Town of Sutton

TOWN OF SUTTON

Pillsbury Memorial Hall

93 Main Street

Sutton Mills, NH 03221

Zoning Board of Adjustment

Approved Minutes of the Regular Meeting

Wednesday August 1, 2018

 

Board Members Present: Derek Lick, Chair; Ed Canane; Betsy Forsham; Samantha Gordon.

Board Members Absent: Doug Sweet

Staff Present: Diane Lander, Town of Sutton Land Use Coordinator

 

Regular Meeting Call to Order and Roll Call

Chairperson Lick called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.  Attendance was taken.

 

Public Hearings:  No applications came before the Board.

New Business:  No New Business came before the Board.

Old Business:  No Old Business came before the Board.

Administrative

Approval of Minutes of the June 20, 2018 meeting.

Corrections:

  • Change “vote Yea” to “vote in favor of.”
  • As in draft minutes (about middle of page 1): Chairperson Lick called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. and called off the names of the Board Members in attendance. Corrected to:Chairperson Lick called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.  Attendance was taken.
  • As in draft minutes (towards the end of page 3):Hearing no further comments or questions …Board Member Forsham stated that, if the Application is approved, the fire and safety and the septic system issues would need to be addressed and that they would be through the required Building Permit application and the Site Plan Review.  And that the NH DES would want a modified septic system design.  She commented that a purely multifamily dwelling makes more sense than a mixture of commercial and residential. Corrected to:Hearing no further comments or questions …Board Member Forsham stated that, if the Application is approved, with conditions, the fire and safety and the septic system issues would need to be addressed and that they would be through the required Building Permit application and the Site Plan Review.  She also noted that the NH DES would want a modified septic system design.  She commented that a purely multifamily dwelling makes more sense than a mixture of commercial and residential.
  • As in draft minutes (towards the top of page 4):

Board Member Gordon … stated that her main concern is that the protective well radius setback to the private well is less than required.

Corrected to:

Board Member Gordon … stated that her main concern is that the protective well radius setback of an overloaded septic system to the private well is less than required.

  • As in draft minutes (about the middle of page 4)

Chairman Lick stated … and written documentation that the Applicant has met all conditions and requirements must be received before, for example, a building permit can be issued.

Corrected to:

Chairman Lick stated … and written documentation that the Applicant has met all conditions and requirements must be received before a building permit can be issued.

  • As in draft minutes (towards the end of page 4):

Discussion:

Why put forth a formal motion and grant approval?  The request meets all 5 criteria for a variance and the change in use is generally a lesser nonconforming use than the existing nonconforming use and the change in use also has less impact on the neighborhood.  Except the fire and safety and septic system issues, but those are included in the motion.

Corrected to:

Discussion:

The Board discussed the application and concluded that, except the fire and safety and septic system issues, which are included in the motion, the request meets all 5 criteria for a variance.  The change in use is generally a lesser nonconforming use than the existing nonconforming use and the change in use also has less impact on the neighborhood.

Motion: Board Member Forsham moved to accept the minutes of the July 10, 2018 meeting as discussed and corrected.  Chairman Lick seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously.

Work Session to discuss ZBA meeting processes/procedures, ZBA board member pre-review of applications procedures, and the content and timing of notices, mailing, postings, etc.

The Board reviewed and discussed the proposed revised ZBA application form.  Additional changes were identified.  Board Member Forsham and the Land Use Coordinator will further revise the application for review and discussion at the next ZBA meeting.

The Board discussed posting Notices of Decision on the Town’s web page and distributing the notice through the “News.”

Motion: Board Member Canane moved that the Town may post ZBA Notices of Decision on the Town’s web site but without distributing the notice through the “News.”  Board Member Forsham seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously.

The Planning Board requested adding a reference to the Zoning Ordinance re: Steep Slopes.  After reviewing the related Articles and Sections of the Zoning Ordinance, the Board decided to add a reference to Article XI at the end of Article II.L.1 but not to add a back reference to Article III.L as the reference is already in Article XI.  Chairman Lick confirmed that adding such a reference will not require a Public Hearing.

As the time was late, the reviewing and discussing the current ZBA Rules of Procedures was postponed until the next ZBA meeting.

 

Correspondence/Final Comments

Board members received copies of the letter from Jeffrey Evans, two letters from the Sutton Board of Selectmen to Sutton residents re: possible Zoning Ordinance violations, and the 2018 Municipal Law Lecture Schedule.

Status updates. Case # Z-18-02:  Mr. and Mrs. West have not started work on converting the office to a bedroom.

Board Members were made aware of the “Plan-link Listserv,” which is an email discussion forum for discussing and sharing information on aspects of land use regulations in NH.

The Board set September 26th at 6:00 p.m. as the next regularly scheduled ZBA meeting.  At this time, the meeting will be an administrative meeting to further review the ZBA application and the current ZBA Rules of Procedure.  The Land Use Coordinator will find out if the Town Hall meeting room is available for that date and time.

 

Adjournment

Motion: There being no further business, Board Member Canane moved to adjourn the meeting.  Board Member Gordon seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously.  The meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Diane M. Lander

Town of Sutton Land Use Coordinator