By Chris Frost
Eagle Times News Editor
CLAREMONT, N.H. — The Planning Board on Monday discussed its plans to update the city’s driveway regulations.
The board agreed to remove the 50-foot maximum width requirement and develop an appeal process for driveways.
Chairman Richard Wahrlich thought reviewing the regulations would help as the board has heard many appeals.
City Planner deForest Bearse will update the appeal process for the next meeting. There are currently conflicting driveway widths within the ordinance which cause confusion.
“I asked to flesh out the appeals process,” she said. The current process involves the director of Public Works appealing to the Planning Board. Individuals should have a completed application to appeal and the applicant must state why they’ve been denied unjustly.
“There needs to be some kind of criteria,” she said.
Wahrlich is concerned with the criteria and said the curb cuts are about safety.
“Most of the appeals have been situations where their neighbors were good with it and they wanted to get outside the criteria,” he said.
“I believe that if the rest of our regulations follow the purpose consistently, we’re good to go except for the appeal process,” said Vice Chairman David Proctor.
Proctor questioned language regarding appeals via the Public Works director.
“That is not an appropriate way, I believe, to identify the rights an applicant has,” he said. “It’s not a decision of the Public Works director. It’s a reflection on the Public Works director following the guidelines laid out in the regulations. He’s not making the decision on his own, he’s following the regulations.”
Bearse disagrees with Proctor and said an administrator interprets the law in a way that would lead to a conclusion.
“I think it’s fine the way it reads,” she said. “It’s the Public Works director who makes the decision, and the decision is yes or no.”
City Council Representative Debora Matteau agreed with Bearse and said it’s like the zoning ordinance.
“The zoning administrator is the one that makes zoning decisions, and people aggrieved by that decision appeal it to the zoning board,” Matteau said. “I don’t think this is hard wording; it’s accurate and legal. We can expand on that and give deForest a process to use, maybe even create a form to use.”
Proctor was unconvinced and Bearse wondered if a public hearing would be required.
“Do we charge for the appeal,” she asked. “We’ve been holding public hearings for these appeals and notifying the abutters.”
Currently, abutters must be present during appeals.
The changes to driveway regulations will be presented at the Sept. 11, meeting.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.