The Town of Francestown is taking legal action against property owner Alex Pellerin after he failed to comply with the town’s zoning ordinance at his property at 338 Bennington Road.
The town has stated that Pellerin’s property constitutes an illegal junkyard, and that a condemned house on the property must be demolished.
Pellerin, a local business owner, does not live at the property.
“The town is suing because they want the house gone and the property cleaned up,” said Francestown Town Administrator Jamie Pike on Tuesday. “The Select Board has been very patient with Mr. Pellerin and we have been working with him for about two years to try to get this property cleaned up.”
The town has noticed Pellerin that his case will be heard at a temporary hearing at 2 p.m. April 29 at Hillsborough County Superior Court North in Manchester.
Pellerin said on Tuesday morning that he is aware of the legal action by the town.
“This has been an ongoing legal battle for years. I will take the house down when I have the money, and I am hoping to have it soon,” Pellerin said. “The town seems to think that money grows on trees. I am trying to get things lined up and I am trying to comply.”
Pellerin said he was “not sure why the town was focusing on him.”
“The town has their own buildings that are falling down that they don’t take care of, but they’re coming after me โ they’re coming after the little guy,” he said. “I think they just don’t like looking at the property when they drive by.”
According to Pike, Pellerin purchased the property at 338 Bennington Road in 2021 with the understanding that the condemned house on the property would have to be demolished.
“The house has been unlivable for about 20 years,” Pike said. “Mr. Pellerin has been using the property as a junkyard, and he has not cleaned it up.”
The town first notified Pellerin that he was in violation of the Article III, section 3.7 of the town’s zoning code, which prohibits junkyards, in early 2024, and gave Pellerin deadlines of Sept. 30 and then Oct. 31, 2024, to get the property cleaned up. Pellerin failed to meet the town’s deadlines.
In November 2024, the town took an inventory of the property and sent a follow-up letter to Pellerin regarding his failure to comply with zoning ordinance.
On April 21, 2025, Pellerin updated the Select Board that he had removed some vehicles and materials from the property and requested more time to comply with the zoning ordinance. According to the minutes of the Select Board, at that time, there was “no plan in place for the house.” Pellerin was then given a deadline of Aug. 8, 2025 to demolish the house.
In June 2025, the board approved a motion to send a cease-and-desist letter to Pellerin, noting that “many of the violations still exist and the collapsed house remains untouched.” The board discussed the possibility of bringing legal action against Pellerin to enforce zoning ordinances in the event that he did not start to take action to comply with the order to demolish the house.
At the Aug. 11, 2025 meeting of the Select Board, three days after the deadline, the board noted that “there has been no progress on the house.” The Board passed a motion to forward all case records to town counsel to determine the best course of action moving forward.
Pellerin, who arrived at the meeting at 6:15 p.m., told the board that he had removed some scrap metal and one vehicle from the property. When questioned about other vehicles on the property, including a snowplow, Pellerin stated they were for personal use, to which the board responded that if the vehicles were being used, they had to be inspected and registered.
The town then requested Pellerin submit a timeline for the house demolition plan and requested he come to Aug. 25, 2025 meeting with “proof of a good faith e๏ฌort,” with dates and names of contractors hired to demolish the house.
During that meeting, the board asked Pellerin to provide a progress report regarding the zoning violations at 338 Bennington Road, and Pellerin said “an excavator and dumpster will arrive in roughly two weeks.”
At the Nov. 10, 2025 meeting of the Select Board, Pike reported that Pellerin had failed to arrange a meeting time with the town to discuss further progress at the property. According to meeting minutes, “the existing cease-and-desist was discussed and the next step will be the court filing.”
On Nov. 14, 2025, Pellerin provided an update, stating that he had removed another vehicle from the property and that another would be removed shortly. At that time, the house was still standing and demolition had not been initiated.
At the Nov. 17, 2025 meeting, the Select Board stated that the town counsel was “finishing up a court filing” in the Pellerin case due to the lack of any progress in the demolition of the house.