[Amended 10-14-1997 by Ord. No. 10.97.10]
Wherever a conditional use is authorized by this chapter, the
authority to administer or grant conditional use permits shall be
vested in the Planning Board and authorized pursuant to RSA 674:21,
Innovative Land Use Controls.
An application for a conditional use shall be initiated by filing
with the Planning Board for an application for a conditional use permit.
The following procedures shall apply to the processing of such application:
A. Where other required development approvals for a conditional use
include subdivision or site plan approval by the Planning Board, the
application, review procedure, and length of approval for a conditional
use permit shall be made concurrently and in accordance with the procedures
specified in the subdivision regulations or site plan regulations
as applicable to the particular development.
B. Where no subdivision or site plan approval would otherwise be required
for the conditional use, the application and procedural requirements
of the Site Plan Regulations and the Planning Board Rules of Procedure
shall be applied to the application and processing of conditional
use permits with respect to content of applications, requirements
for public notice, hearings and timing of decisions by the Planning
Board. The length of approval of such a conditional use permit shall
be two years from the date of final approval.
The applicant bears the burden of persuasion, through the introduction
of sufficient evidence through testimony or otherwise, that the development,
if completed as proposed, will comply with this article and will satisfy
the specific requirements for the use contained in this chapter.
In reviewing an application for a conditional use permit, the
Planning Board shall consider the following information in its deliberations,
as applicable to the case:
A. Specific authorization for the conditional use in the Table of Permitted
Uses.
B. The compliance of the development plan with the specific standards
for such use contained in this chapter.
C. The results of any special investigative or scientific studies prepared
in association with the proposed development.
D. Special reports or analyses of the project or its impacts prepared
by City staff.
E. The findings, goals and objectives of the Laconia Master Plan.
F. The relationship of the development to the timing, location and cost
of public improvements scheduled in the Laconia Capital Improvements
Program.
G. Testimony and evidence introduced at the public hearing on the application.
[Amended 12-8-1997 by Ord. No. 12.97.12]
Following a public hearing on the proposed use, the Planning
Board shall issue a conditional use permit if it finds, based on the
information and testimony submitted with respect to the application,
that:
A. The use is specifically authorized within the Table of Uses as a conditional use.
B. If completed as proposed by the applicant, the development in its
proposed location will comply with all requirements of this article
and with the specific conditions or standards established in this
chapter for the particular use; or, in the case of conditional use
permits granted for City of Laconia uses and facilities, the proposal
meets the specific conditions or standards to the extent reasonably
and practically feasible.
C. The use will not materially endanger the public health or safety.
D. The use will not substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting
property.
E. The use will be compatible with the neighborhood and with adjoining
or abutting uses in the area in which it is to be located.
F. The use will not have a substantial adverse impact on highway or
pedestrian safety.
G. The use will not have a substantial adverse impact on the natural
resources of the City.
H. The use will be adequately serviced by necessary public utilities
and community facilities and services of a sufficient capacity to
ensure the proper operation of the proposed use and will not necessitate
excessive public expenditures to provide sufficient additional capacity
or services.
In granting a conditional use permit, the Planning Board may
attach reasonable conditions to its approval, including but not limited
to the phasing of a development, where such conditions are shown to
be necessary to further the objectives of this chapter or the Master
Plan, or which would otherwise allow the general conditions of this
section to be satisfied. All conditions of approval shall be stated
in writing in the permit. Conditions shall be annotated on a site
plan or subdivision plat where a conditional use permit is issued
concurrently with site plan or subdivision approval. In all other
cases a notice of approval shall be issued. Final approval documents
shall be recorded at the Belknap County Registry of Deeds.
A Planning Board decision on the issuance of a conditional use
permit cannot be appealed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Any persons
aggrieved by a Planning Board decision on a conditional use permit
may appeal that decision to the superior court as provided in the
manner provided by RSA 677:15, Court Review.