Newton Board of Appeals
P.O. Box 378
Newton, N.H. 03858
MINUTES: Meeting of Tuesday, January 20, 2009
CALL TO ORDER at 7:30 PM by Chairman Tom McElroy
ROLL CALL: Chairman Tom McElroy, Vice-Chairman Alan French, Bradley Cardoso, Jack Kozec, Alternates: Charles Melvin, Sr., Ken Pelletier.
Absent: & Dana Allison.
Mr. Melvin was made a voting member in the absence of Mr. Allison. All in favor.
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES: Meeting of November 18, 2008. A motion was made by Mr. Kozec to accept the minutes as written. Seconded by Mr.French.
Motion carries.
PUBLIC HEARING: Michael J. Maher
46 Wilders Grove Road
Newton, NH 03858
(map #002-04-018)
Request for appeal from Residential A Zoning Ordinance Section V, Paragraph 3: Location on Lot. The applicant wishes to add a 4’6”x 17’2” farmers’ porch onto the new structure being built. This will include a set of stairs. Variances are needed on side lot lines and center of road.
ABUTTERS PRESENT: Chris Ross, Pam Amico, Nick Ross, Tony Amico, Mike Amico, Attorney Phil Hastings, Jill Tozier, Tully Zipkin
Chairman McElroy sets up some ground rules. He asks that everyone direct all of their information and comments to the Board members, and not to each other.
Mr. Maher states his request to the Board: a farmer’s porch with a roof over it, and stairs on the side. He has made changes in size since his last appeal, the porch is now smaller, & the steps are to the side. The house is 21’ wide, and the proposed porch would be 17’. They have no rear porch, just a set of stairs. Now they would need a variance from the stairs to the center of the road.
Question on the propane tank: It remains on the side of the house, & was approved by the Fire Chief.
Photos of the old and new structures were provided to show that the old house came out closer to the road than the new one.
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Attorney Phil Hastings, attorney with Cleveland, Waters and Bass, P.A., of Concord, NH tells the Board that he, for the Abutters at 44 Wilders Grove Road, submitted 2 requests to the Board in December 2008. First request is to deny Mr. Maher a rehearing on the same porch issue. Secondly, “the Abutters have filed a motion to Re-Open and Vacate the proceedings under which Mr. Maher was granted relief in 2007 on the grounds that such relief was granted in error because of inaccuracies in the representations made by Mr. Maher to the BOA.” Attorney Hastings also adds that “it appears that Mr. Maher has not built the new home in accordance with the plans submitted to the BOA or the conditions of the relief granted in 2007. It therefore would not be appropriate for the BOA to compound
these circumstances by allowing Mr. Maher to add a new farmer’s porch to a building, the construction of which is of dubious validity, at least until questions about the original construction are concluded.”
Attorney Hastings review the Criteria used previously, showing that there were no new issues presented, and Mr. Maher has no specific information on the neighborhood.
At the October 2008 meeting, the Board made a negative decision on the proposed farmers porch. They suggested that something much simpler could be proposed.
“This is not ‘hardship’! It’s hardship created by themselves.”
Attorney Hastings also stated that “the information provided in 2007 was not entirely accurate.” He shows a plan that was submitted to DES, and the proposed building is closer, by nearly 2 feet, than the prior construction.
Jill Tozier, 48 Wilders Grove Road, agrees that there is no new evidence, everything presented was just hearsay, not factual. She stated that her Dad, who was a banker, often took her to appraisals with him. He always told her “Make sure the house fits the neighborhood.” She states that no new variance should be granted and the rules voted on by the Town should be followed.
Several other options were discussed…
Mr. Maher wants to go forward with the plans that have been submitted for tonight.
It was explained that the Decision could be appealed or they could apply for another variance.
Review of the Criteria.
1. Surrounding Property values not diminished: NO – Unanimous
2. Benefit Public Interest: Yes – 2 (Melvin, French) NO – 3 (Kozec, Cardoso, McElroy)
3. Unnecessary hardship: NO – Unanimous
4. Substantial Justice: NO – Unanimous
5. Spirit of the Ordinance: NO – Unanimous
Mr. Kozec makes a motion to deny the variance since Mr. Maher failed to satisfy the Criteria. Second by Mr. Melvin. All in favor. Motion carries unanimously.
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At 9:10 PM, Mr. French makes a motion to close this Hearing. Second: Mr. Melvin. All in favor. Motion carries.
Discussion with Attorney Hastings on inaccurate information… till 9:30 PM
PUBLIC HEARING: Ronald J. Pica, Sara Realty LLC
Whispering Pines Campground
8 Wenmark Road
Newton, N.H. 03858
(map #05-001-05)
Appeal from Town of Newton Residential Zoning Ordinance for Expansion of Non-Conforming Uses, Section XIX, Paragraph 2: The Applicant is requesting a variance in order to add 15 additional sites to the Whispering Pines Campground.
ABUTTERS PRESENT: Jim Baker, Rob Peterson, Karen Medeiros, David Tremblay, Augustine Medeiros, Sandra Maida, Bob Johnson, Stu Savage, Robert Fernandez, Tully Zipkin.
Attorney John Ryan began by explaining the decision of the Court – to award 6 sites to the campground (some inside the natural expansion and some outside the footprint). Mr. Pica has reduced the number of sites from 32 to 15 in the expansion area.
Mr. Pica explained the new proposal to the Board.
Sites 52,43, and 27 are being removed. These are the sites closest to the road and the residents. He is asking for a variance on 15 new sites, which be 650’ to the nearest house. He also stated that the play area would be changed.
Attorney Ryan then addressed the Criteria. He passed out a revised Stanhope appraisal to show that there would be no influence on surrounding property values. He also provided everyone with an ‘updated’ traffic report. He informed the Board that they would be going with the ‘use variance’ for reasonable use of the owner’s property. There will be no new impact on the abutting properties or the neighborhood. The character of the campground will not change.
Mr. Pica added that this is not a 48% increase he was requesting, but a 25%. If this is approved, this will be the last addition.
Mr. Rob Peterson requested to speak. He wanted to know the points of order on the process, the correct protocol. Doesn’t Mr. Pica need to go to the Planning Board first? NO! The Planning Board had requested that he get a variance first. Also, he would need to get the Approval of the Planning Board for the location of the 6 new sites awarded by the Court. Mr. Peterson was told to stay on the subject, as we were only discussing the possibility of the ’15 additional sites’, nothing else.
He began to discuss the Shoreline Protection Act, the White Cedar swamp, and suggested that a walk-through should be done by the Board.
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Mr. French reminded him that we were here to discuss the 15 additional sites on a non-conforming lot, nothing else.
Mr. Peterson then asked for a Continuation, as the Abutters needed time to prepare, and that the hour was getting late (10:15 PM). The Board felt that this was not necessary at this time. Mr. Peterson began reading from his notes again. Mr. French again reminded him that the discussion must be maintained to the 15 sites in the undeveloped area.
Two ladies, also abutters, who did not identify themselves, also spoke of how the campground lowered property values, caused too much traffic, etc.
Mr. French reminded them that this was about adding 15 sites, nothing more.
Mr. Peterson began to discuss the Criteria again… Mr. French tried to tell him that the Board had heard all these arguments before. He needed new evidence.
Mr. Pelletier noted that they were in actuality discussing 18 sites, since there were 3 of the sites awarded by the Court which were going into the undeveloped area.
At 11:15, Mr. Melvin made a motion to continue this at the next meeting. Mr. Kozec seconded.
Mr. Pica asks if there is any objection to a Continuation to the March meeting. No one opposes.
Mr. Melvin makes a new motion to continue this at the March meeting. Mr. Kozec seconds. All in favor. Motion carries.
Mr. Cardoso asks that Attorney Ryan update some of the materials, using the correct numbers.
.
NEW BUSINESS:
OLD BUSINESS: Planning Board minutes were distributed, and 2 Legislative Bulletins from the New Hampshire Municipal Association.
ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made at 11:20 PM by Mr. Kozec to adjourn. Seconded by Mr. Cardoso. All in favor! Motion carries.
Next meeting to be Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 7:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeannette Clark, Secretary
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