ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Belmont Corner Meeting House Belmont, N.H.03220 Members Present: Alternates Present: Alternates Absent: Staff: Chairman Peter Harris; Norma Patten, Pleasant Oberhausen, Linda Couture and Marshall Ford. Ed Hawkins and John Froumy. Mark Mastenbrook (U). Candace Daigle and Elaine Murphy. The chairman opened the meeting at 7p.m. and welcomed the two new alternate members to the Board. Abutters' Hearing Mark & Kristine Roberts: Request for a Special Exception of Article 5 Table 1 of the Zoning Ordinance for an outdoor recreational facility (outdoor function facilities). Property is located at 87 Hackett Road in an R Zone, Tax Lot 238-002, ZBA # 14-11Z. At least three members have viewed the site. Mr. & Mrs. Mark Roberts presented the application. Mr. Roberts explained that they have been approached to have weddings on their property. It is a good area to have these kinds of events. They will be turning the existing building into a banquet support facility with a commercial kitchen, office space and bathroom facility. P. Oberhausen stated that it is a nice area for weddings. He wanted to know if they plan on having this as a side business. Mr. Roberts stated that they plan on using it 4-5 times a year, not every weekend. P. Oberhausen stated it could be used all summer. Mr. Roberts agreed that it could but he doesn t want it to take over their lives. P. Oberhausen stated that the application says that there will be no selling of alcohol but will there be alcohol allowed at the events. Mr. Roberts stated that alcohol will not be allowed. Mrs. Robert stated that there will be no alcohol on the premises. They are not drinkers and they don t want alcohol at the events. P. Oberhausen stated that there will be people coming from different areas and he wanted to know if there will be directional signs. Mr. Robert stated that they will have one on Rte 140 and one by the fence. Minutes Available 4/28/11
BELMONT ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT 2 APRIL 27, 2011 They have the sign permit application but have not submitted it yet. P. Oberhausen wanted Mr. Roberts aware that Belmont has a sign ordinance. Mr. Roberts stated that he is aware of it. P. Harris stated that the Fire Department and Code Enforcement Office have some safety concerns and he wanted to know if Mr. Roberts has talked to them. Mr. Roberts stated that he hasn t talked to them yet. N. Patten wanted to know if they would be limiting the number of people at the events. Mr. Roberts stated not more than 150 people and the events cannot go past 9 pm. L. Couture wanted to clarify that they only wanted 4 or 5 events a year because this is a big undertaking for just a few events. Mr. Roberts agreed it may be more and stated that the building will be for a commercial kitchen in case a caterer wants to use it, an office and bathroom facilities. The kitchen will also be used to make items for the farm stand. L. Couture wanted to know about the heavy equipment on site. Mr. Robert stated that they are in the process of moving it behind the shop. It is a work in progress. J. Froumy wanted to know what they sell at the farm stand. Mrs. Roberts stated that she sells flowers and vegetables. It is a self service stand. J. Froumy wanted to know the source of the produce. Mrs. Roberts stated it is grown on the farm. She also may make preserves and pickles to sell. Mrs. Susan Condodemetraky wanted to know if Hackett Road is that going to be improved. Mr. Roberts stated that they are going to leave it the way it is. Mrs. Condodemetraky wanted to know if the use would accelerate improvements to the road. P. Harris stated that is something that is addressed at the Planning Board level. Tonight they are addressing the criteria for granting a special exception. Those criteria include; is it an allowed use, is the use appropriate for the site, are property values reduced, are there valid objections from abutters, are there nuisance or hazards involved, are there adequate facilities and adequate sewage disposal. Mrs. Condodemetraky wanted to know if there is going to be a separate building. Mr. Roberts stated that they will renovate the existing shed that is between the house and barn. Mrs. Condodemetraky wanted to know if they would have to subdivide the commercial use from the homestead. P. Harris stated that it is an outdoor recreation facility and will not have to be subdivided off from the homestead. Mrs. Condodemetraky stated that with the safeguards in place it will be a wonderful place for a lot of people to hold events. They have a similar facility in Gilmanton and it works well. She wanted to know if the land was in current use. Mr. Roberts stated that it is but not in the area where this is taking place. Mr. George Condodemetraky stated that the area is isolated and is a nice location for something like this. The town needs a function facility. Ms. Susan Taylor stated that it is a beautiful property but she is concerned about the use of alcohol
BELMONT ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT 3 APRIL 27, 2011 and traffic. She is not happy about a lot of traffic on the street. She wanted to know if they are going to have outdoor bands. She works the night shift and is concerned about the noise. Mrs. Robert stated that they have had DJs at events that they have had there in the past. Ms. Taylor stated that it is a rural zone and she enjoys the peace and quiet of the area. Mr. Roberts stated that the business is grandfathered. Ms. Taylor stated that it is a peacefull area and she is not sure how loud the noise is going to be especially if they have an event every weekend. She also stated that some people could bring alcohol to the event even if it is not allowed. Mrs. Roberts stated that if they see it then it will be stopped. Mr. Phil Buckman wanted to know what will happen if they stop the drinking. Will they allow a person that has been drinking to get into a car and drive away or will they get them a cab. He is concerned about the traffic and people driving after they have been drinking. This is a country setting and they are entitled to their peace and quiet. Mrs. Condodemetraky commended the Roberts for making a little income without subdividing the property and putting a lot of houses there. This is a good way to do things. P. Harris stated that they have addressed the nuisance and hazard involved and he wanted to know what the recourse is if a nuisance should arise. C. Daigle stated that if it operated in a different manner than was approved then they could be issued a cease and desist order. The use is allowed in the rural zone and everyone knows there will be an increase in traffic and there will be some noise but no one is no one is guaranteed serenity on their own property. The noise cannot be unreasonable for the permit. If they get a complaint they will look into it. It is always difficult when a commercial use is in a residential area. There are many non-residential uses permitted in the rural zone. The applicant is bound by the representations they made at this public hearing. Mrs. Condodemetraky wanted to know if it going to be seasonal or year round. Mr. Roberts stated that will be in the summer. Mr. Condodemetraky stated that they need to do a comparison with the Loudon Race Track. On a race day when the track gets out you cannot get out of your driveway for two or more hours. 150 cars is minimal compared to that. There are two ways to get off this site and the best way to go is east. Mrs. Condodemetraky stated that it will not be an every day event. Mrs. Roberts stated that not allowing alcohol will cut down on the number of events. P. Oberhausen stated that this proposal is the least of two evils. They could subdivide the property and then you would have more buses and cars using the road every day. The chairman asked if anyone in the audience had any other questions or comments. There being none, he closed the public hearing. P. Harris stated that the large area makes it appropriate for the use. The property values speak for themselves; having an outdoor recreational facility vs. having a housing development. The nuisance and hazard have been addressed with safeguards in place. There is a 9pm time limit on the use, there is space for
BELMONT ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT 4 APRIL 27, 2011 safe parking, there will be no alcohol on the premises and adequate facilities will be provided. P. Oberhausen stated that he wants to add to the condition of approval that no alcohol will be allowed. The application states that no alcohol will be sold on the premises. M. Ford stated that it says alcohol will not be sold but what about it being available at the event. At a wedding alcohol can be used for the toast. Also the caterer can include it with the meal so it is not being sold. Mrs. Roberts stated that they do not want alcohol on the premises. E Hawkins stated that there is a fine balance between approving an application and making it so restrictive that it makes the approval almost null. Completely banning alcohol could be overly restrictive. People have to take responsibility for their life. Alcohol is a reasonable part of life and there are laws on the books that require people to take responsibility for their use of it. Not allowing alcohol at a wedding facility may be overly restrictive and not allow the applicant the use of the property. He addressed the issue of noise and traffic by stating that the town voted down a noise ordinance two years ago so there is no way to define noise levels. The traffic issues have been addressed during the meeting. P. Harris stated that enforcement issues are the Police Department s job. Mr. Condodemetraky stated that when they have had large parties they notified the police who were aware of the situation and were able to monitor it. P. Harris stated that they will be having quality weddings and he would hate to prevent them from having a toast. The hours of operations will be no later than 9 pm. P. Oberhausen reiterated the fact that the application states that there will be no alcohol. Ms. Taylor wanted to clarify the use of alcohol. Mr. Roberts stated that they are not allowing alcohol at these events. There is a big insurance and liability issue involved with allowing alcohol at the events. C. Daigle stated that the Board does not get involved in the insurance and liability requirements. L. Couture added that no sale and no serving covered the alcohol issue. BOARD ACTION MARK & KRISTINE ROBERTS: MOTION: P. Harris moved to grant a Special Exception of Article 5 Table 1 of the Zoning Ordinance for an outdoor recreational facility (outdoor function facilities) as it meets all the criteria 1. The use is allowed in the district. 2. The specific site is appropriate for the use. It is designed appropriately. 3. No factual evidence is found that property values in the district will be reduced. It is an allowed use in the rural zone and is less intrusive than other possible uses. 4. There is no valid objection from abutters based on fact. Abutters concerns were addressed. 5. No nuisance or hazard is involved. The applicant represented that no nuisance or hazard would occur. 6. Adequate and appropriate facilities will be provided. 7. There is adequate sewage disposal. 8. Structures must otherwise meet all dimensional requirements of the Ordinance.
BELMONT ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT 5 APRIL 27, 2011 OTHER BUSINESS: Addition Conditions: 1. Planning Board Site Plan approval required. To include such items as NH DES Septic approval, NH DOT review of plans/intersections onto Gilmanton Road, lighting, parking, etc. 2. Hours of operation not to exceed 9 PM. 3. No serving or sale of alcohol as represented by the applicant. 4. All representations made by the applicant during the public hearing are incorporated as a condition of approval. 5. Approval expires on 4/27/13 if use is not substantially acted on and if an extension is not granted (a single one-year extension may be applied for not less than 30 days prior to the expiration of this original approval). Approval also expires if use ceases for more than two years. The motion was seconded by P. Oberhausen and carried. (5-0) BOARD'S ACTION - MINUTES: MOTION: P. Oberhausen made a motion to approve the minutes of March 23, 2011. M. Ford seconded. Carried (5-0) STAFF REPORT: OEP SPRING CONFERENCE: C. Daigle stated that the annual spring planning and zoning conference is June 11 th at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester. J. Froumy will be attending and anyone else that would like to attend will be reimbursed for the conference and mileage. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: On a motion by P. Oberhausen, seconded by L. Couture, it was voted unanimously to adjourn at 7:45p.m. (5-0). Respectfully submitted, Elaine M. Murphy Administrative Assistant