[HISTORY: Adopted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the
Town of Hudson as amended through 10-12-2017. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 7-28-2022]
A.
12-14-1978:
Adopted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Town of Hudson.
B.
06-23-1988:
Amended in its entirety.
C.
06-23-2011:
Amended again in its entirety.
D.
Subsequent
amendments noted where applicable.
E.
10-12-17:
Amended in entirety.
F.
04-11-19:
Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.
G.
09-26-19:
Added Recorder; revised Clerk; unexcused absences; order of business:
pledge of allegiance, introduction and 11:00 p.m. curfew; thirty-day
re-hearing note and attachment "A."
I.
07-28-22: Global revision of gender terms to gender neutral terms throughout document; Added § 143-3B, gender neutral inclusion statement; Amended § 143-5C, Clerk, preferably Alternate member, elected annually and use Appendix B Clerk Duties; Deleted § 143-5C Clerk…"read cases into the record" (Zoning Administrator reads case into record); Amended § 143-6E, "and Zoning Administrator" notify regarding member absences; Amended § 143-7D(2) on Alternate status as full Board member for continued/deferred cases; Amended § 143-7E by adding "Recusals;" Amended § 143-7E(2)(g) striking "then" and adding "currently;" Added § 143-7E(2)(h) direct or indirect abutter as disqualification; Amended § 143-7E(3) striking "shall" and adding "may;" Added § 143-7F(4)(a), (5), (7)(a), (7)(b) pertaining to Order of Business; Amended § 143-8A(2), Appeal from Administrative Decision filed within "35" days; Amended § 143-8B(2) by adding "The applicant shall pay for all required notice costs..." previously shown as § 143-8B(3); Added § 143-8B(3), Property/Site location Notification Sign of Public Hearing; Amended § 143-8C(1) strike "Clerk" amend to "Zoning Administrator" to report on the first case; Deleted § 143-8C(12) regarding Finding of Facts form in Appendix C; Amended § 143-9E by adding "per RSA 677:2;" Amended § 143-11 to "RSA 677:3."
These bylaws of the Hudson Zoning Board of Adjustment, hereinafter
referenced simply as the "Board," are adopted under the authority
of NH-RSA (New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated) 676:I. In the
event of a difference between these bylaws and the applicable NH-RSAs,
the NHRSAs take precedence over these bylaws.
These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the voting
members at a regular meeting of the Board, provided such amendments
are read at two successive public meetings.
[Amended 9-26-2019; 7-28-2022]
A.
A Chairperson shall be elected annually by a majority vote of the
Board at the first meeting in the month of January. The Chairperson
shall preside over all meetings and hearings, appoint such committees
as directed by the Board and shall affix his/her signature in the
name of the Board.
B.
A Vice-Chairperson shall be elected annually by a majority vote of
the Board at the first meeting in the month of January. The Vice-Chairperson
shall preside in the absence of the Chairperson and shall have the
full powers of the Chairperson on matters which come before the Board
during the absence of the Chairperson.
C.
A Clerk shall be elected annually by a majority vote of the Board
at the first meeting in the month of January, preferably an Alternate
member. The Clerk shall take attendance, process the member decision
sheets for a summary of decision made and use Appendix B as a guide.
D.
All officers shall serve for one year and shall be eligible for re-election.
[Added 9-26-2019]
The Recorder is not a Member or Alternate. The Recorder shall
transcribe the minutes and notices of decisions in accordance with
State RSA requirements. The Recorder shall have minutes available
for members to accept. The Recorder shall have notice of decisions
available for the Chairman and Zoning Administrator.
[Added 1-28-2021; amended 7-28-2022]
A.
In the
event that the unexpired term of Chairperson becomes vacant, the Vice-Chairperson
will fill the vacancy until the first meeting in January of the following
year, at which time the voting members will elect a new Chairperson.
B.
In the
event that the unexpired term of Vice-Chairperson becomes vacant,
the voting members will vote to fill the vacancy at their next regular
scheduled meeting.
C.
In the
event that the unexpired term of Clerk becomes vacant, the voting
members will vote to fill the vacancy at their next regular scheduled
meeting.
[Amended 9-26-2019; 7-28-2022]
A.
Five (5) regular members shall be appointed by the Selectboard, attend
all meetings, and sit as voting members.
B.
Five (5) alternate members shall be appointed by the Seletcboard,
attend all meetings to familiarize themselves with the workings of
the Board and stand ready to serve whenever a regular member of the
Board is unable to fulfill their responsibilities.
C.
A Selectboard Liaison may be appointed by the Selectboard to act
as a liaison between the two Boards and should attend all meetings
but shall have no voting powers nor the ability to sit in place of
any regular member not in attendance.
D.
At meetings of the Board, alternates who are not activated to fill
the seat of an absent or recused member or who have not been appointed
by the Chairperson to temporarily fill the unexpired term of a vacancy
may participate with the Board in a limited capacity. During a public
hearing, alternates may sit at the table with the regular members
and may view documents, listen to testimony, ask questions and interact
with other Board members, the applicant, abutters and the public.
Alternates shall not be allowed to make or second motions. Once the
Board moves into deliberations, alternates shall remove themselves
from any further deliberations with the Board. During work sessions
or portions of meetings that do not include a public hearing, alternates
may fully participate, exclusive of any motions or votes that may
be made. At all times, the Chairperson shall fully inform the public
of the status of any alternate present and identify the members who
shall be voting on the application.
E.
All members and alternates must reside in the community and are expected
to attend each meeting of the Board to exercise their duties and responsibilities.
Any member unable to attend a meeting shall notify the Chairperson
and Zoning Administrator as soon as possible. Members, including the
Chairperson and all officers, shall participate in the decision-making
process and vote to approve or disapprove all motions under consideration.
Three (3) consecutive unexcused absences by a member or alternate
shall be reported to the Selectboard through the Town Administrator,
to take appropriate action.
[Amended 9-26-2019; 7-28-2022]
A.
Regular meetings (for appeals and hearings) shall be held at Hudson
Town Hall, at 7:00 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month in accordance
with RSA 676:5 through 676:7 and RSA 91-A:2. The Chairperson may schedule
additional overflow meetings, or reschedule meetings after consultation
with the Zoning Administrator (or designee).
B.
Other meetings may be held on the call of the Chairperson, or a majority
vote of the Board in accordance with RSA 91-A:2II.
C.
All Board members shall be given notice of meetings by mail or email
one week prior to the meeting date.
D.
Quorum. A quorum for all meetings of the Board shall be three (3)
members, including alternates sitting in place of members.
(1)
The Chairperson shall make every effort to ensure that all five members,
and one or two alternates, are present for the consideration of any
appeal or application.
(2)
If any regular Board member is absent from any meeting or hearing,
or disqualifies themselves from sitting on a particular case, the
Chairperson shall designate one of the alternate members to sit in
place of the absent or disqualified member, and such alternate shall
be in all respects a full member of the Board while so sitting including
any continued/deferred cases.
(3)
Alternates shall generally be activated on a rotating basis from
those present at a particular meeting. When an alternate is needed,
the Chairperson shall select the alternate who has not been activated
for the longest time.
(4)
If there are fewer than five members (including alternates) present,
the Chairperson shall give the option to proceed or not to the applicant.
Should the applicant choose to proceed with less than five members
present that shall not solely constitute grounds for a rehearing should
the application fail.
E.
Disqualifications/Recusals.
(1)
If any member finds it necessary to disqualify themselves from sitting
in a particular case, as provided in RSA 673:14, they shall notify
the Chairperson as soon as possible so that an alternate may be requested
to sit in their place. When there is uncertainty as to whether a member
should be disqualified to act on a particular application, that member
or another member of the Board may request the Board to vote on the
question of disqualification. Any such request shall be made before
the public hearing gets underway. The vote shall be advisory and nonbinding.
(2)
Determining the threshold of disqualification can be difficult. To
assist a member in determining whether or not they should step down
(recuse themselves), Board members should review the questions which
are asked of potential jurors to determine qualification (RSA 500-A:12).
A potential juror may be asked whether he or she:
(a)
Expects to gain or lose upon the disposition of the case;
(b)
Is related to either party;
(c)
Has advised or assisted either party;
(d)
Has directly or indirectly given an opinion or formed an opinion;
(e)
Is employed by or employs any party in the case;
(f)
Is prejudiced to any degree regarding the case; or
(g)
Employs any of the counsel appearing in the case in any action
currently pending in the court.
(h)
Is a direct or indirect abutter.
(3)
Either the Chairman or the member disqualifying themselves before
the beginning of the public hearing on the case shall announce the
disqualification. The disqualified may step away from the table during
the public hearing and during all deliberation on the case as he/she
so chooses.
F.
Order of Business. The order of business for regular meetings shall
be as follows:
(1)
Call to order by the Chairperson.
(2)
Pledge
of allegiance.
(5)
Announce
any adjustment to the agenda (order of cases, etc.).
(6)
Unfinished Business (Continued or Deferred Hearings).
(8)
Requests for Rehearing.
(9)
Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting(s).
(10)
New Business.
(11)
Communications and Items of Interest to the Board, Other Business.
(12)
Adjournment
|
(Note: Although this is the usual order of business, the Board
may wish to hold the hearings immediately after the roll call in order
to accommodate the public, based on a positive vote of the Board.)
|
A.
Applications
(1)
Each application for a hearing before the Board shall be made on
forms provided by the Board and shall be presented to the Zoning Administrator
(or designee), who shall record the date and time of receipt.
(a)
Application deadline for meeting is 12:00 noon, 12 business
days (Monday through Friday, including holidays) prior to the scheduled
meeting date.
(b)
Only complete and accurate applications will be submitted for
agenda action. Incomplete or inaccurate applications will not be submitted
for agenda action.
(2)
Appeals from an administrative decision taken under RSA 676:5 shall
be filed within 35 days of the decision or when such decision becomes
known or reasonably could have been known by the petitioner as determined
by the Board.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
(3)
All forms and revisions prescribed shall be adopted by resolution
of the Board and shall become part of these rules of procedure.
B.
Public Notice.
(1)
Public notice of hearings on each application shall be given in a
general newspaper and shall be posted at Town Hall, the Town Public
Library and the Post Office not less than five (5) days before the
date fixed for the hearing. Notice shall include the name of the applicant,
description of property, to include Tax Map identification, action
desired by the applicant, provisions of the Zoning Ordinance concerned,
the type of appeal being made, and the date, time and place of the
hearing.
(2)
Personal notice shall be made by certified mail to the applicant
and all direct abutters and regular mail for indirect abutters within
200 feet not less than five (5) days before the date of the hearing.
The applicant shall pay for all required notice costs in advance.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
(3)
A property/site location notification sign shall be posted regarding
the Public Hearing for all cases in front of the ZBA, which require
a Public Hearing and subsequent notice per RSA 676:7 shall also have
posted a prescribed notice on a sign not larger than three (3) square
feet on the subject property. The Zoning Administrator shall prepare
such notice as follows: type of appeal/application, address of subject
property, brief description of the appeal/application, date of Public
Hearing, and Town contact information for details. The property owner
shall allow the Zoning Administrator to place the sign on subject
property closest to the most heavily traveled right-of-way. The Zoning
Administrator shall place and post the sign for 14 days (counting
the posting day and the Hearing day). The property owner shall remove
the sign no later than five days after the Public Hearing.
[Added 7-28-2022]
C.
Public Hearing. The conduct of public hearings shall be governed
by the following rules:
(1)
The Chairperson shall call the hearing in session by instructing
the Zoning Administrator to report on the first case.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
(2)
The Zoning Administrator shall report why the case has been brought
before the Board.
(3)
Members and Alternates of the Board, and any party to the case, may
ask questions at any point during testimony once recognized by the
Chairperson.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
(4)
Each person who appears shall be required to state their name and
address for the record and indicate whether they are a party to the
case or an agent or counsel of a party to the case.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
(5)
The applicant shall be called to present their appeal.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
(6)
Those appearing in favor of the appeal shall be allowed to speak.
(7)
Those in opposition or neutral to the appeal shall be allowed to
speak.
(8)
The applicant and those in favor shall be allowed to speak in rebuttal.
(9)
Those in opposition to the appeal shall be allowed to speak in rebuttal.
(10)
Any person who wants the Board to compel the attendance of a
witness shall present their request in writing to the Chairperson
in accordance with RSA 673:15.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
(11)
The Board of Adjustment will hear with interest any evidence
that pertains to the facts of the Case or how the facts relate to
the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance and state zoning law.
(13)
All subsequent cases shall then be heard in the order they were
presented.
A.
Before deliberations begin, the Chairperson shall allow non-sitting
alternates, the Selectboard's Liaison, if present, and the Zoning
Administrator or his/her replacement to ask questions and give input,
if they so desire.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
B.
Once this phase is completed, the Chairperson shall declare the matter
before the Board and the sitting members present who are voting will
raise any further questions they may have and then deliberate all
concerns in order to reach a decision on the request.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
C.
The Board shall vote on each of the applications for which testimony
was given, after adequate deliberations.
D.
For the
granting of variances: the Board will consider a "vertical" (member)
method of voting on each request.
[Added 4-11-2019]
E.
The Chairperson shall announce all decisions after the vote has been
taken, and explain that the appeal/rehearing process is available
to all aggrieved within 30 days of the meeting vote per RSA 677:2.
[Amended 9-26-2019; 7-28-2022; 7-28-2022]
A.
After public notice has been given, each application presented to
the Board for consideration may be deferred or withdrawn only by action
of the Board, following receipt of written notice to the Zoning Administrator
or to the Board, itself, by the applicant. A sitting member must make
a motion to defer until the next regular meeting or a date specific,
that motion must be seconded and voted on by the sitting members of
the case in question, and abutter notice shall be presumed to have
been accomplished by the decision of the Board's vote.
B.
In the event that a deferred applicant is not ready when the case
comes back before the Board, the Board may initiate withdrawal of
the application, with or without prejudice, where "with prejudice"
means that any new application (unless substantially changed) cannot
be filed for a period of one year. Filing fees shall not be returned
for withdrawn cases that have been reviewed and processed by staff
with public notice of a scheduled hearing having been posted.
C.
Moreover, once an application has been withdrawn, any reapplication
shall be considered a new application and the applicant shall be required
to pay all applicable fees for consideration. In the event of a Board-initiated
deferment, because members felt it necessary for more information
or other reason, a sitting member must make a motion to defer until
the next regular meeting or a date specific. That motion must be seconded
and voted on by the voting members of the case in question, and abutter
notice shall be presumed to have been accomplished by the decision
of the Board's vote. But, in some rare instances, the Board may require
that notification fees be paid again for deferred cases in order to
ensure that abutters are properly notified. In the event of the Board's
acceptance of a request for deferment by the applicant at the meeting,
the request shall be handled in the same manner as a Board-initiated
deferment. In the event that the applicant is not ready when the case
comes back before the Board, the Board may initiate withdrawal of
the application, with or without prejudice, as described above.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
The Board may reconsider a decision to grant or deny an application
or grant or deny a motion for rehearing, provided such reconsideration
is within the appeal period of the original decision as per RSA 677:3
If the Board grants a motion for rehearing, the new public hearing
shall be held within 30 days of the decision to grant the rehearing,
provided all notice fees are paid and an updated abutters list is
submitted by the party requesting the rehearing. Notification of the
rehearing shall follow the procedures set forth in RSA 677:2.
A.
The records of the Board shall be kept by the Zoning Administrator
and made available for public inspection at Hudson Town Hall in accordance
with RSA 673:17.
B.
Final written decisions will be placed on file and available for
public inspection within five (5) business days after the decision
is made (RSA 676:3)
[Amended 7-28-2022]
C.
Minutes of all meetings, including names of Board members, persons
appearing before the Board, and a brief description of the subject
matter, shall be open to public inspection within five (5) business
days of the public meeting (RSA 91-A:2 II).
[Amended 7-28-2022]
Any portion of these rules of procedure may be waived in such
cases where, in the opinion of the Board, strict conformity would
pose a practical difficulty to the applicant and a waiver would not
be contrary to the spirit and intent of the rules. A majority of the
Board present shall vote any waiver.
[Amended 7-28-2022]
A.
RSA 676:2 provides that the Board of Adjustment may hold joint meetings
or hearings with other "Land Use Boards," including the Planning Board,
the Historic District Commission, the Building Code Board of Appeals,
and the Inspector of Buildings, and that each Board shall have discretion
as to whether or not to hold a joint meeting with any other Land Use
Board.
B.
Joint business meetings with any other Land Use Board may be held
at any time when called jointly by the Chairperson of the two Boards.
C.
A public hearing on any appeal to the Board of Adjustment will be
held jointly with another Board only under the following conditions:
(1)
The joint public hearing must be a formal public hearing on appeals
to both Boards regarding the same subject matter; and
(2)
If the other Board is the Planning Board, RSA 676:2 requires that
the Planning Board Chairperson shall chair the joint hearing. If the
other Board is not the Planning Board, then the Board of Adjustment
Chairperson shall chair the joint hearing; and
(3)
The provisions covering the conduct of public hearings, set forth
in these rules, together with such additional provisions as may be
required by the other Board, shall be followed; and
(4)
The other Board shall concur with the above.
