been built in August of 2001 and a design had been submitted for the permit. This was not found in the file. Alan asked if the garage could be pushed back, and she said that it would run into the leach field, and if moved elsewhere, would run into the
wetlands. Alan reviewed the wetlands conservation district definition. Elizabeth explained that the new addition would include an upstairs bedroom. Alan asked about the size of the septic system, and Elizabeth replied that it had been built to serve five bedrooms in anticipation of this project. She has just received a town driveway permit, and the existing drive will be converted to lawn.
Deliberations: George noted that the proposed addition was not as far into the road setback as the existing house, and that the Conservation Commission had addressed questions about the wetland. There is no letter from the CC, but the board accepted Vickie’s written report of visiting the site with two members.
Jim moved to grant a special exception under 8.22 allowing construction of the proposed addition into the road setback. Findings of fact include that the house is in the Lyme Common District with a lot size, after reductions, of 3.88 acres, a rather large lot for this district. The lot allows a footprint of 4500sf. None of the footprint or gross floor area dimension limits are exceeded, and the only issue is intrusion into the front setback. Vickie Davis has determined that the house intrudes 309 sf into the front setback, and the proposed addition is 27'6" from the edge of the road. The house was built in 1850 and there have been no apparent changes in footprint since. Therefore, under section 8.22 an intrusion of up to 500 sf is allowable into the front setback.
The proposed 309 sf intrusion will allow 191 sf of future expansion. The property has a wetland area on the north boundary. A new 5-bedroom septic system was built in 2001 south of the wetland and behind the proposed garage, and lies outside the wetland buffer. The location of the leach field does not allow the garage to be placed further from the road. The Conservation Commission and Zoning Administrator visited the site and concluded that the proposed addition is not within the wetland buffer. Shawn Roberts measured 100' from the wetland and did not intersect the project area. Conditions include use of best building practices, and avoiding operation of construction equipment in the wetland buffer. A driveway permit has been secured. The agenda includes a note from Vickie Davis about a call of conceern from a neighbor, although no members of the public attended the meeting or sent a letter to the ZBA. Conditions of section 10.50 have been met. Alan seconded the motion and it
passed unanimously.
Meeting adjourned 8:49 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Adair Mulligan, Recorder
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