Under the authority of RSA 674:43 and authorization from the
1982 Town Meeting, as amended, the Planning Board repeals the previous
Chapter 123 and its exemption policy and hereby adopts this new chapter
on January 14, 1993. This chapter applies only to sites with nonresidential
and/or multifamily residential uses.
[Amended 2-24-2022]
The general purpose of this chapter is 1) to guide the character
of nonresidential and multifamily development, redevelopment, expansion,
and change of use in order to provide for the health, safety, convenience,
prosperity, and general welfare of the Town's inhabitants, businesses
and visitors, and 2) to recognize the will of the public as expressed
in the Town's Master Plan and utilize the Master Plan to review proposals
to design and develop property and structures in Conway. Throughout
these regulations, the Board seeks to balance the demand for growth,
development and change with the need to preserve and enhance those
qualities that make Conway a safe and desirable place to live, work
and visit. In keeping with this general purpose, the following are
specific objectives of this chapter:
A.
To balance the landowner's rights to use his/her land with the corresponding
rights of abutting landowners and the public at large to be protected
from undue hazards, disturbances, nuisances, pollution and diminution
of property values;
B.
To protect public safety by means such as requiring appropriate provision
and arrangement of roads, driveways, sidewalks, traffic aisles, parking,
loading areas and emergency vehicle accesses;
C.
To provide for fire safety and prevention;
D.
To protect and preserve significant natural and man-made features,
including but not limited to scenic views, stone walls, large trees,
and historic structures;
E.
To promote the harmonious and aesthetically pleasing development
of the Town, ensuring visual harmony of neighborhoods, providing adequate
provision of greenspace and open space, protecting the natural beauty
of the Town and enhancing the quality of life for residents;
F.
To maintain the vitality of the tourist economy while allowing economic
growth in all sectors of the economy;
G.
To protect environmental quality by means such as controlling erosion
and providing for sanitary sewage disposal; and
H.
To ensure the provision of adequate facilities and services as are
necessary to serve the proposed uses.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any person whose property is located in New Hampshire or
Maine and adjoins or is directly across the street or stream from
the land under consideration by the Planning Board. For the purpose
of receiving testimony only, and not for the purposes of notification,
the term "abutter" shall include any person who is able to demonstrate
that his/her land will be directly affected by the proposal under
consideration. For the purposes of receipt of notification, in the
case of an abutting property being under a condominium or other collective
form of ownership, the term "abutter' means the officers of the collective
or association, as defined in RSA 356-B:3, XXIII.
The owner of the property or an agent with the owner's written
authorization. All actions of the agent shall be binding upon the
owner.
Any acceptable form of financial security. The specific dollar
amount, the form, and any associated agreements or stipulations shall
be negotiated directly with the Board of Selectmen.
The construction or improvements or change of use on a tract
or tracts of land for nonresidential and/or multifamily use.
The area of land, excepting that covered by greenspace and
building(s), changed by human construction activities.
A permeable area of vegetated ground surface.
A use engaged in manufacture, predominantly from previously
prepared materials of finished products or parts, including processing,
fabrication, treatment, packaging, storage, sales and distribution
of such products.
Three or more residential units in one building.
Any plan sheet other than a site sketch.
A plan sheet to be recorded at the Carroll County Registry
of Deeds to indicate final approval.
Standards which dictate the content and presentation of plats
and/or plans.
Temporary outdoor sales of merchandise, including, but not
limited to, art, food and clothing, within the sidewalk area of a
retail use, on a temporary basis. "Temporary" shall mean seasonal,
weekends, fair weather; not permanent.
A scale drawing of a site.
Any Class I, II, III or IV road.
An event whose occurrence is limited to not more than 14
days per calendar year.
Sales of goods within a temporary structure with fabric or
nonrigid walls or roof of cloth. For the purpose of these regulations,
tent sales shall be considered temporary events.
The minimum number of parking spaces required by on-site
uses.
[Amended 9-14-2017; 3-14-2019; 4-11-2019]
The following criteria specify the level of review necessary
for a proposal to develop a nonresidential or multifamily site:
A.
Not applicable. The determination of "not applicable" by the designee
of the Board shall mean that no site plan review approval is necessary,
although other types of approvals or permits may be necessary per
other municipal codes and an application shall be kept on file. The
site plan review regulations shall be deemed not applicable for the
following:
(1)
Temporary events which require no permanent alterations to the site
and which function safely within the approved configuration of the
site as determined by the designee of the Board.
(2)
Special events approved by the Board of Selectmen.
(4)
Small undertakings where it is demonstrated that:
(a)
All proposed changes to the structure and/or site conform to
all other applicable codes and reasonably conform to the site design
standards of this chapter;
(b)
Proposed changes do not increase the intensity of use on the
site beyond the service capacity of existing on-site infrastructure
(including but not limited to parking, traffic generation and septic
loading);
(c)
Any net reduction in greenspace on the lot is less than or equal
to 2,000 square feet;
(d)
Any increase in structure floor space is less than or equal
to 1,000 square feet; and
(e)
In order to ensure that cumulative impacts can be evaluated by the Planning Board in a public forum, this Subsection A(4) shall not be applied if its application, combined with prior applications since the latest review by the Planning Board, would result in a cumulative decrease of greenspace greater than 4,000 square feet or in a cumulative increase in structure floor space greater than 2,000 square feet.
(5)
Where the Planning Board finds that the change of use and/or physical
changes to the site are insignificant relative to the existing development.
B.
Applicability. Unless deemed not applicable pursuant to Subsection A, a site plan review by the Planning Board shall be required for the following:
(1)
Establishment of nonresidential use where no nonresidential use currently
exists;
(2)
Establishment of multifamily use where no multifamily use currently
exists;
(3)
Reduction in greenspace on the lot exceeds 2,000 square feet; or
(4)
The increase in structure floor space exceeds 1,000 square feet or
25% of existing floor space, whichever is more restrictive.
