A recount Monday upheld a narrow Lyndeborough Town Meeting vote approving Warrant Article 6 by the same 135-132 margin, changing zoning rules to require a 5-acre minimum lot size and 500-foot frontage for new developments.
The ballot recount was conducted in Citizen’s Hall after the article passed at Town Meeting last week by just three votes.
Zoning Board of Adjustment member Bob Newton said the slim margin warranted a second count.
“Even if the recount confirms the result, it should be done if only to assure both sides that the vote is accurate,” he said.
Under RSA 40:4-c, a recount may be requested if 10 voters submit a written request to the town clerk within seven days of the election. The town must then schedule the recount within 10 days of receiving the request.
Article 6 asked residents whether to adopt amendments to two sections of Zoning Ordinance 700 and language in Ordinance 400.
Ordinance 700 allows residential development at higher densities than other parts of town while preserving Lyndeborough’s rural character, natural resources and public health and safety.
The amendments changed sections 702:01 and 702:02.
Section 702:01 previously required a minimum lot size of 2 contiguous acres of dry land not divided by wetland, pond or drainageway. The amendment increases the minimum lot size to 5 acres, while requiring at least 2 contiguous acres of dry land not divided by wetland, pond or drainageway and containing soils rated “not limited” or “somewhat limited,” as required by Section 408:00.
The amendment to section 702:02 increases minimum contiguous lot frontage from 250 to 500 feet.
The article also revised language in section 408:00, “Soil Based Zoning Requirements,” in Ordinance 400. It replaces references to soils with “slight” or “moderate” limitations with soils rated “not limited” or “somewhat limited.”
As amended, Section 408:00 states that all lots in the Rural Lands One or Light Industrial districts with less than 5 acres or less than 500 feet of frontage must have a minimum of 2 contiguous acres of soils rated “not limited” or “somewhat limited” for septic tank absorption fields, as determined by U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service criteria.
Newton said the changes mean anyone seeking to develop land in Lyndeborough must meet the new 5-acre minimum, 500-foot frontage requirement and USDA soil standards.
He noted the ordinance still requires state review before it can take effect.