Zoning Board of Adjustments
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
APPROVED MEETING MINUTES
March 30th, 2021
Public Hearing/Meeting
Members & Staff Present:
Shelley Nelkens (Member), Diane Kendall (Chair), Christopher Parks (Member), Janet McEwen (Member), Bob Holmes (Vice Chair), Carol Ogilvie (Planning Consultant participating by Zoom), and Ashley Brudnick-Destromp (Assistant)
Absent:
Public Attendees: Tom Davis (BOS via Zoom)
*Due to COVID-19 this meeting was conducted with social distancing and also made available to public access via Zoom*
Opening of Meeting: Chair Kendall opened the meeting at 7:00 PM
Roll Call Vote for Attendance: There was no Roll Call taken.
Ms. McEwen mentioned that Ms. Nelkens still needs to be appointed by the BOS. For this meeting, Ms. Nelkens can participate but will not be voting.
- Review Current By Laws and Rules of Procedure
Chair Kendall opened the review of the Rules of Procedure and asked if anyone had comments. Mr. Holmes wanted to discuss Section 7.8.1 of the bylaws in regards to how the Board currently gives an applicant the option to reschedule if a full Board of 5 is not available the night of their Public Hearing. It was determined after consulting with Ms. Ogilvie that this is a law, and that the Board has to give this option to each applicant if there is not a full Board present which they have consistently done so far.
The Board briefly discussed Section 7.12 regarding the method of voting on variances. This opened up into a discussion on how the Board currently does the voting (discusses each criterion in order one at a time and then takes a final vote after they have discussed all 5 criteria if the variance should be granted or not.) The other option is to vote on each criterion one at a time. Mr. Parks mentioned on how if it is not a legal requirement to vote on each criteria why change it. All Board members offered input on this topic, and Ms. Ogilvie explained that there is no legal obligation to do so however most attorneys would advise that the criteria are discussed and evaluated so that there is written documentation of it within the minutes as to how and why the Board came to their decisions. Mr. Holmes inquired that if they did choose to go the route of voting on each criterion one at a time, if the Board would have to continue if one of the criteria did not pass. Ms. Ogilvie advised the Board would still need to vote on all 5 criteria and then the final vote, as some Board members might change their minds. Ms. Ogilvie explained that the method of voting was decided in 2019 because a State Law was created that said the ZBA had to choose how they would be voting and keep it consistent for all applications. After further discussion Chair Kendall asked the Board if anyone wanted to make a motion, there was no response. Chair Kendall added in the future she would work on explaining the deliberation process to the Public so they have a full understanding of what is going on.
Motion: At 7:31PM Ms. McEwen made a motion to change the meeting end time from 10:30 PM to 9:30 PM the latest.
Mr. Davis asked to speak as the Board was mentioning how the BOS had just recently changed their meeting start time from 7 PM to 6 PM and clarified that they made that decision but it does not necessarily mean they end earlier.
At 7:33 PM Ms. McEwen withdrew her motion. She added that traditionally the meetings have begun at 7:00 PM and should continue to do so in her opinion. Others agreed.
The Chair asked if anyone wanted to make a motion to change the start time of the meetings, there was no response.
Motion: At 7:34 PM Ms. McEwen made a motion to change the meeting end time from 10:30 PM to 9:30 PM in Section 7.11, at 7:34 PM Mr. Holmes seconded it.
Discussion: Mr. Davis asked to speak. Chair Kendall let him talk. Mr. Davis started talking about how he did not think ending the meeting by 9:30 PM was fair to applicants because some of them pay to have attorneys and specialists there to speak on the application. As Mr. Davis was talking Ms. McEwen asked if Mr. Davis was ex officio to the ZBA. The Assistant informed her that there is no ex officio to the ZBA, just Planning Board. Ms. McEwen then asked the Chair for point of order. Chair Kendall informed Mr. Davis that the Board needed to continue and that there would be no more comments from him. Mr. Davis stopped talking about the end time of the meeting and said he just wanted to remind the Board that the BOS are the ones who appoint ZBA members.
Roll Call Vote: Diane Kendall, “Aye,” Bob Holmes, “Aye,” Christopher Parks, “Aye,” and Janet McEwen, “Aye,”
The Motion PASSED
The Board discussed Public Hearings that need to be rescheduled due to inclement weather. The Assistant said she can do the same thing she does for Planning Board now during the winter and can post notices with the regular date as well as a rescheduled date if there is inclement weather.
Mr. Holmes brought up Section 20 “the Waiver Clause,” and how he felt it should have the date in it. There was a discussion between the Board and Ms. Ogilvie on this. Ms. Ogilvie said the language currently used is pretty standard but if the Board wanted to add “temporarily,” as they had been discussing she sees no issue.
Motion: At 7:48 PM Mr. Holmes made a motion to amend Section 20 to add the word “temporarily,” before the word “waive.” At 749 PM Mr. Parks seconded it.
Roll Call Vote: Diane Kendall, “No,” Bob Holmes, “Aye,” Christopher Parks, “Aye,” and Janet McEwen, “No.”
The Motion FAILED
Change of Vote: At 7:50 PM Chair Kendall changed her vote from “No,” to “Aye.” At 7:51 PM Mr. Parks said that he wanted the wording to be more specific then the word “temporarily.”At 7:51 PM Mr. Holmes Withdrew his motion.
Motion: At 7:51 PM Mr. Parks made a motion to add “for this meeting only” before the word “waive” in Section 20. At 7:52 PM Mr. Holmes seconded it.
Roll Call Vote: Diane Kendall, “No,” Bob Holmes, “Aye,” Christopher Parks, “Aye,” and Janet McEwen, “Aye.”
The Motion PASSED
- Review/Amend Drafted Minutes from 11/24/2020 & 2/23/2021:
Motion: At 7:54 PM Mr. Parks made a motion to approve the minutes from 11/24/2020 as written, at 7:55 PM Ms. McEwen seconded it.
Roll Call Vote: Diane Kendall, “Aye,” Bob Holmes, “Abstained,” Christopher Parks, “Aye,” and Janet McEwen, “Aye.”
The Motion PASSED
Motion: At 7:57 PM Ms. McEwen made a motion to approve the minutes from 2/23/2021 as written, at 7:57 PM Mr. Parks seconded it.
Roll Call Vote: Diane Kendall, “Aye”, Bob Holmes, “Aye,” Christopher Parks, “Aye”, and Janet McEwen, “Aye.”
The Motion PASSED
- Planning Assistant Report:
The Assistant said she needs every Board member name, address, phone number, and email for a directory with the State.
The Board picked April 20th for the next Public Hearing date for Bruce Engel.
New Zoning Ordinance is available online and was sent in email, all Zoning Amendments were passed at Town Election.
Reminder that the Planning Board Shoreland workshop is Thursday.
- Other Business:
Ms. McEwen mentioned hardships, and clarifying the language in an application vs the presentation. Mr. Parks also agreed with Ms. McEwen on her comments and questions about this. Mr. Holmes referenced the OSI 2018 ZBA handbook. The Assistant will get copies of the most recent one out to the Board. The members talked briefly about hardships
Motion to adjourn: At 8:07 PM Ms. McEwen made a motion to adjourn, at 8:08 PM Mr. Holmes seconded it.
Roll Call Vote: Diane Kendall, “Aye,” Bob Holmes, “No,” Christopher Parks, “Aye,” and Janet McEwen, “Aye.”
Meeting Adjourned: 8:09 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Ashley Brudnick-Destromp
Assistant to Land Use Boards