Recent comments in /f/newhampshire

drivermcgyver t1_j7cx733 wrote

Reply to It’s crazy how warm 40° feels after these last few days by hopefully-a-good-buy

I feel we would be better off if it were colder like it was normally. People tend to use less heat and electricity where the population is more acclimated to the colder temperature regions. I was outside with my daughter and wife and mentioned that her sweatshirt wasn't even zipped up while we were outside and she laughed and said it just seemed like a really warm day to her.

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Ogre213 t1_j7ctkx5 wrote

Reply to What should I expect at a zoning variance meeting? by SnareWire

I sit on my city's planning board; it's a related group that hears more major (typically coming from commercial development) reviews, but the process is really similar.

There will be an applicant presentation, a public comment session, and the board will typically question the applicant. As a general rule, if they're at this point, they're looking for an exception from a standard rule so that they can avoid either a setback requirement, a wetland requirement, or something to do with historic district rules. Setbacks and wetlands are pretty common where I am, historic stuff has its own board, but those can vary by location. I would stronglly suggest that you talk to your neighbor about concerns before you go to the board; in a lot of cases, neighbor fights erupting at these meetings could have been resolved by people actually talking to each other beforehand.

If you have an issue with what your neighbor's doing and they're unwilling to address it with you, come to the meeting prepared with the specific ordnance or rule they're looking for an exception from and a reason based on something more than 'I don't like it'. We had a recent case where multiple neighbors were objecting to the noise of earthmoving equipment being used on a subdivision project. I could sympathize - I grew up in Nashua during a major construction boom, and I got to contend with the noise of dump trucks and equipment moving up and down my street while I tried to do homework - but if they're working during times that aren't set as quiet by ordnance, they're allowed, and a ZBA or planning board that denies for that is going to get sued and lose, which means that your neighbors are going to get to do what they wanted and your taxes are going up to pay for the legal fees.

If you do have objections, I'd recommend practicing your presentation beforehand. The first couple times you're speaking on camera with an at least partially hostile audience are surprisingly intimidating, and you'll do better if you're prepped beforehand. Good luck!

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movdqa t1_j7crcvu wrote

Reply to comment by Neat-Beautiful-5505 in What should I expect at a zoning variance meeting? by SnareWire

This is a good point. In many cases, the contractor will employ an architect to do the presentation and they will have everything on a laptop connected to the projector with diagrams of what they want to do. They should also make handouts available to the board making the decision. Sometimes what they present may address your concerns and sometimes they aren't aware of your concerns. But it's worthwhile knowing things like property boundaries.

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PM_Georgia_Okeefe t1_j7coout wrote

Reply to What should I expect at a zoning variance meeting? by SnareWire

There will first be a presentation by the applicant to review their plans and why they need a variance. The board will ask questions. Then there will be a portion for public comments/questions.

The board will discuss this further, and then they will decide whether or not to vote or if they need additional information.

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The_Road_is_Calling t1_j7ci723 wrote

Reply to It’s crazy how warm 40° feels after these last few days by hopefully-a-good-buy

This flip flopping temperatures is a pain in the ass.

The warm days in the middle of winter only make the cold days worse. It doesn't need to be like it was this past weekend, but at least let us adjust to the cold.

And I despise this mud we get with the warm temperatures. I can accept mud in April when I know spring is right around the corner, but I don't want to be dealing with it in the beginning of February with two more months of snow removal hanging over my head.

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