Top 5 Concerns...

1. Not a Permitted Use

2. No Formal Legal Determination

3. Rules Changed Midstream

4. Flawed Approval Process

5. Dangerous Precedent

What the Law Requires vs. What Happened

Administrative Decision on Permitted Use

What The Law Requires - Zoning use determinations must be made an administrative office (Building Inspector) and may be appealed to the ZBA (NH RSA 676:5)

What Happened - Building Inspector has not made an administrative decision on permitted use. Instead, the town relied on an "opinion letter" from Town Counsel and Town Engineer, which is not an appealable administrative decision

Permitted Use Requirement

What The Law Requires - Proposed use must be explicitly permitted in the zoning district under the ordinance. If it is not listed, it is not allowed.

What Happened - Commercial lodging is not a permitted use under the Ordinance, yet the application continues to move forward without any board making that determination.

Role of the ZBA

What The Law Requires - Zoning law requires that a board first determine what use is being proposed and whether that use is permitted under the ordinance. Only after that determination can a variance be properly evaluated.

What Happened - Zoning Board proceeded without a valid administrative decision before it, effectively acting without proper jurisdiction.

What do the Sandown Town Zoning Ordinances Say?

Not an EXPRESSLY PERMITTED USE

Article III, Part A, Section 12 (Building Regulations Pertaining to All Buildings)

"No overnight camp or Motel so-called shall be constructed, except in a site approved by the Board of Selectmen and complying with the regulations of the Building and Zoning Code."

Article II, Part A, Section 14 (General Regulations - Definitions)

"'Dwelling Unit' shall mean rooms with cooking, living, sleeping, and sanitary facilities arranged for the use of one or more individuals living together as a single-family unit."

The subject property is located in the Business District; however, the proposed use of campground-style cabins and transient lodging is not an enumerated permitted or conditional use under Article II of the Sandown Zoning Ordinance. Nor does the use qualify under any residential use classification incorporated through Article I, as it does not meet the definition of a “dwelling unit” under Article II, Part A, Section 14(A), and therefore constitutes a prohibited use absent a valid use variance under RSA 674:33.

Article II, Part B, Land Regulations - Zone A, Section I

Article II, Part A, Building Regulations - Zone A - Pertaining to All Buildings

"Not more than one dwelling unit shall be located on any single lot, unless otherwise permitted by this Zoning Ordinance."

"Every dwelling shall have a minimum ground floor area of 500 square feet outside measurement for each family unit. Steps or ground level terraces shall not be considered a part of the dwelling for the purposes of this Section."

This is the language that the Town Attorney and Town Engineer have asserted may apply to the proposed use; however, it is not contained in any formal, appealable administrative decision regarding permitted use. Moreover, the referenced provisions appear under Article III, Part I (Building Regulations), which governs construction standards, not permitted uses, and it is unclear how these provisions were relied upon to justify a use that is not listed as permitted in Article II, as motels or overnight camps are not allowed uses in either the Business or Residential Districts under the Zoning Ordinance.

Ask yourself:

If you were on the Zoning Board, how would you determine the permitted use?