ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES
FEBRUARY 7, 2006
PUBLIC SESSION
APPROVED BY THE BOARD FEBRUARY 21, 2006
PRESENT: ABSENT:
Mr. Doug Leib, Chair Mr. Kevin Bassett
Mr. Kevin Jordan
Mr. Earle Rourke
Mr. John Morin
Mr. Jim Howard (Alternate)
OTHERS PRESENT:
Ms. Kelly Tivnan, ZBA Secretary
Mr. Dave Wright, Economic Development Director
Mr. Peter Landry
Mr. and Mrs. Weber
Ms. Carol Lavigne
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:10pm.
CASE 06-01- WEBER:
Mr. Leib explained the process of the ZBA and he read the case description. Mr. Wright said that the Weber's house was not selling and he said that it would be good for Nottingham to maximize the commercial value of this property. He said that the Weber's request made sense from a marketing standpoint. He said that the Weber's property had 118.26 feet of frontage and they needed 200 feet. Mr. Landry said that this application was about adjusting lot lines not creating new lots. He said that the frontage did contain the Weber's driveway. Mr. Rourke asked when the house was built. Mrs. Weber said that she thought it was built in 2000. Mr. Rourke said that the land was subdivided in 2001. Mrs. Weber said that the house was built after the subdivision. Mr. Landry said that the proposed
configuration would make commercial land use more practical. Ms. Lavigne said that she was the realtor who was trying to market the Weber's property. She said that the barn would not lessen the value of the property if they tried to market the land to a commercial buyer. Mr. Wright said that the current set up of the land would be tough to develop commercially because it would need to have a commercial septic system and other requirements. Mr. Leib asked what kind of shape the Weber's house was in. Mr. Wright said that it was very nice. He said that it was newly renovated and could be used as a doctor's office. Ms. Lavigne said that the house was very pristine inside. She said that the Webers had a very marketable property. She said that they had done a wonderful job with the home renovation. Mr. Leib asked if the Webers would need to move the pool. Ms. Lavigne said that from a marketing standpoint the pool had no
value. She said that it would be easy enough to fill in the pool if necessary. Mr. Leib asked if any abutters had come to the hearing. Mr. Weber said no. Mr. Landry said that the point of this application was for the landowners to gain more usable area. Mr. Weber explained that a small spot of land near their property was an old blacksmith lot that they did not own. Mr. Landry said that this property would be perfect for a back lot subdivision but he said that they were not able to do that because they had more than 400 feet of frontage. Mr. Rourke said that the zoning ordinance was not set up for less than 200 feet of frontage. He said that this request was not compatible with the intent of the ordinance. He asked if the Webers had tried to get a driveway permit. Mr. Weber said no. He explained the story with the library and said how when the library had been built it had overlapped slightly into his property.
He said that he had given the overlap land to the town. Mr. Howard asked if Mr. Weber had lost road frontage in that transaction. Mr. Weber said no. Mr. Howard asked whether if a new buyer tore down the existing building they could meet the setbacks if they put up a new building. Mr. Landry said that they would have to check with the Building Inspector if they did not use the same footprint as the old building but he said that he did not see where a buyer would have a need to take down the current building. Mr. Leib asked how far the Bascoms house was from the property line. Mr. Weber said that he did not know but he would guess approximately 100 feet. Mr. Landry said that the Weber's did not have many alternatives. He said that they were facing a hardship because their lot was not selling. Ms. Lavigne said that the Weber's property was being marketed subject to this case being approved. She said that was a hindrance
to the sale and she said that she could not really push the property to potential buyers because they did not know what would happen with the case. Mr. Leib asked about the list price for this property. Ms. Lavigne said it was $299,000. Mr. Leib asked how long the property had been on the market. Mrs. Weber said that it had been on and off the market for a year. Mr. Wright said that the public interest would be served by the best use of this land. He said that using this property as commercial would increase the tax base. He said that he felt this request fit the spirit and the intent of the ordinance because it did not increase the population in the area. He said that the Weber's fit the requirement of financial hardship because their property would not sell. He said that there were no alternatives for the Weber's and he said that this use of the land would provide substantial justice for all. He said that this would not
have any impact on property values in the neighborhood.
Mr. Jordan made a motion to approve the Weber application based on a plan dated 7-27 by Landry Surveying Job #867 from September of 2005. Mr. Howard seconded the motion. Mr. Jordan, Mr. Howard, Mr. Leib and Mr. Morin voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Rourke voted against the motion. The motion passed 4-1.
MINUTES:
Mr. Jordan made a motion to approve the ZBA minutes from 1-10-06 as written. Mr. Morin seconded the motion. Mr. Jordan, Mr. Morin, Mr. Leib and Mr. Rourke voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Howard abstained from the motion. The motion passed 4-0 with one abstention.
Mr. Jordan made a motion to approve the ZBA minutes from 1-12-06 as written. Mr. Morin seconded the motion. The present members of the ZBA voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
OTHER:
Mr. Leib said that the ZBA had another case to hear and they would be meeting on Tuesday February 21, 2006 at 7:00pm.
Mr. Jordan made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:00pm. Mr. Morin seconded the motion. The present members of the ZBA voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Tivnan
ZBA Secretary
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