Thank you Marilou Blaine for being so prompt with getting these minutes to me. We all recognize that they are unapproved until the following month and can keep that in mind as we await apporval in a month. – Lil

Walpole Zoning Board of Adjustment

Minutes: August 20, 2014

 

Present: Board Members: Chair Myra Mansouri, Vice-Chair Peggy Pschirrer, Clerk Ernie Vose, Jan Galloway Le Clerc, Mary Therese Lester.

Alternates: Stephanie Stoughton, Bob Anderson.

Absent: Board Member Judy Trow.

Roll Call: Ms. Mansouri called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

Minutes: The minutes were accepted with two minor corrections.  Also, Mr. Ray Boas pointed out that the Costume Ladies is owned solely by Barbara Kasper.

Public Hearing No. 1  – An Expansion of a Non-conforming Use – Article X, Part D of the Walpole Ordinance, for Map 20, Lot 52. The owners of the former American Legion building propose to relocate the Costume Ladies business at 54 Main Street into that building. 

Mr. Vose asked to be recused because he and one of the abutters at the hearing, David Adams, served on several boards together. Ms. Mansouri asked Alternate Mr. Anderson to step in for Mr. Vose. He agreed.

Ms. Pschirrer made a motion to accept the application as complete. The motion was seconded and the board voted to do so.

Ms. Mansouri informed the applicants that Walpole Planning Board chairman, Jeff Miller, informed her that the petitioners need to have a site plan review because the project is in a nonresidential development and repairs and upgrades to the building will exceed $10,000. Ms. Mansouri said the owners may choose to wait until next month to have the public hearing, after a visit to the Planning Board for a site plan review, or they can decided to go ahead with it at this meeting. They decided to go ahead.

Mr. Ray Boas explained that in mid-July he, Lynne Rollins-Kinnier and Barbara Kasper had purchased the former American Legion building at 73 Main St. He outlined the changes to the building. They will include:

The main entrance to the building will be from the back because that is where the current parking lot is.

The concrete walkway and steps in the front will be removed and replaced by grass.

The porch area will be expanded 5 feet. This will be the emergency exit that will face west. He     added that this is 36 feet from the lot line, which is still an acceptable limit for a commercial property.

The American Legion sign will come down and a sign and the name of the business will be         mounted in the same spot.

The flagpole is going to stay because the owners all have a military background.

The little monument at the front of the flagpole will eventually be moved to The Common.

Ms. Mansouri asked if the board had any questions. Ms. Pschirrer asked about the distance from the building to the sidewalk. Mr. Boas said he hadn’t measured it but guessed it would be seven or eight feet.

Ms. Lester asked about the width of the emergency stairs. Mr. Boas answered whatever is code.

Ms. Pschirrer asked about the parking lot. Mr. Boas responded that it will remain the same. It is unpaved and hard pan. The drive is gravel and hard pan.

Ms. Lester asked about the ramp entry at the back. Mr. Boas responded that it was designed to make it easier to move racks of garments into and out of the building. It will have a slope of about three inches and the door will be 36 inches wide.

With no further questions from the board, Ms. Mansouri then opened the questioning to the public. Mr. James Brunelle of 75 Main Street said he had been asked to be spokesperson for the group of abutters. Mr. Brunelle said he had been a resident for 28 years and he and his wife bought their home next to the Legion after they learned it was a dry Legion. Through the years they have had a good working relationship. The couple was aware that their property was zoned commercial, but the neighborhood is mainly residential.

In the last two years there was an awareness that the Legion had  financial problem so there was the probability that the building would be sold, Mr. Brunelle said.  He said an apartment building or some other business could have gone in there, but the neighborhood was happy with the choice of Costume Ladies. Over the last month, abutters were given an opportunity to see the renovations and given a tour of the property as a good will gesture from the owners and the group appreciated it.

However, Mr. Brunelle said, the neighbors have concerns about the request to expand the front of the building and have a three-sided display. The display the business currently has is flat to the wall. A three-sided display will make it more obvious to the neighbors near the building, Mr. Brunelle said. The problem is aesthetics and other businesses in town have displays with a flat window.

Two other concerns are about the future use of the building if the owners want to sell and snow – there are very few places to put it.

Neighbors were concerned about property values and resale and were not sure how having a business in the neighborhood would affect them.

Mr. Brunelle concluded by saying he was happy that this particular business was moving into the building compared to other possible choices.

Ms. Jane Vesper read a letter from an abutter, Felicia Phillips, with whom she owns the property at 69 Main Street. Her letter had several concerns regarding the request for a variance from the new owners of the American Legion. Many concerns have already been stated by Mr. Brunelle. They are:

That the new showcase will be the first thing that people coming into the village will notice.

Public safety during the winter when snow makes walking on the sidewalks treacherous and         exiting from driveways dangerous on such a busy street.

An expansion/enlargement will negatively affect property values.

What will be displayed in the proposed showcase window?

What happens if and when the business is sold?

Next to speak was Mr. David Adams, 67 Main Street.  Mr. Adams said that he invited everyone in the room to sit on his lawn and watch the race of cars that begins just after turning the corner at Edward Jones. “That the starting line,” he said. Mr. Adams said the town doesn’t need another distraction on that road because drivers are already distracted. The speed limit is 25 mph but nobody abides by it. More traffic exiting from driveways on that road is a hazard

Ms. Carol Fabis who lives at 15 Elm Street was next to speak. She wanted a further explanation of the expansion. Mr. Boas repeated that the expansion is to the porch and will be 5 feet toward the west. Then Ms. Fabis wanted to know the size of the windows. She estimated each to be about three feet wide.

Mr. Boas said the existing porch is 8 feet and the addition is 5 feet. Allowing for corner, pillar and center posts, you are down to about 10 feet, so the windows are about 3 feet. Ms. Fabis said she would prefer a flat window and would like it centered. Mr. Boas responded that is not what exists now – the current porch is to the left of the building as you face the building.

Ms. Fabis wanted to know about delivery trucks because it would be difficult for big trucks to get in and out of the driveway. Ms. Kasper said it would be UPS and FEDEX trucks.

Mr. Bill Borchers of 1 Rogers Street spoke next. He said he had several reasons for protesting a zoning variance for Costume Ladies. They were:

A business would alter the essential character of the neighborhood. He said right now you can go down the street and see white residential, white residential, white building etc. Now you’re going to see a five-paneled showcase window – one  window on both ends and three in the middle that are going to be eye-catching. So it does alter the neighborhood.

A business would negatively affect the neighborhood property values. We will look across the street and instead of seeing a building with a white porch, there is a big display window.

The change will affect the health and safety of people in the neighborhood especially considering how the snow is handled on that side of the road.

The scale of the project is extensive. The size of the porch is being doubled and ten times the amount of the glass. It’s a major alteration to the look of the building.

Is there a sufficient economic burden on the applicants to justify the variance? The applicants can run their business without the addition.

The change in use is not something desired by the neighborhood.

Mr. David Ashton was the last to speak. He and his wife live directly across the street from the Legion building and his concern was that there was already very heavy traffic including big rigs. His second concern was that their bedroom window looked straight into the building across the street and into the display windows. He wondered how late the lights would be on. Mr. Ashton continued that it was commonplace in many villages of this size to have lights out at 10 p.m..

At this point Ms. Mansouri asked for and got a motion to close the public hearing.

Ms. Pschirrer asked for a copy of the application and the public notice that was sent to the abutters. After reading the notice she said that there had been a point of confusion. The discussion tonight concerns both an expansion and a variance. We voted last month at our meeting to hold a hearing for an Expansion of a Non-conforming Use not a variance. Usually it’s one or the other – not both. A Non-conforming Use is quite different than a variance. In this discussion we are not all talking about the same thing. To correct this we have to have a re-notice of what’s being proposed. Ms. Pschirrer suggested that the applicants go to the Site Plan Review, then come back for a rehearing.

The applicants did fill out the form for an Expansion of a Non-conforming Use correctly. The error is with the public notice.  A motion was made to have a rehearing next month. Mr. Anderson seconded the motion. Ms. Pschirrer amended the motion to waive all cost for the applicants. And the motion was passed unanimously by the board. Mr. Vose came back on the board and Mr. Anderson stepped down.

New business:

Sign Request at Route 12 and Upper Walpole Road:

Mr. Mark Sobel of 1^st US Realty sent a Sign Review Information Form requesting a free-standing , double-sided 3-foot-wide-by-4.5-foot- tall sign advertising land on the corner of Route 12 and Upper Walpole Road for sale or lease. Mr. Sobel checked with Mr. Kevin Belanger at NH Department of Transportation about the placement, which  he said was 75 feet from the middle of  Route 12.

Since the form and sign conformed to the Walpole Zoning Ordinances, Mr. Vose made a motion to accept the request. Ms. Lester seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously by the board.

Filing Fee Increase: Since there has been an increase in cost to pay for a Legal Notice, the board considered how much it should raise the Filing Fee. It is currently $75.00. Legal notice costs now are about $80.00 to $90.00 for each hearing. The board voted to approve an increase to $100.00 for a filing fee for Expansions of a Non-conforming Use, Changes of Non-conforming Use and an Appeal for a Variance to $100.00. The cost for a hearing for a sign will remain at $75.00. The cost per abutter for a return-receipt certified letter will remain at $7.00.

Other business:

Site Review Regulations: Ms. Mansouri asked the secretary to make copies of the Site Plan Review Regulations for the board members and alternates. The secretary will make hard copies for everyone and send Mr. Vose an electronic copy.

Letter to the Selectboard: Ms. Mansouri has been approached by several people regarding property at Lower Main Street and Maplewood Circle – Town Map 24 Lot 14 – that may be being used as a junkyard. People told Ms. Mansouri they saw multiple unregistered cars and car parts at the site. Only two unregistered vehicles are allowed on a property. The Selectboard is the only authorized body that can do anything if there is a problem.

Ms. Mansouri asked the secretary to write a letter to the selectboard that can be presented to them on Thursday evening, the next evening after their meeting, alerting them to the problem.

New sign at North Meadow Plaza: Ms. Mansouri received a call from someone at C&S signs in Londonderry saying they want to put up a 22-inch-by-10-foot sign in the area next to Ocean State Job Lot. The sign will be more than 100 feet from the NH State Liquor Store but only 68 feet from the Ocean State sign. The sign ordinance requires a special exception between two signs that are not 100 feet apart. The secretary will arrange this with the sign company.

The board adjourned the meeting at 9 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine, secretary