Pittsfield Zoning Board of Adjustment
Town Hall, 85 Main Street
Pittsfield, NH 03263
Minutes of Public Meeting

DATE: THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2012

ITEM 1. Call to Order at 7:02 P.M. by Carole Dodge, Vice-Chairman

ITEM 2. Roll Call

Members Present:

Carole Dodge introduced herself as Vice-Chairman and noted that this is almost an entirely new member Board.

Carole Dodge (CD), Vice-Chairman, Paul Metcalf, Sr. (PM), John “Pat” Heffernan (PH), Paul Sherwood (PS), Romeo Dubreuil (RB) and Delores Fritz, Recording Secretary.

Members Absent:

Christopher Smith (CS), Alternate.

ITEM 4. Approval of Minutes of June 9, 20122

(PM) Motion to approve Minutes of June 9, 2011. (CD) Second.
Carried 2-0. (RD), (PS), and (PH) Abstain.

ITEM 3. Election of Chair, Vice-Chair and Alternate

(CD) Since we have three new members, perhaps we would all like to offer some information about ourselves.

Paul Sherwood: I am new to the Town, moved here in the fall and am a teacher at the high school. I have sat on the Zoning Board previously in Pembroke for two years, which was an active Board. I originally moved from Manchester and I am trying to become actively involved in the Town.
Carole Dodge: I have been on the Zoning Board for about eight years and Board has also been quite active. We had a good working unit. I have lived in Pittsfield since 1989 though my family has had a farm here since 1783 doing haying, offering horseback riding lessons, etc. I want to give something back to the community and I enjoy doing it this way.

John “Pat” Heffernan: I live in Town and am an electrical contractor. I am a member of Housing Standards Committee and Planning Board. I also want to do something for the community and want to be part of the solution not the problem.

Paul Metcalf, Sr.: I have been on the Board quite a few years. I do some farming in Town and enjoy being on this board.

Romeo Dubreuil: I moved here in February 2011 and have previously been a Building Inspector, Zoning Administrator and currently have a construction company. I have been in the military and have two children. I am currently a member of the Master Plan Committee.

(PM) Motion to nominate Carole Dodge as Chairman and Paul Sherwood as Vice Chairman. (PH) Second. Carried 4-0. (CD) Abstain.

Discussion: (PM) The reason that I nominated you both was because you both have experience. I am hoping that things pick-up in Town.
(CD) We do have an alternate at this time, Christopher Smith, and if you know of anyone please let us know.

ITEM 5. New Business

(CD) I went to the Planning Board meeting the other night and there are possibly a couple of things in the works. The Stagecoach Condominiums might come before the Zoning Board again as they are starting over. Also, a Variance for splitting a piece of property – one side business use and one side residential. Romeo Dubreuil (Board member) is also contemplating a subdivision of a good sized lot.

(CD) In your folders, you will find the revised pages of the Zoning Ordinances (Pages 1-35) as of March 17, 2012. The remaining pages are unchanged.

(CD) There is also a letter regarding the Suncook River referring to someone who is dumping rocks into the river, though the letter is unsigned. (RD) Who would respond to that kind of letter? (CD) The Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer will take care of that. (RD) What about a Noise Ordinance? (CD) That would be the Police Department.

(CD) explained to the Board the “job” of the Zoning Board. (RD) Do we have a Board of Selectmen representative on Zoning? (CD) No, Pat Heffernan is on the Planning Board. (RD) So there is no liaison between the Zoning, Planning and Board of Selectmen? (PH) No, but I will keep the Planning Board and this Board apprised on things happening. (PS) Will the Code Enforcement Officer be present at our Board meetings? (CD) Jesse Pacheco will be present at any meetings as necessary. The Board of Selectmen does not usually get into our business as long as we follow the Zoning Ordinances and RSA’s. (PM) We have been to Court several times and have had no problems. (PS) As long as we follow Zoning Ordinances and part of our job is to do that research. I would like to know more than just walking in on something. (PM) Hearings are all posted and copies put in our folders. (PH) Another resource would be LGC. (CD) Anyone appearing before us would be noticed as well as the abutters. (RD) So we would need to check periodically? (CD) Prior to the hearing, we would get all the information available.

(CD) I would like to make this a good working unit. During our meetings in the past, we have tried to keep it straightforward and avoid any hostility within the crowd. We try to stay on subject and keep things simple. (PS) I have read some of the past Minutes, and the Board is fairly lenient on allowing people to speak for and against something. Do you usually just keep it to the abutters? (CD) Most people who do speak, are abutters and pretty much are those who appear and usually there is no one else here.

(CD) The Board votes on the Criteria and it is up to the Board how we do it. We can vote on them individually or all at once. I would like to vote on the whole thing at once. (RD) Does all the Criteria have to be met? (CD) No, I believe 80%. She explained the process by which she would like to address applications.

(PS) The Zoning Ordinances have been put in place and have been agreed to by the taxpayers. I was surprised after reading the Minutes of the last meeting and Class VI roads. Board discussed living on a Class VI road and knowing your limitations if you want to subdivide. You can always upgrade it to a Class V. It was noted that Waivers can be requested in some instances. (CD) People (taxpayers) often like to give part of their property to their children.

(CD) There is also the factor of the ability to visit the property and this can be done jointly with other Board members as long as a quorum does not exist.

ITEM 7. Public Input

None.

ITEM 8. Adjournment

(PS) Motion to adjourn. (PM) Second. Carried 5-0.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 P.M.

Approved: July 12, 2012

___________________________ ____________________
Carole Dodge, Chairman Date

I hereby certify that these Minutes were recorded on June 14, 2012, transcribed and publicly posted on
June 20, 2012.

______________________________________
Delores A. Fritz, Recording Secretary

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