Minutes
NEWMARKET ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
MARCH 28, 2016
MINUTES
Present: Chris Hawkins (Chairman), Wayne Rosa (Vice Chairman), Diane Hardy (Zoning Administrator), Bob Daigle, Jonathan Kiper, James Drago, Steven Minutelli (Alternate)
Absent: Richard Shelton, Bill Barr (both excused)
Agenda Item #1 – Pledge of Allegiance
Agenda Item #2 – Review & approval of minutes: 02/29/16
Action
Motion: Bob Daigle made a motion they accept the minutes as transmitted
Second: Wayne Rosa
Vote: All in favor
Agenda Item #3 – Regular Business
Election of Officers
Action
Motion: Bob Daigle made a motion to nominate Chris Hawkins for Chairman and Wayne Rosa for Vice Chairman
Second: James Drago
Vote: All in favor
Kyle & Maury Barnett – Continuation of a public hearing for an application for a Variance from Section 3.03(B) of the Newmarket Zoning Ordinance, to permit a second living unit to be added to the existing single-family home, making it a duplex, where the lot’s size is .7 acres and the allowed density in the R3 Zone is 2 units per acre. The property is located at 48 Elm Street, Tax Map U2, Lot 207, R3 Zone.
Chairman Hawkins apologized for the confusion at the last meeting, but the extra time allowed them to clarify the information with the application and they understand it better.
Kyle Barnett stated he didn’t have much more to add to the information in the packet.
Chairman Hawkins stated the record should reflect they had received a very comprehensive packet. This is the applicant’s second time before the Zoning Board. The idea was to add another unit to the existing structure, making it a duplex. Kyle Barnett stated they went for the duplex, because of the square footage allowance.
Chairman Hawkins stated there are a lot of duplexes, triplexes and multi-unit buildings in the area, most of which are on smaller lots than this one.
Chairman Hawkins asked the Board if anyone had questions. There were no questions or comments.
Chairman Hawkins opened the public hearing.
There were no comments.
Chairman Hawkins closed the public hearing.
Bob Daigle stated the lot can definitely support it. It is one of the bigger lots in the area. There are a lot of units around it on much smaller lots, and they are also multi-residential. He thought it was a good use for it.
Motion: Bob Daigle made a motion to approve the Variance based on the information presented by the homeowner in the packet provided and adopt that as the findings of fact
Second: Wayne Rosa
Vote: All in favor
Alexander Capron - Public hearing for an application for a Special Exception from Section 7.03(B), of the Newmarket Zoning Ordinance, to an accessory apartment over the garage. The property is located at 7 Moody Point Drive, Tax Map R2, Lot 39, R1 Zone.
Wayne Rosa recused himself from this application. Chairman Hawkins appointed Steve Minutelli to replace him.
Chairman Hawkins explained the Zoning Board’s procedure to the applicant. He stated they just received some materials today and they have not all had a chance to look at them.
Peter Leavenworth represented the applicant. He stated the owners purchased the property in early January and have been making plans for extensive renovations to the house. The house had been unoccupied for two or three years, while it was on the market. The owners plan to live there part time. They would like to build an accessory apartment over the garage. They would have someone living there as a caretaker. It would be a single bedroom, with an efficiency kitchen.
He stated it is a modern looking house. He provided a before picture and a photo-shopped a rendition of what it would look like. He stated it was kind of crudely done, but it gives an idea of what the architectural shape will be. One of the criteria is for any alteration to be in keeping with the house and neighborhood. He stated the owners are going out of their way to construct the new gable to match the other gables that already exist. They are putting in an extra bath on the second floor that would be attached to the apartment. The apartment would be accessed from the garage and a new vestibule. There will be another addition on the front of the house, by the entry. There is also a door that goes from the apartment to the rest of the house, so the caretaker can easily access it. He stated the Building Official has reviewed the plans and he has heard the intentions of the owners and he had no issues.
He stated the house was built in 1978 and it is referred to a “beach style” or a “deck style” house. The implication is it resembles something that you might find in the south near the water. In keeping with that, there is no insulation in the ceiling. They are going to extensive lengths to bring this up to code. It will be a substantial improvement on the inside and, eventually, on the outside. The windows are being replaced, new flooring, new heating, etc.
He stated the windows drawn in on the photo-shopped copy are just representative. It will look better than that. In his opinion, the addition will make the house look better. Right now, it looks like the house has its back turned to the street.
Chairman Hawkins asked him to step up to the Board’s seating area and invited the audience to come up, if they wished, so he could explain the plan they were looking at they had received earlier that day. Mr. Leavenworth went over the plans and pointed out the room locations and the new areas to be added. They will be adding a fire code sheet rock and door to the garage. He went over the proposed parking.
Chairman Hawkins stated this was 635 sq. ft. that was being added in terms of the accessory apartment. Mr. Leavenworth stated that was correct.
Mr. Leavenworth went over the original and photo-shopped renderings.
Mr. Leavenworth stated some neighbors had asked who the tenants might be and, of course, that is not really up for discussion at this meeting. What the owners have told him was they would prefer looking for graduate students, someone responsible.
Chairman Hawkins opened the public hearing.
Mel Prostkoff, 17 Moody Point Drive, stated, although Professor Capron lives in California, they had met in 1989. He has not seen him since then. He is a responsible person. In terms of the Special Exception, there are seven points that have to be met and the ZBA’s responsibility is to make sure those are adhered to. He stated no one ever really used the front door of the home. It looks like there will be tremendous improvement in the neighborhood, the street appeal, and how the whole house looks, inside and out. It sounds like Mr. Leavenworth is saying the construction will look like it has always been there and that will be good. In terms of precedent, there is already a Special Exception for an accessory apartment at another house on Moody Point Drive. He did not know if that factors into the decision at all. One of the questions that had been raised by another abutter, who could not be here tonight, was as to whether or not the septic system is adequate. Mr. Leavenworth indicated, prior to the purchase, a home inspection had been done that included a septic report. This house will be going from a two bedroom home to a three bedroom home. The question is whether the leach field is adequate and functioning well. This is a pretty quiet neighborhood. Most of the people are elderly or semi-retired. They are not looking for kids revving motorcycles and doing wheelies. They realize they have no control over who becomes a tenant. It is nice to know the new owners will have the type of tenants in keeping with the neighborhood.
Mr. Leavenworth responded to the septic report question. He had a copy of the septic plan. He could not get it to print out today. The finding is there is a 1500 gallon tank and his understanding is, for example, in his own house he has two tanks that are 1800 and he is approved for a five bedroom system. He believes a two bedroom system is the smallest they approve. In his experience, very few people build the smallest system, because it does not cost an awful lot more to make it bigger. The smallest system for two bedrooms is usually six or seven hundred gallons. They did due diligence in trying get records from the Town. The house was built in 1978 and it was right on the cusp of when they started keeping better records of septic installations. There is nothing at the Town. The State digitized records that go back from that timeframe, but they did two searches and were unable to find any records of approval. He does not know who the original installer was. The original builder was Roland Cate. The 1500 gallon tank would indicate it is intended to be a much bigger system than two bedrooms. It is more likely a four bedroom system, which is more than adequate. Test holes were also done around the perimeter of the field and found no evidence of leakage. It is a built up system, six feet out of the ground, away from the road. It was described as being in good shape in 2014. He feels the evidence shows that it is absolutely fine.
There were no further comments and Chairman Hawkins closed the public hearing.
Chairman Hawkins stated, regarding the criteria stating that no exterior changes shall be made to alter the appearance of the structure from the street, it will be an improvement, but it will change the appearance of the building. Diane Hardy stated it will then fit into the character of the neighborhood. Chairman Hawkins stated he wanted to make sure they did not need a variance for this. Diane Hardy stated no. The intent is that it fits into the character of the neighborhood. Chairman Hawkins wanted to make sure, if they act on this, it will be legally effective, with no question about it later, if the property is sold, that this was properly granted.
Chairman Hawkins asked if the parking space requirement was satisfied today or will it be when the additional driveway is added. Mr. Leavenworth was not sure if it was now, but it will be when the driveway is added. The garage is a two-car garage and it has a turnaround where a third one could park out of the way.
Chairman Hawkins stated he would be inclined to grant the Special Exception subject to two conditions, which are submittal of the inspection report for the septic be given to the Building Official and be subject to his approval that the sewage disposal is adequate. Also, this should be subject to adding one additional parking space. Four spaces are needed and there are three today. He felt subject to those two conditions the criteria for the Special Exception were satisfied. Bob Daigle stated it sounds like it. Steve Minutelli stated he agreed. He went over the criteria and all had been met, with the conditions. He read the criterion regarding having no exterior changes. To the extent there will be alterations, they would be positive for the neighborhood and consistent with the character. Whether they are significant is arguable. He had no concerns and there were no objections from the public. As long as the home inspection results are provided the prong regarding water supply and sewage disposal is contained in the record.
Action
Motion: Jonathan Kiper made a motion to find that the criteria for the special exception under the ordinance are satisfied and the application is approved subject to submittal of the sewage system inspection report, which has been referred to the Building Official, so he is satisfied that it is adequate, and also subject to the construction of at least one additional parking space
Second: Bob Daigle
Vote: All in favor
Agenda Item #4 – Other Business
The Annual Spring Conference will be on June 4, agenda to come.
Agenda Item #5 – Adjourn
Action
Motion: Bob Daigle made a motion to adjourn at 7:37 p.m.
Second: James Drago
Vote: All in favor