PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO DEERING ZONING ORDINANCE
For March, 2003, Town Ballot - Voter Handout
ARTICLE 2
Are you in favor of amending the “Statement of Purpose” of the Zoning Ordinance, as proposed by the Planning Board, to reflect changes in the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (RSA s) governing the required purposes of zoning ordinances?
Explanation: The 2002 legislature added language to the purpose section of the zoning statute (RSA 674:17) which states that zoning ordinances should not unreasonably limit the installation of solar, wind, or other renewable energy systems or the building of structures that facilitate the collection of renewable energy, except where necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, and that zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations should encourage the installation and use of renewable energy sources. This article would incorporate the new requirements of New Hampshire law concerning the purposes of zoning and will also eliminate some superfluous language.
ARTICLE 3
Are you in favor of amending certain provisions of Section 9 of the Zoning Ordinance (“National Floodplain Development”), as proposed by the Planning Board, to reflect changes in federal requirements?
Explanation: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) imposes a number of detailed requirements, which are periodically subject to change, concerning development in flood hazard areas. This article updates Deering s Zoning Ordinance to conform with the latest federal changes, and to eliminate two definitions which do not apply to Deering, as recommended by the New Hampshire Office of State Planning. This section must be kept up to date with current federal requirements in order to maintain eligibility for flood insurance
ARTICLE 4
Are you in favor of amending Section 7 of the Zoning Ordinance (“Board of Adjustment and Administrative Provisions”) as proposed by the Planning Board, to authorize the Board of Adjustment (ZBA) to impose certain costs upon the applicants who appear before it?
Explanation: State law (RSA 673:16) authorizes local planning boards to collect fees from an applicant to cover an expense lawfully imposed upon the applicant, such as the expense of consultant services or investigative studies, or the implementation of conditions lawfully imposed as part of a conditional approval. It is unclear, however, whether boards of adjustment (ZBA) also have this authority. This article would extend such authority to the ZBA, and eliminate the potential for having to provide for such expenses out of town funds.
ARTICLE 5
Are you in favor of amending the Zoning Ordinance, as proposed by the Planning Board, to make administrative improvements in several areas as follows: (1) by changing a number of erroneous internal cross-references within the text of the Ordinance; (2) by correcting a number of cross-references to external documents to reflect changes in such documents or the law; and (3) by changing the order and paragraph designations of three provisions of Section 4 (Commercial Exceptions and Variances) to clarify application requirements.
Explanation: Certain provisions of the ordinance contain cross-references to other parts of the Ordinance which are erroneous. Other provisions refer to outside documents and provisions of state or federal law which are outdated. This article brings all such cross-references up to date.
Additionally, some provisions of paragraph 4.4 which establish procedures and requirements when applications for commercial exceptions or variances are made would be more understandable if separated into different paragraphs.
ARTICLE 6
Are you in favor of amending Section 5 the Zoning Ordinance, as proposed by the Planning Board, to incorporate improvements in the identification and protection of wetlands as recommended by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies, and to clarify that one of the purposes of the section is to protect wetlands contiguous to surface waters.
Explanation: Since Section 5 of the Zoning Ordinance (Wetlands Conservation District) was originally adopted in 1988, techniques for the identification and protection of wetlands, as recommended by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies, have continued to advance. This article would replace some of the detailed discussion of wetlands identification and protection by incorporating many of the new techniques by reference.
Also, one of the purposes currently listed in Section 5, by artificially establishing a size for protected wetlands not contiguous to surface waters (20,000 square feet) is not necessary to accomplish the primary purposes of the section. This article would eliminate the reference to size and would clarify that one of the purposes of the section is to protect wetlands contiguous to surface waters.
These changes were originally requested by the Deering Conservation Commission
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