Lebanon Board of Appeals Approves Two Variances For Non-Conforming Lot Sizes 2/16/16

The Lebanon Board of Appeals met at the Lebanon Town Office on Tuesday evening, February 16, 2016 to hear and discuss variances for two separate non-conforming lots within the Town of Lebanon.

The first lot discussed was one owned by Mr. Jack Cole.
Code Enforcement Officer Mike Beaulieu addressed the Appeals Board stating that  he had rejected an application by Cole for a building permit on a lot on Milton Mills Road.
According to Beaulieu, the building lot size for the Town of Lebanon is 2 acres, and this lot was too small to have qualified for a traditional building permit due to the lack of a Grandfather Clause pertaining to lot sizes within the town.
According to Beaulieu, Cole's property had a mobile home on the site for many years. However, Cole removed the old dilapidated mobile home, citing it as a safety risk for anyone attempting to enter it. Beaulieu stated that the minute Cole removed the prior mobile home, he created a non-conforming lot.
Mr. Cole addressed the Board stating that originally the lot had been 3.1 acres, purchased by his mother in 1959, however when Cole's brother returned from military service, Cole's mother had given him a small lot and the existing mobile home, and she had erected a conventional wooden structure home on the back lot.
Cole continued, stating that the property has been taxed as two separate home lots since 1974.
Neighbors to the property in question, the couple who now own and reside in Cole's mother's wood structure home, were in attendance and when asked if they had any objections to Cole replacing the mobile home, they stated they did not.
Appeals Board Chairman, Bettie Harris-Howard questioned Cole on the availability of Septic, Electricity, and Water if the Board were to allow for the replacement of the mobile home, and Cole answered that all was fine, including the well, which had been in existence since the late 1800s and was a shared well between the two properties.
Harris-Howard went on to question what Cole's plans were once the mobile home was replaced, and Cole answered that he hopes to sell the property.
This brought a few questions to the shared well and selling of property, but CEO Beaulieu stated that it  was legal to have two owners share one well within the State of Maine. The CEO also stated that the placement of the slightly larger mobile home still was within the setback and road frontage requirements of the State Law.
CEO Beaulieu summarized that he thought that the Appeals Board should grant Mr. Cole a variance for a non-conforming lot and allow him the placement of the new mobile home.
Chairman Bettie Harris-Howard stated that she did not find a reason to punish Mr. Cole for removing an older model mobile home that had clearly been a hazard, and that she too, was in agreement in granting the variance.
Appeals Board members Ms. Barboza and Mr. LeBreque were also in agreement, both stating similar reasons to Ms. Harris-Howard.
The variance was granted.

The second non-conforming lot question on the Appeals Board's agenda was that of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Sylvia of Ridgewood Drive.
Ridgewood Drive is a waterfront subdivision, approved by the Lebanon Planning Board back in 1972. At that time, it was not required to have a 2 acre lot size minimum for building.
CEO Beaulieu stated that the lot in question was no on the waterfront, but 1 lot back from the waterfront, and continued on by stating there was a 16X16 existing building on the property with a loft, and that the current building has no septic system or running water. Basically, it was a camp, and the Sylvia's said it had been seldom ever used.
At this time, Beaulieu said it was unknown if the site would be able to obtain a building permit, and that the Appeals Board was only the first step in the process. The CEO stated that a site evaluator needed to gain access to the property and that plans would have to be drawn up for the placement of both a well and a septic system, adding that there were several ways that competent site evaluators could make things fit through the use of more modern technologies such as a well-liner, or deeper wells drilled through bedrock level. Beaulieu also stated that there were 18 lots on Ridgewood Drive, and all of them just about the same size, 3/4 acre, and one of the bordering lots owned by Mary Jones, was slated as an access lot to the larger parcel of property behind the residential properties.
Chairman Harris-Howard addressed the Sylvias asking what their plans were with the lot. Mr. Mark Sylvia stated that he was the President of the Ridgewood Drive Housing Association and that he and his wife, Jennifer, purchased the property and camp after hearing other prospective buyers' plans to make a summer party cottage out of the place. Sylvia stated his love for the area, and said his plans are to create a quality home to sell at a later date. Mrs. Sylvia stated that they have watched others in their area put a lot of money into renovating their homes, and that they cared for their road and that they hoped the home would improve the area.
When questioned to the size of the home they planned to erect, CEO Beaulieu stated that the size of the allowed building would be directed by the size of the septic system they could fit onto the lot, saying that the septic system size would be up to the site evaluators, and the size of the allowable septic would dictate the number of bedrooms and bathrooms they could allow in the home.
Both Ms. Barboza and Mr. LeBreque stated that since others have built on the 3/4 acre lots, and that it has been approved at one time or another, they should also approve the variance for the Sylvias. Ms. Harris-Howard agreed and the variance was granted.
Mr. Sylvia stated that there were several other lots in the area that had only foundations on them, and asked if all the lots with foundations would now be able to build homes, but both Beaulieu and Harris-Howard stated that each lot would have to be considered on it's own merit and that each property owner would have to go through similar hearings separately in front of the Appeals Board.
A question was raised that since the area was an approved subdivision, would the property owners also have to seek an appointment with the Lebanon Planning Board, but both Beaulieu and Harris-Howard stated that they didn't think that was necessary.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:22 pm.