Zoning Board of Adjustment
Monday/June 28, 2004
Present: Thomas Vannatta (Chair), Ernie Pagragan, Alex Azodi and Tanya McIntire.
Thomas Vannatta called the meeting to order at 7:20p.m.
Mr. Vannatta recommended that Ernie Pagragan assume Charlie Killam’s position as a full ZBA member through March, which was when Mr. Killam’s term was to expire.
Mr. Vannatta made a motion to have Mr. Pagragan assume Charlie Killam’s position. Seconded. All in favor.
Mr. Vannatta recommended that William Cluff assume Ernie Pagragan’s position as an alternate ZBA member through March of 2006.
Mr. Vannatta made a motion to have Mr. Cluff assume Mr. Pagragan’s position. Seconded. All were in favor.
Mr. Vannatta explained that at the last meeting Del Harris was sworn in as an alternate ZBA member and was appointed. He made a motion to appoint Mr. Harris for 1 year as an alternate member. Seconded. All in favor.
The Board reviewed the minutes from April 26, 2004. A motion was made to approve the minutes. Seconded. All were in favor.
The Board Reviewed the minutes from May 24, 2004.
Ms. McIntire said that she did not feel the Mr. Harris’s reason for approving the Variance was a solid reason. She also said that Ms. Soper did not say what she thought the hardship was. Ms. McIntire felt that the Board needed to give reasons for their decisions and they needed to be documented.
Mr. Pagragan said that he felt that hardship and reasonable use were very ambiguous and needed to be looked at on an individual basis.
Mr. Azodi said that the ZBA’s job was to implement the ordinances as they were written, not as they felt they should be written.
Mr. Vannatta said that he was going to hold off on approving the minutes until the next meeting because the members who were at that meeting were not present.
Mr. Vannatta said that he would like the Board members who attended the Planning and Zoning Conference in May to summerize the issues that struck them as most important.
Copies of materials from the conference were distributed to all of the members.
Mr. Azodi said that he went to the conference with very little expectations, but found it to be very enriching and learned a lot.
Mr. Azodi said that he was not aware that 3 or more ZBA member’s could not get together to discuss a case without a public announcement. He was also not aware that only an aggrieved person could appeal a decision.
Mr. Azodi said that he also thought that it was important to include a section in the ordinance to in the event that the ZBA made a mistake.
Mr. Azodi said that he thought that it would be helpful for the Board to review the materials that were passed out and then discuss them in detail at a later date.
Mr. Vannatta agreed.
Mrs. McIntire said that she created a chart to help the applicant determine what zone they were in to help answer the question “What do you expect from the applicant?” She felt that having this would help the person understand what they need to do to prepare for the hearing.
Mr. Azodi said that he was not aware that the Board should notify other Towns if they felt a case was of regional impact.
Mrs. McIntire asked who made the decision as to whether something was of regional impact or not.
Mr. Vannatta said that the Board could decide ahead of time what would be considered regional impact.
Mr. Azodi said that he felt that the Board should invite one of these speakers to come in and talk to the Board.
Mr. Vannatta said that that was a good idea, but the Board needed to have specific questions prepared.
Mr. Vannatta asked if any other Board members who attended the conference wanted to add anything that had not been discussed.
Mrs. McIntire said that Mr. Azodi touched on most of the issues that she wanted to comment on.
Mr. Cluff said that the most important thing that he took away from the conference was the importance of documentation as to why an application was approved or denied.
Mr. Pagragan said that he was interested in the project that Mrs. McIntire was working on.
Mr. Vannatta asked if Mrs. McIntire and Mr. Pagragan wanted to form a subcommittee and work on the project together. They could draft a proposal for the Board to review.
Mrs. McIntire and Mr. Pagragan agreed to work on that project together.
Mr. Vannatta said that he had one last comment. He said that Bill Weiler had sent him an email from Benjamin Frost saying that there was a recent case at the end of May where it was established that financial hardship could be considered a hardship. He said that he would make copies for the Board.
A motion was made to adjourn. Seconded. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lacy L. Cluff
Land Use Board Assistant
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