Town of Warner – Zoning Board of Adjustment

Minutes of the Meeting and Public Hearing

 

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 7:00 PM Warner Town Hall, Lower Meeting Room

 

Members Present: Martha Thoits, Kenneth Klinedinst, Joanne Hinnendael, Eve Joss

Members Absent: Martha Mical

Alternates Present: John Howe, Alice Chamberlin

Alternates Absent: None

Presiding: Martha Thoits

Recording: Sissy Brown

 

  1. Open Meeting at 7:00 p.m.
  2. Roll Call
    3.

    Ms. Thoits stated that Ms. Chamberlin would be voting in place of Ms. Mical

  3. Approval of the Minutes of the November 12, 2003 Zoning Board meetings
  4. Case 01-04: Special Exception
    5.

    Warner Zoning Ord., Article XVII (C), Table I, Use Regulations: Retail & Services (2) and (8).

    Property Owner: Henry T. Garcia, P.O. Box 57, Warner, NH

    Property: 372 Kearsarge Mt. Road, Warner, NH, 03278

    Map 18, Lot 21, R-3 Zoning

    Proposed Use: Bed & Breakfast and Farm Store Retail Establishment. Convert from residential use to B&B & farm store offering retail merchandise; 5 days/wk - 8 hrs/day

  5. Case 02-04: Special Exception

Warner Zoning Ordinance, Article XVII (C), Table I, Use Regulations: Agricultural Uses (5)

Property Owner: Janet Scigliane Garcia, P.O. Box 57, Warner, NH

Property: 372 Kearsarge Mt. Road, Warner, NH, 03278

Map 18, Lot 23, R-3 Zoning

Proposed Use: Commercial alpaca farm

Mr. and Mrs. Garcia gave an overview of the request for a 1-bedroom Bed and Breakfast and farm store to include:

The Bed and Breakfast and shop would be in the house. The B&B would be located in the daylight basement of the house. The house’s existing kitchen on the main floor would be used to prepare some of the products as well as for entertaining some people that would be interested in the alpacas. A bedroom on the main floor would be used as a workshop/office and also possibly a bedroom for Mr. or Mrs. Garcia if there were a guest in the B&B. There are 2 bathrooms in the house.

Ms. Joss: Don’t you live there?

Mr. Garcia: No, we live on the property next door, about 800 feet away. The shop will be upstairs and there will be a locked door there, and the guests will be downstairs. The glassed-in seasonal room will be part of the guest quarters.

The Board discussed whether to discuss the Special Exception for the alpaca farm first and the B&B and shop Special Exception second. Mr. Howe made the suggestion. Ms. Chamberlin suggested discussing the applications jointly.

Ms. Garcia said that the alpacas were boarded until November of 2003. Mr. Garcia said that they have put a lot of sweat equity in the alpaca farm to date, and they were able to bring the animals to the property in November. They are now on the property as personal use animals, which doesn’t require a Special Exception. She was told when she came to the ZBA a couple of years ago that if the time came when the animals would be used for commercial uses, she would need to come to the ZBA for a Special Exception.

Ms. Hinnendael questioned whether to use the term of a Home Occupation instead of a B&B, because she said that usually someone lives in a house where a B&B is located. Because they don’t, Ms. Mical said that is the reason for the application for a Special Exception for a B&B in the R-3 zoning district, as allowed by the Zoning Ordinance.

Mr. Garcia said that it would be similar to Turtle Farm in Warner in the sense that there are separate cabins that are rented. The main lodge is where breakfast is served. Mr. Klinedinst said that he didn’t believe that the cabins had kitchen facilities.

Ms. Chamberlin: How many acres are included in the B&B?

Ms. Garcia: Not quite 5 acres, and it is owned by Henry. My land next to the 5 acres is 103 acres, which I purchased in 1977. The two properties are owned separately. The 5 acres was bought 4 or 5 years ago.

Ms. Chamberlin: Are there any lights there now?

Mr. Garcia: There is a lamp post light, but no floodlight.

Ms. Hinnendael: Do you plan to expand the B&B?

Mr. Garcia: No.

Mr. Klinedinst made a motion to take the alpaca farm (Case 02-04) first, and then discuss the farm store and B&B (Case 01-04) afterwards. The motion was seconded and passed by a unanimous vote.

Case 02-04: Alpaca Farm

Mr. Howe: Are you going to butcher these animals?

Mr. Garcia: No. They are very valuable animals and are very costly. Even an animal that isn’t up to standards to use as a stud or to sell is still very valuable for the fleece.

Ms. Hinnendael: I don’t remember, when you came in before, that it was 30 animals.

Ms. Garcia: It wasn’t. We had 7 babies last year.

Mr. Klinedinst: Where is the commercial part involved in how many animals you have? When does it become a commercial enterprise?

Ms. Garcia: Our thought after coming in before is that we could sell a couple of animals it would still be for personal use.

Mr. Garcia: If we could sell 5 or 6 animals a year, we would be doing very well.

Mr. Klinedinst: How does that differ from raising dogs? There are people in town that put a sign out and sell puppies/dogs.

Mr. Garcia: The gestation for alpacas is 11 months, and we don’t have as many as some dogs.

Mr. Klinedinst: Do you plan on teaching something here – is it a petting farm, and are you going to teach how to raise them?

Mr. and Mrs. Garcia: We would like to expose the public to alpacas, and give them basic information about them. From a marketing standpoint, we would like to inform the public about purchasing alpacas and about the stud service. The animals don’t have a lot of needs or requirements. They are in the same family as llamas, but are smaller. We may have an event – like a farm day. It is an investment for people, and there are some that we wouldn’t sell our alpacas to. It is like if I were selling Rottwielers, and someone came in and wanted a lap dog, I’d tell them that they should maybe look at a Cocker Spaniel.

Ms. Thoits: I know that there are a certain number of dogs that are permitted, but that after that you are considered a kennel.

Ms. Garcia: Alpacas are very gentle animals. The worst they’ll do is spit.

Ms. Chamberlin: Do they make noise?

Ms. Garcia: They hum.

Ms. Chamberlin: Is there a certain capacity in terms of the land?

Ms. Garcia: People claim that on one acre you can put 5 to 10 alpacas, but that would depend on what is on that 1 acre. We now have 4 acres cleared, and plan on clearing 2 to 3 more.

Mr. Garcia: And we have the field next door that could be used. Hay is their nutrient and they eat grain.

Ms. Chamberlin: Is there a waste issue?

Ms. Garcia: There is an area behind the barn for manure.

Mr. Garcia: The output is very small, and it is small pellets. We clean the barn 3 times a day, and the major mass of material is sand from the floor and hay.

Ms. Chamberlin: Do you see any impact on your neighbors?

Ms. Garcia: Not at all. We’re situated so far back.

The Board discussed if the application, if passed by the ZBA, would require a Site Plan Review. The secretary said that the Planning Board chair had told Ms. Garcia that it would go to the Planning Board for a Change of Use and the Planning Board would then decide if a Site Plan were necessary.

Ms. Hinnendael: Do these animals smell?

Ms. Garcia: No, and they defecate and urinate in the same area, as opposed to horses or cows where you’d step in a pile.

Ms. Hinnendael: Will you have an electric fence?

Mr. Garcia: No, we have horse fencing that we’ll put up. It is 4x4 high tensel welded wire.

Mr. Klinedinst: Do you sell the milk products?

Mr. Garcia: No.

Mr. Klinedinst: Is the horse farm across from you, Runaway, considered a commercial enterprise?

Ms. Hinnendael: It has been there forever.

Ms. Thoits: It is probably grandfathered.

Mr. Garcia: I know that they board horses there.

Mr. Howe asked how much the animals would cost to purchase, and the Garcias explained the price breakdown for the different genders and ages, etc. They also said that they are training some to take to shows, but that the shows wouldn’t be held on the property.

Ms. Hinnendael: If this becomes a farm where school children come to visit, for example, what do you plan to do for parking?

Ms. Garcia: We would have limited visits, because of health and safety reasons for the alpacas. Our farm is and will continue to be a virus-secured farm, where people that come to visit either have boots on or they put their shoes through a Clorox wash, to prevent any outbreak. You need to protect your herd from different organisms.

Mr. Garcia: They’re pretty hardy animals, but we have an operating principle to protect our animals. Any diseases they might get would come from other farm animals, because they’ve only been here in this country for about 20 years.

Ms. Garcia: Getting back to your question, there is an area in front of the barn where you could easily park 6 or 7 cars.

Ms. Chamberlin: How does the disease issue relate to the B&B traffic? When you tell your guests that they’re not allowed in the barn.

Ms. Garcia: People are allowed in the barn if they put boots on or go through a foot bath.

Mr. Howe: If we go in the direction of an affirmative vote, should we put some limits on expansion?

Ms. Thoits: I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t consider that.

Ms. Thoits closed the Board Meeting and opened the Public Hearing.

Pam Trostorff: I’m an abutter, and live next door to Mr. Garcia’s property. We would be impacted as much as anyone, and we are enthusiastic about this proposal. But we would like to know what ramifications there would be if the business were expanded or if they sold the business and the new owners wanted to expand. I want to know how it would affect other properties in the area if people wanted to put in other commercial operations in a residential area. I’m thinking beyond this one issue, about which we are supportive.

Ms. Thoits: That would come under John’s limits.

Ms. Joss: Doesn’t a Special Exception go with the owners, and not the land, and if a new owner came in, wouldn’t they have to come back to the ZBA for another Special Exception?

Ms. Thoits: I’m not sure what happens in the case of a farm, but you’re correct in that Special Exceptions usually go with the owners.

Mr. Howe: That isn’t how it’s been done in the past. Once it’s granted, it stays with it. That has been the history of this town.

Mr. Thoits: No, it stays with the owners.

Mr. Howe: What about Brayshaw and the railroad station? He came in here and argued that because it had been commercial, it should stay commercial, and it was grandfathered.

Mr. Klinedinst: That was a continuation of a commercial property. He was in here to expand a building, not to get a Special Exception for his commercial enterprise.

Mr. Howe: He was granted not only that, but putting residential property against commercial property. He was granted everything because it was that way beforehand.

Ms. Thoits: We were here at all of the meetings, and you’re not quite right on that. Your understanding wasn’t quite correct there. But we’re not discussing that, and it’s not appropriate to bring that up now.

Mr. Howe: OK, then let’s answer this lady’s question. If they move away, does it die with them selling the property?

Ms. Thoits: It is my understanding that the Special Exception is granted to the Garcias. If the Garcias choose to sell, I think that the new people might have to come to the ZBA to have a new Special Exception granted to them.

Mr. Howe: The only thing I don’t like about what you just said is the word "might." Tell me, in no uncertain terms and in the minutes of this meeting, that if these people sell the property – anybody who buys that property – it will revert to R-3 and they’ll have to come before this Board for a Special Exception.

Ms. Hinnendael: We would put it in the approval – we would say that it will only be for the Garcias.

Tina Schirmer: (Neighbor) I have a question about the zoning. That if they sold and someone else came in – about the commercial zoning. Are we correct in understanding that this is still an R-3 zoning district? That it would be a commercial entity in an R-3 zone?

Mr. Howe: A Special Exception doesn’t really change anything. If they were asking for a Variance, that would change something. But they’re asking for a Special Exception, which is permitted in an R-3 zone. What they want to do is permitted in an R-3 zone.

Mr. Howe: My point is that a Special Exception is given to this lady and this lady only, and that it not go with the land.

Ms. Hinnendael: Are both names on the deeds?

Ms. Garcia: No.

Ms. Hinnendael: So if you have the farm and something happens to you, the Special Exception leaves and Mr. Garcia wouldn’t be able to keep it.

Ms. Thoits: I don’t think that is the same, if it is an heir.

Ms. Hinnendael: I think that would be a good question for an estate attorney. We’re looking in the RSA book for an answer regarding Special Exceptions.

Ms. Thoits: To answer Tina’s question, this is and will remain R-3 zoning.

Ms. Trostorff: So if any other person who owns property on the road wanted to have a commercial operation, they’d have to come to the ZBA for a Special Exception?

Ms. Thoits: Yes. But what I’m thinking is, like the horse farm across the street from the Garcias – if it sold, it would remain a horse farm. So I’m thinking that I’m not sure if that stays with them. We’ve always been told that a Special Exception goes with the people and not the land.

Rick Davies: (Neighbor) We walk right by the property all the time, and we didn’t even know that there was an alpaca farm there. If a Special Exception is granted, I would recommend – for the neighborhood’s benefit – that a restriction be placed on a number of animals.

Mr. Klinedinst: I’m not a fan of restrictions because they are practically unenforceable. That’s not saying that I wouldn’t support one. But for the public’s knowledge, if we restrict it to, for example, 40 animals, and 2 years later they have 80, who enforces the restriction if you can’t see the farm? Who is going to count them? It is very difficult in Warner to enforce zoning.

Mr. Davies: I’m just looking down the road and say that they have 50 acres cleared and lots of visitors; it would have a different type of atmosphere than a small operation.

Mr. Klinedinst: As a Board, we look at the applicant and themselves, how long they’ve lived in Warner, and we have to take all of that into consideration.

Ms. Hinnendael: The good thing about restrictions is, if we said 40 animals and they have 80, and if Pam moves out of her house and someone moves in and says, "I don’t want 80 alpacas in my back yard," then they’d have some leverage.

Mr. Klinedinst: We have to rely on the neighborhood to do the policing.

Mr. Howe: I’d like to disagree with my colleagues here. We have a police force here in Warner, but we don’t have Selectmen with enough backbone to send the police out to enforce the ordinances.

Ms. Hinnendael: The Police don’t enforce the ordinances.

Mr. Howe: It wouldn’t take long for one officer in a cruiser to go up there and count the animals. That is not a big deal. I can understand where this man is coming from – this is R-3 and light agricultural, and we don’t want to turn it into some great big magnificent factory. We have to watch that. Madame Chairman, I want to point out, the last time we talked about letting a residential person move into a commercial area, I raised the specter that we were losing our commercial land and that we would start to wonder about where we were going to do it. Now we have the opposite side of the coin. We now have people coming to us that want to do commercial in an R-3 zone. In this case, R-3 is light agricultural, but it should not become a large factory. So I’m in favor of restrictions.

Ms. Garcia: We’re here because we were told that the commercial aspect of this farm is that we want to sell a lot of animals. Henry and I are the only people working on this farm, and we don’t want it to be much larger. But we have a lot of land, and I don’t see – if we wanted to raise a lot of animals, which we don’t – I don’t see why anybody could say we can’t. If the acreage is there to support alpacas, we have 103 acres.

Mr. Howe: Because you have some neighbors here who have just told you that they’re a little concerned with that. That is the point. The point is not to stop you from doing what you want, but you’ve already enlarged your herd. I haven’t done the math, but 103 acres is a lot of land.

Ms. Garcia: We’re not interested in doing that.

Mr. Howe: Then why are you fighting a restriction?

Mr. Garcia: It depends on what you sent the restriction at. I think if you tell us that you can never have more than 30, that wouldn’t be fair. I understand the concern of hoards of cars and people on us, and alpacas overrunning. But I see that as an end point, and we’re never going to be at that end point. The very largest alpaca farm is 1,000 animals, and they’ve been in business for years. But there’s something in me that says, "What if I want to have 45 animals." In breeding, an industry that this is, and in breeding the more times you roll the dice, the better chance you have of getting that perfect animal. So sometimes you have to breed more animals simply to get that subset of really top animals. So it’s not like buffalo and it’s not like sheep. There’s one aspect of the business which is really geared toward breeding. At sometime in the future, it might be appropriate for us to rise to 45. It would be difficult for us to keep coming back to the Board to ask if we can breed another animal. So if you do set a limit, for which I understand the need, let’s set it in a fair way so that it isn’t unrealistic.

Mr. Howe: I’m thinking of the people that are your neighbors. We need to turn to your neighbors and ask what they think about what you’re doing. That is our role in considering a Special Exception.

Ms. Trostorff: As I’ve indicated, Mr. Howe, we’re supportive and enthusiastic. We’ve been neighbors of Janet’s for 22 years, and not quite as long for Henry. They’ve been excellent neighbors and I have every trust. I know that their word it good, and I know that they’ll do what they say they will. I’m not concerned about what they’ll do while they have the property. My concerns are what the implications would be if someone else owns the property.

Mr. Howe: You’ve been neighbors for 22 years, but they haven’t been raising alpacas for 22 years.

Ms. Trostorff: Well, no, but I trust what they say.

Mr. Howe: But let’s go on what Henry just said: He wants to breed the perfect alpaca. So he wants to breed as many animals as he can to find that perfect animal.

Mr. Garcia: It’s not that simple. And not as many as I can. It is highly selective and very specific. But I do need to breed them. There will be winners and loser. Remember, there are 11 months gestation; 1 animal a year.

Mr. Howe: That sounds like horses. You breed the best of the best and hope for the best.

Mr. Garcia: Exactly.

Mr. Howe: I applaud your ambition.

Mr. Davies: I just want to clarify that I have no problem with the size farm that they’re talking about here, or even if it were expanded slightly. I’m just concerned about what might happen later.

Ms. Schirmer: I would like to say that I certainly condone any type of agricultural endeavor such as this, and I think that these people are trying to keep over 100 acres open and that we’re not talking house lots out there. That you can’t see the alpaca farm from the road has much less impact than even the horse farm across the street. I don’t have anything against the horse farm.

Ms. Thoits: I want to be able to see them, like I can the horses.

Ms. Trostorff: I would like to add that I appreciate the questions that were raised by the Board tonight, because you’ve raised some questions and gotten some questions that I hadn’t thought of yet.

Ms. Thoits closed the Public Hearing and reopened the Board meeting.

Ms. Hinnendael: Ms. Garcia commented on opening up some of the land on the other property [owned by Mr. Garcia].

Mr. Garcia: It is already cleared.

Ms. Thoits: If it is already cleared, we don’t have to worry about it.

Ms. Thoits: Contrary to the past, according to what RSA 674:33 says, our main concern is that the 3 conditions for a Special Exception that have to be answered by the applicant must satisfy the ordinance. Based on that RSA, we can’t set conditions for a Special Exception.

Ms. Hinnendael: Then I would like to know if they go to the Planning Board for a Site Plan Review. That is where they would set restrictions.

Ms. Thoits: I don’t think that she has to go to the Planning Board at all, because she’s not changing her site.

Mr. Garcia: What did you just say about the RSA?

Ms. Thoits: We cannot set any restrictions. We can only decide if they meet our criteria. If they meet our criteria, we have to pass it. If they don’t meet our criteria, we have to deny it. And we can’t set restrictions. She’s right on one thing – the Planning Board sets restrictions. I think that only the B&B needs to go to the Planning Board.

Ms. Chamberlin: If what you’re saying is right, then the logical conclusion is that there is no authority in town to limit a farming enterprise of any kind – whether it is buffalo or something else. I don’t think that’s the case. I think there is an authority somewhere in town. I don’t think that would be a logical outcome of why we’re meeting here. That’s just a comment; I don’t know exactly where to take it.

Mr. Klinedinst: Not being here when the buffalo farm was established, by guess is – maybe someone knows what happened – maybe they did have a Site Plan Review. They have a lot of barns.

Secretary: I wasn’t here yet, but I know that there has been a lot of discussion about the Farmer’s buffalo farm. It was the Planning Board that was discussing fencing and setbacks, etc.

Mr. Klinedinst: But they were building buildings, weren’t they?

Secretary: I don’t know.

Ms. Hinnendael: They put their electric fence right up on the boundary line.

Mr. Klinedinst: I guess we could make a recommendation that they meet with the Planning Board, just to be sure whether or not a Site Plan Review is required.

Ms. Thoits: If the Planning Board doesn’t feel that a Site Plan Review is required, they could come and visit it.

Mr. Klinedinst: I think that you’re already doing what you’re applying for, and it may have come up because of the other thing that you’re applying for.

Mr. Garcia: Yes, the animals are there.

Ms. Garcia: Instead of selling one or two a year, we want to sell more than that. And we wanted to get permission to do that.

Mr. Garcia: And now that we’ve brought them from their boarding locations to here, we’re coming to the Boards because that is what we said we would do.

Ms. Thoits went through the conditions/questions required to obtain a Special Exception:

a. The use requested is identified in this ordinance as one that may be approved by the Board in the district for which application is made.

The requested use is included in the Agricultural category in the Town of Warner Zoning Ordinance. I am seeking to change from #4, raising of livestock for personal use, to #5, raising livestock for commercial use.

b. The requested use is essential or desirable to the public convenience or welfare.

When I moved to New Hampshire in 1979, Warner was a quaint village with rural surroundings. In 2004, Warner is still a quaint village, but the surrounding area is not quite as rural. Moving to New Hampshire exposed me to many skills and crafts not often seen in the rest of the United States. Spinning and weaving were two of the crafts that I learned and enjoyed the most. With these skills, I knew I wanted fiber animals. Searching for a simpler and more rewarding lifestyle, we chose an alternative livestock, alpacas. A commercial alpaca farm open to visitors offers education, experience and skills not readily available elsewhere. A respect for life, agriculture, artwork and an appreciation of byproducts are some of the lessons learned from a farm visit. A commercial alpaca farm adds to the revival of the agricultural roots of the Town of Warner, as has been the case with the existing horse and buffalo farms.

c. The requested use will not impair the integrity or character of the district or adjoining districts, nor be detrimental to the health, morals or welfare.

This request will not impair the integrity or character of the district as the animals are on my land. For 3.5 years, we have boarded our herd and watched it grow. When we brought them home in November of 2003, we had almost 30 animals. We now choose to sell more alpacas than we originally thought. The alpacas stand approximately 36 inches tall at the withers, and weighs between 100 – 200 lbs. Originally from South America, these unique creatures are clean, gentle, safe, quiet, intelligent, and disease-resistant. This alternative livestock is easy to care for. Alpacas are environmentally friendly. Their soft, padded feet do not disturb the terrain. They eat grasses less than other farm animals, and they deposit their droppings in a communal area. Five to ten alpacas can be pastured on one acre. The alpaca fleece is one of the world’s softest and finest fibers. With 22 natural colors, alpaca fibers give craftsmen and fiber artists a choice to expand their creative talents with this luxurious fiber.

Ms. Thoits: Are you satisfied with those answers?

Ms. Chamberlin: I am not, and it goes to this very issue that we’ve been discussing about the quantity of animals. I think if the application stated an outside range as part of the application, then we could grant the condition. I think that if they included it in their application, we could easily approve it. It is hard to say, with a range of 30 to 200, that it could impact the neighbors. So I think it is a little tricky, the issue that was raised by the gentleman in the back.

Ms. Hinnendael: Alice, did you see this in the RSA’s, that we can do appropriate conditions? It is on page 226, under Powers of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, #4: Local Zoning Ordinance may provide that the local ZBA, in appropriate cases and subject to appropriate conditions, may make special exceptions to the terms of the ordinance. Does that mean that we can put conditions on? Or I agree with you. Because if they ended up clearing the whole 100 acres, I think that the neighbors would be a little concerned.

Ms. Chamberlin: When you wrote the application, what was your thinking about the expansion of the herd?

Mr. Garcia: I mentioned earlier, 30 is probably as big as we want to go.

Ms. Chamberlin: That’s what I thought.

Mr. Garcia: But we will breed our animals, because they have to be. We have 5 shows lined up, we have a website and we’ve spent a lot of money on marketing up to this point. So we are trying to sell 5 to 7 animals a year, at least. We don’t intend to have 1,000 to 1,500. We don’t even intend to have 100. Frankly, it takes a lot of work, and we don’t intend to hire anyone.

Ms. Chamberlin: Is it a reasonable thing to put in your application 50 animals or less? Maybe that would resolve this thing in a way that would make the neighbors comfortable about the future.

Mr. Garcia: I understand your points of view. If we came in with 50 alpacas, then we’d be talking about maybe 100 alpacas, or 75. It just so happens, because of a lot of factors, that we have 30 and we don’t want to have any more than 30. But it just seems unfair to me that you can say that you can’t have anymore than 50 or 60.

Ms. Chamberlin: But here’s the reality – if you had come in with 60 and the neighbors said that this is a problem, then you’d be denied.

Mr. Garcia: That’s true, and I appreciate that. But I’m obviously subjective on the matter. But even 60 alpacas wouldn’t be noisy.

Ms. Chamberlin: And it is also the reality that you can come back at a certain point and we certainly don’t want you coming back every year, you’re right. But at a certain point you could come back to increase the capacity of the farm.

Mr. Garcia: Given a limit of X, I would have no problem coming back and requesting …

Ms. Chamberlin: We don’t want to create a lot of regulation. I think that is sort of the point. When you’re balancing residential and agricultural, there should be an opportunity for the neighbors to come in in four years and say, "This isn’t what it originally was." If that’s the case. I think that is an appropriate use of these Boards in a changing climate of agricultural and residential use. I don’t have a problem, even thought it is a burden to anticipate, that you and the buffalo people might at some point have to come back to review whether the Special Exception is adequate for what you’re doing and what the neighbors have to say about it. I do see the possibility for this to grow enormously, beyond what you think it might.

Mr. Klinedinst: Are you planning to hire people at the alpaca farm?

Mr. Garcia: No, not at the moment. We are looking for someone to care for the animals while we are away at shows. But those are rather infrequent. And we’re talking veterinary school students that would come around for 3 or 4 days.

Ms. Thoits: From the Planning Board’s Site Plan Review regulations: Site Plan Review is required for all proposed industrial, commercial, multi-family developments, for the change or expansion of use of all industrial, commercial or multi-family uses or for the conversion of any existing building, in full or in part, from a residential use to a non-residential use or a mixed use, whether or not it is in a development or a subdivision.

Ms. Hinnendael: That’s for the Bed and Breakfast, not the alpaca farm.

Mr. Garcia: We made application today for the Planning Board for the B&B and the store. It was our understanding that for the agricultural…

Ms. Thoits: Did you talk with the Chairman of the Planning Board? To be on the safe side, I think you need to take it and let them decide. I think you’ll need to go to the Planning Board to see if they require a Site Plan Review.

Ms. Garcia: I didn’t think that we’d need to do anything but get the Special Exception for the alpaca farm.

Ms. Joss: Did you say that you did speak with Barbara Annis?

Ms. Garcia: Yes.

Ms. Joss: And she didn’t think you needed to go to the Planning Board for the alpaca farm?

Ms. Garcia: No. We came in here in February and spoke briefly that night, and then spoke with Barbara once or maybe even three times. We were told that we needed to get a Special Exception to turn it from a farm to a commercial enterprise, and another Special Exception to turn the house into a store and B&B. For that latter, we’d have to go to the Planning Board. We gave the application to Barbara yesterday for the meeting on April 5th.

Ms. Thoits: That is what I thought, and if that’s what Barbara said – she’s the Chairman of the Planning Board.

Ms. Hinnendael: I have a question for Alice, since you’re an attorney. In the RSA book, in the annotations, there’s got to be something since 1938 about setting conditions. Do you think that we should get an opinion from Don about setting conditions? Maybe Barbara is under the assumption that the ZBA would put limits on things because we have in the past.

Ms. Chamberlin: I would agree with you that I don’t think that this case law is the last word on conditions.

Mr. Klinedinst: But that is what we have to work with, this book?

Ms. Chamberlin: And I’m not sure that it’s not in there. I’m just saying that I don’t think that the case law stated is the last word on conditions.

Mr. Klinedinst: We’re not a court of law here, and to treat an application like we were a court of law is not the function of this Board. We have RSA’s to comply with and our own regulations to comply with. It’s happened in the past that applicants and neighbors have not agreed with the Board’s decisions, and it has ended up in court. Fortunately, in the last 4 or 5 years, the errors that this Board has made – the court has supported our decisions. So I think using the tools that we have before us has worked pretty well before.

Mr. Klinedinst made a motion to approve the Special Exception for Case 02-04 for a commercial use of the alpaca farm as presented because the applicant has satisfactorily answered the questions listed in Article XVII (C)(1)(a,b & c). There was no second to the motion.

Ms. Hinnendael: I would like to recommend Site Visit and would like to get clarification on how many animals they can have up there.

Mr. Howe made a motion to approve the application for Case 02-04, Commercial Use of the alpaca farm, pending a determination of the ZBA’s authority to limit the expansion of the number of animals raised on this property.

Ms. Thoits: I don’t think you can do a telephone vote.

Mr. Garcia: Would it help if we told you that we’re not going to have more than 70 or 60 animals? Because it’s not open-ended. We’re not going to have 100.

Ms. Joss: If their application stated that they weren’t going to have more than 60 animals, could we vote on it now?

Ms. Hinnendael: We’d have to make sure that we state everything in the Notice of Decision that is on the application.

Mr. Klinedinst: That’s been done before – the applicant has essentially made a pencil change at the time of some agreed number that someone on the Board wanted. It’s not unusual.

Ms. Hinnendael: Based on the public comment, I think that is something we should do.

Ms. Joss: My question is, can that be done now?

Ms. Thoits: Yes.

Ms. Garcia made a change on her application stating, "Not more than 60 alpacas."

Ms. Thoits closed the Board meeting and opened the Public Hearing for any comments related to the change in the application.

Ms. Trostorff: The number limit is good because we could be talking about dogs or pigs, then 15 or 30 or 45 or 60 would make a difference. I think that the alpacas would be good neighbors.

Ms. Thoits closed the Public Hearing and reopened the Board meeting.

Mr. Howe said that he agreed with Ms. Thoits, that there should be a corral out front where the public could see the animals. Mr. Garcia said that they could be put in the field next to the adjoining property.

Ms. Joss made a motion to grant the Special Exception to turn the alpaca farm into a commercial alpaca farm with not more than 60 alpacas. The motion was seconded.

Alice – yes; Eve – yes; Ken – yes; Joanne – yes. The motion passed.

 

Case 01-04: Bed & Breakfast and Farm Store

Mr. Garcia reiterated his presentation given earlier in the meeting. The impact on the neighborhood will be minimal and it will still look like a residence. The house is approximately 1,100 sq.ft.

Mr. Klinedinst: This is a one-bedroom B&B, with a 2-person maximum? I think that it is unusual to have a B&B with no one living in the house.

Ms. Joss: Ms. Garcia did say that there is a second bedroom upstairs where she could stay when there were guests there.

Mr. Howe: It seems to me that you are really renting a room. If you want to rent a room, you can and it doesn’t require this Board to bend the ordinance around to put a commercial B&B in a residential district.

Mr. Garcia: We read the ordinance literally, and considered that renting a room would be the same as a Bed and Breakfast. We didn’t look at it from your point of view.

Ms. Chamberlin: Especially if they’re going to put up a sign.

Mr. Howe: I could rent a room in my house anytime I want to and it’s nobody’s business.

The Board noted that there was no definition in the ordinance for a B&B. It was discussed again that they would need to go to the Planning Board for a Change of Use. The application said that no Site Plan is needed because the applicants had been told by the Planning Board Chairman that they could ask for a waiver based on the premise that no changes are being made to the building.

Mr. Howe: If this house was rented, why can’t they rent a room?

Ms. Thoits: They’re not just renting a room; they’re putting in a business.

Mr. Howe: He’s asking for 2 different things. You could make the case that this is a residential area and it shouldn’t have a commercial shop in it, because that makes it commercial. On the other hand, you could say you can’t have that, but there’s no reason that a person should be able to rent a room in a house he rented.

Mr. Howe reiterated his opinion re: allowing a commercial shop in a residential area.

Ms. Thoits: But a commercial shop is allowed in that area with a Special Exception.

Ms. Hinnendael: Is this going to be a small store, or a Perkins Hardware type of business? I’m concerned about the traffic generation.

Ms. Garcia: The living area is 12 x 12 ft; the dining room is 10 x 10 ft. Those are the two rooms we’re talking about.

They stated that they’re not changing the structure at all, and there is a 20 x 60 ft. as well as a 40 x 50 ft. area of gravel by the barn.

Ms. Garcia said that it would be a country store, in terms of items. Our tag line is, "Country things for a simple life."

Mr. Howe: Are we going to restrict what is sold in the store?

Mr. Klinedinst: That is the job of the Planning Board.

Mr. Howe: If we can’t impose any restrictions, why don’t we just give it to the Planning Board?

Mr. Thoits: Because they need a Special Exception before they can go to the Planning Board.

Ms. Thoits closed the Board Meeting and opened the Public Hearing.

Ms. Trostorff: I have the same questions as I did about the alpaca farm – if the property is sold, will the new owners be able to still have the store and B&B?

Ms. Thoits: This I’m sure of – the Special Exception is just for them. I’m not sure about the horse farm/alpaca farm issue. Any new owners would have to come to get another Special Exception.

Ms. Chamberlin: If they wanted to expand, they’d have to come back to both Boards.

Ms. Trostorff: If you built a successful business, you couldn’t sell the business?

Ms. Thoits: The new owners would have to come to the ZBA for a Special Exception.

Ms. Trostorff: Again, we’re enthusiastic and would rather have a B&B and a store there than a subdivision or unfriendly neighbors.

Mr. Davies: My concerns with the store are, again, the amount of traffic. I can see it on a nice fall day, where we have 200 or 300 cars going up the mountain and 20% might want to stop. There would be a lot of cars turning there. It could be disruptive to a residential area, but I guess that would be a Planning Board issue.

Ms. Trostorff: Parking could be an issue on a busy day, with cars lining Kearsarge Mt. Road.

Ms. Thoits and Mr. Klinedinst: That would be a Planning Board issue.

Mr. Davies: Could the Planning Board restrict it so that there are no more than a certain number of cars at once?

Ms. Thoits: Look at Shirley’s shop. The Garcias have more space than she does.

Ms. Garcia: What is the town’s policy on parking on the streets?

Mr. Klinedinst: Only if a car is a hazard, or during the winter no-parking months. During Fall Foliage Festival, the rules are relaxed.

Ms. Thoits: I don’t think it’s a problem because people don’t stop for that long for a shop.

There was discussion about the other B&B’s in town and how busy they might be.

Ms. Hinnendael: Do we have to be concerned about safety?

Ms. Thoits: No, it is a Planning Board issue and it is on the first floor.

Ms. Thoits closed the Public Hearing and reopened the Board meeting.

Mr. Howe: It seems to me that the small town rural feel of Warner is changing. There was a time when we had limited automobiles and people had horses, you could make a case for small stores in residential areas. I don’t think that this is the case now, and I am strongly against putting a commercial entity in a residential area. We did make an exception for the alpaca farm and I think that was the proper thing because this is a light agricultural area. But putting commercial stores in residential areas is wrong. We should stick to the rules and Special Exceptions shouldn’t be handed out just because it is convenient for one person.

Mr. Klinedinst: If that were the case, I think that in the Use Table it wouldn’t be permitted in an R-3 zone. This is saying that we have permission to, as you say, bend the rules.

Ms. Hinnendael: That’s why they come to us.

Mr. Howe: If you keep doing it, this whole town of Warner will be one total hodge podge.

Ms. Thoits: What we did on that house on North Road – that was a Variance. That was taking the commercial use out of commercial use. But this is permitted – it is to regulate it, but it is allowed in those areas.

Mr. Howe: I’m not saying it’s not allowed, but we should be careful about passing it out.

Ms. Chamberlin: I share John’s concerns about the concept of hodge podge zoning. I grew up in an area where there were tire stores next to schools next to houses. You can’t figure out what area you’re in, and we don’t want that. But I think the point of Special Exception is being able to exercise the judgment of this Board to make a determination if this commercial enterprise being applied for really does impact the neighborhood in a negative way. I don’t think it does. It is limited by the size of the building and it is limited by the type of enterprise that they’re going to have. I don’t think that it is contrary to village life. But if someone were coming in with a tire store, that would be different.

Mr. Howe: What is wrong with a nice alpaca farm store down on Main Street?

Ms. Hinnendael: It’s just the two of them and they want to be close to their animals.

Ms. Joss: I think that we should be deciding on what they’ve applied for, not what would be ideal.

Ms. Thoits went through the conditions/questions required to obtain a Special Exception:

a. The use requested is identified in this ordinance as one that may be approved by the Board in the district for which application is made.

The requested uses are identified on page 29 of the Zoning Ordinance: Retail and Services, #2: Retail establishment selling general merchandise, including but not limited to: dry goods, apparel and accessories, furniture and home furnishing, home equipment, small wares, and hardware and including discount and limited price variety stores; and #8: Lodging House or Bed and Breakfast Inn.

b. The requested use is essential or desirable to the public convenience or welfare.

There is limited availability of lodging in Warner, which diminishes the quality and duration of experience for visitors who wish to enjoy the attraction of our town and surrounding area. The public finds it desirable to have a place to stay that is close or at the planned destination of their itinerary. Providing a positive and memorable stay in Warner enhances and promotes our town’s image. The ability for the public to visit a farm store provides the opportunity to experience one aspect of a bygone era. We expect the store to reflect the rural lifestyle, which has great appeal to a large segment of the public, used to a fast-paced overly hectic world.

 

c. The requested use will not impair the integrity or character of the district or adjoining districts, nor be detrimental to the health, morals or welfare.

The requested uses, by their nature, will not produce any impairments or detriments as specified in the question. The B&B and farm store are sympathetic with the rural character of the Town and surrounding area. The requested uses are not remotely detrimental to the health, morals or welfare of the public or Town residence. The property is located on a level and straight portion of Kearsarge Mt. Road, which would allow safe entry and egress of vehicles. Magdalen College and Rollins State Park are located to beyond and to the north of the property. Kearsarge Mt. Road originates in the center of town and terminates at the State Park. We expect to get visitors to the B&B and the farm store by taking advantage of existing traffic flow. There is adequate off-street parking on the property. Parking is available on existing paved and gravel surfaces.

Ms. Thoits closed the Board meeting and opened the Public Hearing. There were no comments.

Ms. Thoits closed the Public Hearing and reopened the Board meeting.

Ms. Chamberlin made the motion to approve the Special Exception for Case 01-04, Bed and Breakfast and retail farm store. The motion was seconded.

Alice – yes; Eve – yes; Ken – yes; Joanne – yes. The motion passed.

  1. Communications & Miscellaneous
    2.

    Ms. Thoits asked the Board to look over the Zoning and Planning Board Conference to be held in May 6th. Each member received information on the conference, and were encouraged to attend.

  2. Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

Minutes approved: April 14, 2004