February 15, 2023 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH 03221 ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Draft Meeting Minutes Wednesday February 15, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. Call to Order: Chair Lick called the meeting to order at 7:00pm and noted that there was a quorum. He then took roll. Roll Call: Derek Lick (Chair), Sam Gordon, Marc Beauchemin (alternate), Zachary Brock, Betsy Forsham Others Present: Peter Stanley, LUC, Kristy Heath, Recording Secretary, Dan Fifield, Hunter Fifield, Kaitlin Fifield, Henry Marcy, John R. Davis, Robert Stuart, Robert O’Neil, Jacob O’Neil, Diane O’Neil Public Hearings: Case ZBA 2023-01 – Concerning a request by John R. Davis, 113 Morse Lane, Warner NH 03278, Map/Lot 01-516-086, represented by Robert Stuart of RCS Designs, 162 E Main St, Bradford, NH 03221, to appeal an administrative decision by Peter Stanley, Sutton Planning and Zoning Administrator, regarding the depth of a wetland buffer bordering the Warner River on the Applicant’s property. Bob Stewart from RCS Design was there, representing the owner, John Davis. Peter Stanley said the applicant is proposing to subdivide a property that lies along the Warner River, Route 103 and abuts the Warner town line. The parcel includes land on both side of Route 103. To subdivide, they need to determine if there is enough acreage to make a new, buildable lot. Wetlands and wetland buffers cannot count towards the acreage size in a subdivision. Peter referred to a map, showing the buffer along the Warner River which is the area in question. Peter also showed the table of the wetland buffers from the zoning ordinance. The buffer from a building that is built prior to 2006 is 25’. For other non-agricultural uses, the buffer is 125’. The Town attorney advised Peter Stanley that either buffer may be used. Peter said he was inclined to use the stricter buffer and the applicant was there to argue this decision. The applicant feels that a 125’ buffer would be too much and if that was required, it would be practically impossible to subdivide the property. Bob said the property, bisected by the road, is considered as one lot of record. Most towns he works in do not follow this rule and they would be two lots of record; the road is a natural subdivision line. He explained that Mr. Davis would like to settle an estate by subdividing this property. The new lot that he would like to subdivide from the lot that currently has a home on it is 3.25 acres in size. He showed on the map where the septic would go and where the wetlands were delineated on the proposed new lot. The house on the other side of the road was built prior to the wetlands ordinance so has a 25’ setback from brooks, rivers and streams. If he uses this buffer for the rest of the property, he would be OK to subdivide and have enough land to do so. Chair Lick reasoned that the lot that they are proposing to keep, as it sits, is two acres in size if the 25’ setback is used. If they use the 125’ setback, there isn’t enough space to subdivide and have another buildable lot. Bob confirmed that this was the issue. Chair Lick understood that the new lot, once subdivided, would have a 125’ setback. Bob agreed. He said this would all be subject to DES subdivision approval because the lots are less than five acres in size. Bob said he understood the Town’s position but this was a gray area that probably doesn’t usually come up often. Chair Lick said that a subdivision requires at least two-acre lots, and wetlands cannot count towards the buildable space of the lot. Peter said that the Zoning Board is charged with determining whether or not the stricter rule makes sense. Sam thought it made sense to make the new lot adhere to the 125’ setback. The lot with the existing house could remain with a 25’ setback. There were no questions or comments from the audience. Peter said he had a call from an abutter who was going to come to the meeting. They didn’t have a comment to share but were also not present at the meeting. Chair Lick asked the Board to deliberate. Zachary said that he didn’t have a problem with the subdivision to happen as long as the new lot would adhere to the 125’ setback. Peter said the setback on a residential use for the new lot would actually be 75’. Sam didn’t have any other comments or questions. Marc said he didn’t have a problem with the proposal. Betsy said she agreed; a developed lot before the zoning regulations were in effect makes it OK in her eyes to be subdivided, and create the new lot with the 75’ setback. Chair Lick agreed, given what is on the current lot. It was moved by Sam Gordan and seconded by Zachary Brock to grant the administrative appeal and determine that it would be a 25’ setback, not a 125’ setback for the subdivision, as proposed by the applicant. The motion was approved unanimously. Case ZBA 2023-02 – Concerning a request by Henry & Paula Marcy, 88 Winslow Road, Map/Lot 10-082-200, for a Special Exception, as permitted by Article IV, Section B, 2, to allow an Attached Accessory Dwelling Unit over an existing, attached garage. Henry Marcy was present and said they moved into the house three years ago. They would like to create a dwelling unit for his mother-in-law who is 84 years old above their garage. Chair Lick thanked Mr. Marcy for the informative packet of information he provided to the Board. He asked the Board if they had any questions. Zachary had no questions. Sam asked why this application required a Special Exception. Peter said it was because it was an accessory dwelling unit. Marc had no questions. Betsy asked how many bedrooms the current septic system was approved for. Mr. Marcy said it is a 1,250-gallon tank and they have three bedrooms currently. Sam said that this tank size is suitable for a four-bedroom septic. Peter said that the tank is sufficient, but the field may not be. Peter said that if the application is approved, they should make that approval contingent upon meeting the minimum septic requirements. If the septic size is not sufficient, the owners would need to get a new design made, but it wouldn’t have to be built unless something went wrong and the current system failed. He offered that the owner should find out if the septic system is sufficient and if so, they wouldn’t need to do anything more. When asked, Mr. Marcy said that the apartment is about 530sq’. Chair Lick closed the public portion of the hearing and asked the Board to deliberate. Zachary didn’t have any questions. Neither did Sam or Marc. Betsy was fine with the plan. Chair Lick said this is exactly what the ordinance is designed for and he welcomed the proposal. It was moved by Betsy Forsham and seconded by Zachary Brock to approve the special exception with the condition that it meet the minimum septic requirements for a four-bedroom dwelling. The motion was approved unanimously. Case ZBA 2023-03 & 04 – Concerning a request by Jacob & Wade O’Neil, 102 Main Street, Bradford, NH 03221, regarding property on Johnson Hill Road in South Sutton, Map/Lot 02-508-408, for a ZONING VARIANCE to permit a Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit that exceeds the maximum size of 750SF permitted by Article XV of the Sutton Zoning and Building Ordinance, and for a SPECIAL EXCEPTION to approve a Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit, as permitted by Article IV, Section B, 3 of the Sutton Zoning and Building Ordinance. Peter said that there was a problem with Sutton’s Zoning Ordinance; they adopted it in 2016. In 2017, the State changed its regulations regarding accessory dwelling units to provide that they cannot limit the size of the dwelling unit to 750sq’. The applicant’s first step was to get a variance approved. However, this is no longer needed. He suggested that the variance application be withdrawn and the special exception then be requested. The applicant agreed to withdraw his application for a variance and continue with the request for a special exception. Jacob O’Neill was there to represent himself and his brother. They are trying to build two houses on the lot on Johnson Hill Road. One will be classified as a detached accessory dwelling unit, which would be 38% of the larger building. He understood there had been some questions about the dimensions of the building. Peter said the proposal meets the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, which is that the accessory dwelling is no more than 40% of the primary dwelling unit. Peter said this is a new house with an accessory dwelling unit. Jacob said that they will have separate septic systems but they hope to share the same well. Peter said they have to get a septic permit before they can get a building permit. Chair Lick asked the Board if they had any questions. Zach said it was a beautiful neighborhood and design. Neither Sam nor Marc had any questions. Betsy asked where the houses would be situated. Jacob explained where on the property he and his brother planned to build their homes. Chair Lick asked for comments from the crowd. There were none. The public comment portion of the meeting was closed. Chair Lick asked the Board to deliberate. Zach, Sam, Marc and Betsy had no issues. It was moved by Sam Gordan and seconded by Marc Beauchemin to approve the special exception as requested by the applicant. The motion was approved unanimously. Meeting Minutes: Review and approve minutes of the 11/16/22 ZBA meeting. It was moved by Derek Lick and seconded by Marc Beauchemin to approve the minutes of November 16, 2022 as circulated. The motion was approved unanimously. Administrative: Peter said that the March meeting would need to be moved to another date to avoid Town Meeting. The date was changed to March 22, 2023 at 7:00pm. It was moved by Derek Lick and seconded by Betsy Forsham to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m. The motion was approved unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Kristy Heath, Recording Secretary Town of Sutton