ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
July 26, 2007
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
Roll Call: Larry Ordway, Chairman; Peter Bealo, and Rod Cole, Alternate. Julie Matthews Vice Chairman; Robert Loeffler and Clifford Clark were excused.
Also present: Dan Lloyd, newly appointed alternate.
L. Ordway appointment R. Cole as a voting member for the meeting.
Minutes
P. Bealo moved, second by L. Ordway, to approve the minutes of the May 31, 2007, meeting. L. Ordway noted that he originally had found something that he wanted to bring up, but couldn’t find it again. There was no further discussion on the motion. The vote was 2-0-1 (Cole abstaining)
R. Cole moved, second by L. Ordway, to approve the minutes of the June 28, 2007, meeting. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 3-0-0 U/A.
L. Ordway explained the significance of a three-member board when there is a vote.
#07-15: A request from Steven Rugoletti, for a variance from Article V, §220-32I, to permit a shed to be located within 3.9 feet of the rear property line, where 15 feet is the minimum. The property is located at 12 Stanwood Ave, Tax Map 41, Lot 50 in the MDR district. The applicant is the owner of record.
P. Bealo requested to be recused from the matter as he is a friend of the applicant.
Note: P. Bealo’s recusal from this matter meant that there was no quorum for the hearing of the application and it was automatically continued to August 30, 3007.
It was announced that this was the official notification that the matter was continued and that there would be no additional notification.
Continued from May 31, 2007 and June 28, 2007:
#07-12: A request from Autopart International for special exception under Article IX §220-59A(1) to permit a 90 sq ft sign, which is said to not exceed 10% of the building façade. The property is located at 1 Hilldale Ave, Tax Map 11, Lot 4 in the I District. The property owner of record is Paley Irrevocable Trust.
Charles Napoli, Maine/New Hampshire District Manager for Autoparts and Laura Greene, Manager of the local Autoparts store were present for the application.
C. Napoli gave a brief company history, noting the location of the building and the need for a bigger sign. He noted that the façade of the building for the unit that they occupied was 1,978 sq. ft., which under the ordinance would entitle them to a 197.8 sq. ft. sign and they were only applying for a 90 sq. ft. sign, or less than 5%.
L. Ordway noted that there were no residences in that area.
C. Napoli added that the other businesses in the building had bigger signs than he did.
The Board reviewed pictures of the proposed sign.
L. Ordway asked if it would be a lighted sign.
C. Napoli replied that it would not be and that was flush mounted. He added that the property owner was talking about re-siding the building.
L. Ordway asked if there were any questions from the Board. There were none. He asked if there was anyone speaking in favor or in opposition of the application. There was no one and the matter was closed.
#07-13: A request from the Town of Plaistow, Board of Selectmen, for an appeal of the administrative decision of the Planning Board, regarding the interpretation of “accept for consideration” in reference to when a plan is protected from zoning changes. There is no plan reference for this application; the question is regarding when a building cap becomes applicable under the Town’s elderly housing ordinance.
A letter from Jason Hoch, Town Manager, on behalf of the Board of Selectmen (BOS) was read into the record. The letter requested that this matter be continued since there was not a five-member board present.
R. Cole moved, second by P. Bealo, to grant the applicant’s request for a continuance.
L. Ordway noted that Local Government Center (LGC) was contacted by staff for legal advice as to whether or not this was a matter for the Board to hear
It was noted that LGC’s opinion was the appealing a decision made by the Planning Board was under the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s (ZBA) purview and that the timing was more the issue. If the ZBA agreed that a decision has already been made by the Planning Board (as to when to start deducting units under the elderly housing ordinance) then the BOS’s appeal was timely. If the ZBA decided that there had not yet been a decision, then the application was premature and should be filed at a later time.
P. Bealo and R. Cole agreed that this application was something that would have to be decided by this Board and the hearing would be inevitable.
There was no additional discussion on the motion. The vote (to continue the matter) was 3-0-0 U/A.
Ronald Brown, property owner of 62 and 64 Sweet Hill Road, asked to be heard on the matter.
L. Ordway asked if his question or comment was on the motion that was just made.
R. Brown asked what happened if there wasn’t a five-member board at the next meeting.
There was discussion regarding the possibility. It was noted that it is the applicant’s right under the State’s RSAs to continue to request a continuance unless and until there is a five-member board.
L. Ordway reminded that the ZBA was made up of volunteers and that there were always going to be times when having a five-member board wouldn’t be possible.
P. Bealo noted that the Board is always looking for people to step up and volunteer to be on the Board.
It was also noted that once someone agrees to volunteer for the Board there was a training period before they could be available to hear matters, due to the quasi-judicial nature of the Board.
It was announced that this was the official notification that the matter was continued and that there would be no additional notification.
Continued from June 28, 2007
#07-14: A request from Anchor Sign, Agent for Dollar Tree Stores for special exception under Article IX §220-59A(1) to permit a 176.26 sq ft sign, which is said to not exceed 10% of the building façade. The property is located at 9 Plaistow Road, Tax Map 24, Lot 38 in the CI District. The property owner of record is Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC.
Bill New, Anchor Sign, was present for the application.
It was noted for the record that a letter of authorization was in the file to allow Anchor Sign to make the application.
B. New explained that there was currently a 30 sq. ft. compliant sign; they didn’t put up a 15 sq. ft. sign. He noted that the building façade, roofline to foundation, subtracting the glass, was 2303 sq. ft., which would allow a sign of 230 sq. ft. under the 10% special exception requirements. Mr. New offered that they were seeking a 176 sq. ft. sign, which was 7.5 %. He added that they store was located in the back part of the plaza, 300 feet from the road and this sign would give them better visibility.
L. Ordway asked how this sign would compare to other signs in the plaza.
B. New responded that it would be comparable with the Shaw’s and Petco signs and would be uniform with other tenants.
L. Ordway questioned if the sign would be lit.
B. New replied that it would be.
P. Bealo asked if it would be turned off at night.
B. New said that it could be put on a timer.
L. Ordway inquired if this would be the only sign.
B. New answered that it would.
L. Ordway asked if there were any questions from the Board. There were none. He asked if there was anyone speaking in favor or in opposition of the application. There was no one and the matter was closed.
DELIBERATIONS
Continued from May 31, 2007 and June 28, 2007:
#07-12: A request from Autopart International for special exception under Article IX §220-59A(1) to permit a 90 sq ft sign, which is said to not exceed 10% of the building façade. The property is located at 1 Hilldale Ave, Tax Map 11, Lot 4 in the I District. The property owner of record is Paley Irrevocable Trust.
P. Bealo moved, second by R. Cole, to grant the request for a special exception for a 90 sq. ft. sign for Autoparts at 1 Hilldale Ave.
L. Ordway recapped the evidence presented by the applicant, noting that they were requesting less than 10% of the building faced and the sign was important to locate and advertise the business.
P. Bealo added that he goes by the location frequently and he had never noticed the existing sign.
There was no further discussion on the motion. The vote was 3-0-0 U/A and the special exception was granted.
Continued from June 28, 2007
#07-14: A request from Anchor Sign, Agent for Dollar Tree Stores for special exception under Article IX §220-59A(1) to permit a 176.26 sq ft sign, which is said to not exceed 10% of the building façade. The property is located at 9 Plaistow Road, Tax Map 24, Lot 38 in the CI District. The property owner of record is Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC.
R. Cole moved, second by L. Ordway, to grant the request for a special exception for a 176 sq. ft. sign for Dollar Tree at 9 Plaistow Road.
L. Ordway recapped the evidence presented by the applicant, noting that there was a hardship in the location of the business in the back of the plaza and facing away from the street. He reminded that the application was for 176 +/- sq. ft., which represented 7-8% of the 2,303 building façade.
There was no further discussion on the motion. The vote was 3-0-0 U/A and the special exception was granted.
The chairman adjourned the meeting at 7:36 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dee Voss
Administrative Assistant
| 
