PLANNING BOARD

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING:

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE ANDOVER ZONING ORDINANCE

FOR THE 2018 BALLOT

Pursuant to NH RSA 675:3 and 675:7 notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Andover Planning Board on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 beginning at 8 PM in the meeting room at the Andover Town Office at 31 School Street, Andover New Hampshire.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comment on proposed amendments to the Andover Zoning Ordinance, as described below. Copies of the complete text for all the amendments are available for review at the Town Office and on the web site.

Article A: Storage Trailers, Storage Containers, Fabric-Covered Garages and Pre-Fabricated Carports.  To see if the Town will vote to amend the Andover Zoning Ordinance by the adoption of Zoning Amendment No. 1, concerning storage trailers, storage containers, fabric-covered garages, and prefabricated carports without a foundation. The following question is proposed for the official ballot: “Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 1 as proposed by the Planning Board for the Town Zoning Ordinance as follows? Amendment No. 1 removes the requirement for obtaining a building permit for storage trailers, storage containers, fabric-covered garages, and prefabricated carports without a foundation, and replaces it with a requirement to register such structures with the Zoning Administrator.”

EXPLANATION:  These structures are becoming more and more common.  The current Zoning Ordinance requires a building permit before erecting them or moving them onto a property, just like any other structure.  However, this requirement has not been enforced. The proposed amendment would replace the building permit requirement with a requirement that these structures be registered with the Zoning Administrator. There would be no fee for registration.  Registration would allow the town to keep track of these structures and to check that they are not placed in violation of setback and height requirements.

Article B: Tiny Houses. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Andover Zoning Ordinance by the adoption of Zoning Amendment No. 2, concerning tiny houses. The following question is proposed for the official ballot:  “Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 2 as proposed by the Planning Board for the Town Zoning Ordinance as follows? Amendment No 2 adds provisions to the Zoning Ordinance so that building permits may be issued for so-called tiny houses in all districts except Village and Forest and Agriculture districts”

EXPLANATION:  The Planning Board has recently had inquiries about constructing so-called tiny houses.  Under the current Zoning Ordinance, new dwellings with a minimum ground floor area of less than four hundred eighty (480) square feet are prohibited. The proposed amendment would allow special exceptions for dwellings smaller than this in all districts except Village and Forest and Agriculture, where the Planning Board feels that they would be incompatible with the character of the village areas or with rural farm and forest landscapes. All other requirements in the ordinance for dwellings would apply.

Article C: No Building on Class VI or Private Roads. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Andover Zoning Ordinance by the adoption of Zoning Amendment No. 3, concerning prohibition of erecting buildings on class VI or private roads. The following question is proposed for the official ballot:  “Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 3 as proposed by the Planning Board for the Town Zoning ordinance as follows? Amendment No 3 adds provisions to the Zoning Ordinance to prohibit erecting buildings with frontage only on class VI or private roads”

EXPLANATION:  State law (RSA 674:41) generally prohibits erecting buildings on lots that do not have frontage on existing Class V or better roads because this creates inappropriate expense, need for municipal services, and risk for the towns.  Amendment No. 3 incorporates this provision explicitly into the Zoning Ordinance.  Because of state law, and also because development on Class VI roads and private roads goes against the Master Plan priorities of preserving our Town’s scenic views and rural character, the Planning Board has consistently opposed such development.  Including this prohibition in the text of the Zoning Ordinance will provide clear direction to the Select Board in administering RSA 674:41, and ensure consistent treatment of future requests to build on Class VI or private roads.

Article D: Purposes of the Zoning Ordinance. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Andover Zoning Ordinance by the adoption of Zoning Amendment No. 4, concerning the purposes of the Zoning Ordinance. . The following question is proposed for the official ballot:  “Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 4 as proposed by the Planning Board for the Town Zoning Ordinance as follows? Amendment No 4 revises and expands the purposes of the Zoning Ordinance in the Preamble to be consistent with state law and to incorporate the Guiding Principles of the Master Plan.”

EXPLANATION:  The stated purposes in the preamble of the Zoning Ordinance are important when town officials, boards, and committees need to interpret the ordinance in order to administer it – for example in granting or denying variances and special exceptions, or reviewing subdivision and commercial site plan proposals. The preamble of the current ordinance has very little substantive language describing its purposes. The proposed amendment would add the purposes allowed in state law as well as the guiding principles of the Master Plan, thereby providing a better basis for interpretation, giving clear, fair and consistent guidance and standards for all decisions that need to be taken by Town officials under the Ordinance.

Article E: Update of the Special Exception Process. To see if the Town will vote to amend the Andover Zoning Ordinance by the adoption of Zoning Amendment No. 5, concerning revisions to the criteria and procedures for reviewing special exceptions. The following question is proposed for the official ballot:  “Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 5 as proposed by the planning board for the Town Zoning ordinance as follows? Amendment No 5 removes the requirement that the Planning Board find a site to be appropriate for the proposed use before the Board of Adjustment can approve a special exception and rewrites the criteria for “additional” (now designated “unlisted”) special exceptions, as well as requiring a finding that all additional criteria are met.

EXPLANATION:  Update of the Special Exception Process.  The proposed revisions fix some longstanding errors and ambiguities in the Board of Adjustment special exception process.  First, the requirement that the Planning Board find a site appropriate before the Board of Adjustment can grant a special exception. Although Planning Board input on special exception requests has often been useful to the Board of Adjustment, the law specifies that the Board of Adjustment alone has the power to decide on special exceptions. The proposed amendment would make the Planning Board’s input on a special exception request advisory only.  Second, the proposed amendment revises the process for “additional” (changed to “unlisted”) special exceptions.  As in the current ordinance, any use in any district may be approved by the Board of Adjustment as an unlisted special exception.  The amendment adds concise criteria, conditions, and safeguards that such an unlisted special exception must meet in order to be approved