In a split decision, the Jaffrey Zoning Board rejected a variance request by MPC Construction that would have allowed the construction of a stormwater management area within the wetland conservation district, as part of the construction of new offices and contractor bays.
On Monday, the Zoning Board visited the site on Plantation Drive, observing the location of the proposed stormwater management area and the steep slopes that surround the property.
The project has already been granted a variance to allow the construction of the two new buildings — totalling 12,800 square feet — within the front setback of the property. During the site plan application, the Planning Board found that the stormwater management system was located within a 75-foot wetland setback, and is not a permitted use in the wetland conservation district.
In its application, MPC argued that the site had previously been cleared at some point in the past, and that work had already disturbed a portion of the wetland buffer. The proposed basin location is not any closer than existing impacts, MPC argued, and will result in very minor additional clearing, and will be located in the ground, allowing for additional vegetated growth.
To grant a variance, the Zoning Board must find that the application meets a total of five criteria: That granting the variance is not contrary to the public interest, not contrary to the spirit of the zoning ordinance, that any detriment to the public is outweighed by the benefit of granting it, that it will not negatively affect property values, and that denying the variance would cause “unnecessary hardship.”
It was the last criterion that the majority of the board said the application failed to meet.
To meet the conditions for unnecessary hardship, the applicant must prove that the property has special conditions that distinguish it from other properties in the area, and that the proposed use is reasonable.
MPC argued that the corner lot is oddly shaped and surrounded by steep slopes to the northeast and the southeast, and that moving the basin completely out of the setback would impact the parking area by about 2,000 square feet.
Member Laurel McKenzie said she was not convinced that there were any special characteristics of the lot that didn’t allow MPC to use it as zoning intended.
“I believe it fails on hardship,” McKenzie said. She said MPC had not provided any evidence to show that they required the space that would be lost if the basin was completely outside of the wetland buffer. “Do you really need every square inch of horizontal space?” she asked.
ZBA member Peter Chamberlain asked how many parking spaces would be lost if the basin was moved out of the wetland buffer. Chuck Ritchie of Fieldstone Land Consultants, representing MPC, said that 2,000 square feet was equivalent to about 10 parking spaces. McKenzie said on the plan, pulling the basin forward would eliminate about two delineated spaces.
Chamberlain said he didn’t see that removing two parking spaces was sufficient reason to further disturb the wetland buffer, and agreed with McKenzie that he didn’t find it met the hardship criteria.
McKenzie said that the steep slopes, cited as a unique feature of the property, are something multiple properties in the area all deal with.
Member Carl Jevne first moved to approve the application, seconded by Chair Walter Batchelder. The motion failed 2-3, with Jevne and Batchelder in favor.
A motion to deny the application passed, 3-2, with the same split among the board.