Roll Call: Present: Board members: Chair Jan Galloway-Leclerc, Vice-Chair Dave Edkins, Clerk Tom Murray, Pauline Barnes. Alternates: Don Sellarole, Myra Mansouri, Carolyn Vose. Absent: Board member Tom Winmill. Alternate: Shane O’Keefe. Also at the meeting were Jessi Dussault, Griffin Dussault, Fritze Till, Steven Wiley, Stacey Frost, Recording Secretary Marilou Blaine.
Called to order: Ms. Galloway-Leclerc called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Alternate Don Sellarole was asked to fill in for the absent board member and he agreed.
Review of Minutes of July 2023: Mr. Edkins made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Barnes seconded the motion and the motion carried.
Review of Nonpublic Minutes of July 2023: These minutes were not sealed. Mr. Edkins made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Barnes seconded the motion and the motion carried.
Old Business:
Public Hearing for a Special Exception: Dussault Property Management LLC, Jessi Dussault, wants to put three apartments in former Head Start School. The building is the carriage house adjacent to the Drewsville Mansion, 4 Common Road, Drewsville. Tax Map 25, Lot 28, Residential B.
Ms. Dussault explained her project to the board and the public. She said she grew up in Acworth and currently lives in Langdon. She and her husband own many multi-family properties in the Fall Mountain area and feel there is a strong need for residential homes in the area, more so than commercial property. They purchased the Drewsville Mansion property and it has five apartments in the main building that were already rented. They are planning on putting three more apartments in the other building on the property, which was a carriage house for the main property in the 1800s. But that was renovated several years ago for a Head Start School.
Ms. Barnes was concerned that this project may not conform to the ordinance in Residential B for a Special Exception, which states that “Conversion of existing larger homes to multi-family dwellings may be allowed by Special Exception from the Board of Adjustment provided the Board determines that following conditions are met.” She said this was a school not a house. Mr. Edkins said he felt it should be allowed to qualify for a Special Exception because it is an accessory building to the main house. Ms. Leclerc asked Ms. Dussault if she had spoken with Zoning Coordinator Ernie Vose. She said yes she had and that this was the ordinance he suggested. Ms. Barnes acquiesced so the hearing continued.
Ms. Dussault explained that the plans for the first floor are to split the building right down the middle. There are already two entryways to the first floor, one from each side of the building. These units will need walls, plumbing and a kitchen. They intend to remove the large window in the front of the building and put in two smaller ones.
She said there is ample parking with 18 spaces, two for each apartment plus two extra. The spaces are all over the property. For example, in the main house the two apartments near the pond have entries from that side of the building so there is parking near that entryway. There are a couple of spaces at the back of the house and the rest is on the south side of the circular driveway.
Ms. Mansouri asked her if she was going to put in lines for parking to delineate each space. She said yes.
Abutter Fritze Till introduced herself and said one of her concerns was with the dumpster. In a letter to the Board she said the dumpster “is approximately 10-feet-by-12 feet from my property line. Noise, smell, cans left out, liquids poured on the ground.” She was also concerned that other people would put their trash in the dumpster, it would overflow and cause other problems. Mr. Wiley’s letter also mentioned the dumpster. He said the dumpster was parked near his neighbor’s house “and sits roughly 10 feet from Ms. Till’s dining room window and well over 120 feet from the building it serves.” Ms. Dussault said she was moving the dumpster closer to the main house where there is a spot it would fit by the electric meters on the west side of the building. Also, The Dussaults said if any of these problems did occur, they could put a lock on the dumpster so it could only be used by tenants.
Mr. Dussault said the building now has its own well and no longer gets its water from an aquifer as many other houses in the neighborhood do. When the carriage house became a school, the well was required by the state when it became a Head Start School. Also, the septic system is being expanded and it will be pumped once a year. Regarding lighting, Ms. Dussault said it will be at the corners of the building, angled downward and be a motion-detector type of lighting.
The basement wall on the pond side is rotting and needs to be replaced, Mr. Dussault said. He intends to widen the door to that apartment and add two egress windows in the bedroom, which is in the front of the apartment across from the kitchen and near the pond.
Ms. Dussault said that their properties are only in the Fall Mountain area so she is available to tenants if there are any problems. She plans carefully to whom she rents an apartment. For example, she mentioned a property where the apartments are larger and have families with children. She wouldn’t consider putting a tenant who wanted peace and quiet in one of those apartments. It would be a bad fit. She agreed to put in a buffer to shield Mr. Wiley from the car headlights and shared her cell phone number with Ms. Till and Mr. Wiley and will give them a copy of the lease.
Ms. Galloway-Leclerc asked if there was a motion to close the public hearing. Mr. Edkins made a motion to close the public hearing. Ms. Barnes seconded the motion and the motion carried.
Mr. Edkins then went through the four criteria of a Special Exception and commented on each one concluding that the Head Start school was a good fit for the proposed use, that there was adequate off-street parking, that the Dussaults had no plan to change the exterior of the historic building and that the Planning Board had approved the project at it August meeting with one condition.
Here is the application and responses from Ms. Dussault.
Appeal For Special Exception: Residential A or B Zone.
Conversion of existing larger homes to multi-family dwellings may be allowed by Special Exception from the Board of Adjustment provided the Board determines that following conditions are met:
A. The property is suitable to accommodate multi-family without adversely affecting the area.
Correct. The existing floor plan is ideal to convert to multi units.
B. Adequate off-street parking is available.
Correct. There are multiple parking spots already in place due to the needs of the school previously used there.
C. The exterior architectural appearance and/or size of the structure shall not be substantially altered.
Correct. We plan to keep the aesthetics of the exterior building intact, only making repairs and improvements as needed to preserve the building.
D. The property has received Site Plan approval from the Planning Board.
Correct. Date of Public Hearing 08/08/2023.
Ms. Barnes said she was comfortable with the term that it is an accessory building to the main home. She too agreed that there is adequate off-street parking and that nothing that was planned would be detrimental to the architectural appearance of the historic carriage house. And the Planning Board did approve the project subject to Fire Chief Mark Houghton’s approval.
Mr. Edkins made a motion to approve the Special Exception as presented. Ms. Barnes seconded the motion and the motion carried.
Maps: Dates of Pinnacleview and Dearborn Circle on map in Town Offices. Recording Secretary.
These dates will be added to Zoning Ordinance.
Pinnacleview Equipment: Tax Map12, Lot 11
March 1991 – extend commercial zone 500 feet towards Connecticut River.
Dearborn Circle and Burrows Lane; Tax Map 12 , 23 lots
February 12, 1989 Residential Lots established in Commercial District.
March, 2007 Change lots from Commercial to Residential B District.
March 2019 Lots 55-5 and 55-12 on Ames Plaza Lane changed back to Commercial District.
Discuss: New Web site and what to included on the Web site. Applications, Bylaws, etc . Look at Hanover site.
Ms. Galloway-Leclerc sent the board information to be included on the new web site, It included fees and applications, a photo of gazebo on The Common, Bylaws and an overview of zoning board duties, members, etc.
Ms. Barnes explained how difficult it was for her to find reference to the Zoning Board, which is very deep on the current web site. On the front page of the Hanover web site, information on all boards is easily accessible under the title government. She also thought links to sites or further information should be added and would clarify and make things easier for the applicant. Ms. Vose said the board should view this site from the perspective of a lay person and make it as user-friendly as possible.
Visit to Select Board
Ms. Galloway-Leclerc and Mr. Edkins visited the Select Board last month to discuss having a Zoning Administrator and who should handle questions about applications and processes. After the meeting Select Board member Mr. Steve Dalessio sent a query to the NH Municipal Association. Here is what it said.
Mr. Dalessio’s query.
“Recently we had a question regarding Zoning. The Town of Walpole does not have a Zoning Administrator. In the past, the ZBA would handle all zoning questions and matters. This practice has been challenged by several ZBA members.
The questions are:
“If the town does not have a zoning administrator, who administers zoning matters?
“Can the Select Board delegate this authority to the ZBA?”
The Municipal Association’s answer was:
“Hello Steve,
The role of the ZBA is restricted to interpreting zoning ordinances and granting relief under the ordinance. They are not an enforcement agency. I am assuming that by zoning administrator you are referring to someone to enforce the provisions of the zoning ordinance. If you do not have someone filling this position, this duty falls to the select board and cannot be delegated to the ZBA.”
Adjournment
Mr Murray made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Edkins seconded the motion and the motion carried.
The minutes of this meeting are unapproved. They will be reviewed at the September meeting for corrections, additions and omissions.
Respectfully submitted,
Marilou Blaine
ZBA Recording Secretary
The Walpolean 
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