A.
The Board may grant a waiver of any design requirement or plat standard
of this chapter in accordance with the following:
(1)
The applicant shall provide a written request for waiver. The request
shall indicate the exact section for which the waiver is requested,
the extent of the waiver, and the justification.
(2)
In evaluating the request, the Board shall not grant the waiver unless
it finds, based upon evidence presented to it, that:
(a)
Granting of the waiver shall not be detrimental to the public
health, safety or general welfare;
(b)
Granting of the waiver shall not, in the opinion of the Board,
be injurious to other parties;
(c)
Granting of the waiver shall not have the effect of nullifying
the intent and purpose of this chapter; and
(d)
Strict compliance with the regulations would cause a hardship
to the applicant solely because of the unique physical characteristics
of the site (financial hardship shall not be considered); or
(e)
The Board determines that granting the waiver would result in
substantial public benefit.
(3)
A waiver request shall be considered only at or after a noticed public
hearing by the Board on the subject application, and at which the
waiver request is presented or discussed, so that abutters have an
opportunity to be made aware of all waiver requests.
(4)
The Board may condition any waiver granted so as to secure the objectives
of this chapter.
(5)
The request for waiver shall be granted only when a motion to grant
the request, duly seconded, is carried by a majority of the members
present and voting. If the motion is not carried, the request is denied
and no further motion is required. If no action is taken on the waiver
request, it shall be deemed to be denied.
B.
In the event that alternative design standards which are independently
and scientifically derived are provided to and accepted by the Board,
the Board may permit their substitution for the Town design standard.
Such substitution shall be permitted at the Board's option only when,
in the Board's opinion, the alternative standard would better accomplish
the intent of this chapter for this case. Substitution shall require
a formal motion of the Board, and the minutes of the meeting should
indicate the Board's reasoning for future reference. No waiver is
required for design standard substitution.
If the applicant will have an attorney present at a Planning
Board meeting, written notice shall be provided to the Board at least
seven days in advance of the scheduled meeting so that the Board may
arrange to have the Town Attorney present if so desired. Failure to
provide such notice shall be sufficient cause to continue the meeting
to a later date if the Board so chooses.
Upon stamping and signing a final plan for a full review approval,
the Town shall record a notice of decision referencing the plan at
the Carroll County Registry of Deeds.
The applicant shall be required to provide bonding for site
improvements for any minor review or major review application in accordance
with the following:
A.
Bonding shall be provided by the applicant payable to the Town in
order to ensure that the applicant will complete all site work in
accordance with the plans. Bonding, if called by the Town, shall be
used to stabilize the site, ensure site safety and to minimize any
adverse impacts on the neighborhood and Town. In the event that bonding
is called by the Town, the Planning Board shall immediately schedule
and hold a public hearing to consider revocation of the site plan
approval per the process of RSA 676:4-a. The Board shall also request
that the building permit be suspended until the matter is resolved.
No further work may proceed on the site without further Planning Board
approval, nor shall any CO be issued without prior consent of the
Planning Board.
B.
The amount shall be 50% of the cost of all site work. Appropriate
bonding to cover the full costs of all landscaping shall also be posted.
The form and execution of such surety shall be approved by the Board
of Selectmen. The surety shall run for a term determined by the Planning
Board, but in no event shall it exceed three years nor be less than
one year to ensure survival through a complete growing season.
Prior to land clearing, site preparation, construction or any
other such activity may begin on a site, and before any permit for
such activities may be issued, a final approval of the site plan is
required. All activity on the site shall be in accordance with the
approval.
Every approval pursuant to this chapter is granted subject to
the issuance of a certificate of occupancy (CO) upon completion of
construction and site work. Use of the site prior to the issuance
of the CO shall be prohibited. The CO shall be issued by the Board
of Selectmen or its designee. Prior to issuance of a CO for any project
requiring approval under this chapter, the Planning Board or its designee
must field check the completed site and sign off on the CO prior to
issuance. A request for inspection shall be made to the Town 48 hours
prior to any anticipated backfilling of drainage structures. A request
for final inspection shall be made to the Town and to the Board at
least 14 days prior to the anticipated final completion of construction.
These inspections are required to obtain a CO.
The Board does not require as-built site plans, nor will it
stamp and sign such plans. The only as-built plans which the Board
will stamp and sign is the plan showing the location of structures
on condominium property. Such plans shall:
A.
Be certified to be correct and stamped by a NH licensed land surveyor;
B.
Be accompanied by certificates of occupancy, if applicable;
C.
Clearly identify in the title block exactly what the as-built plan
is approving; and
D.
Have the following plat note printed on each sheet: "These as-built
plans are pursuant to, and without modification of, the original Planning
Board approval."
The Board authorizes the Board of Selectmen and its designees
as the enforcement agents for this chapter. The Board also reserves
the right to enforce this chapter itself if necessary.
Any minor review approval or conditional approval, and any full
review conditional approval, granted under this chapter may be reconsidered
and/or rescinded by a majority vote of the Board. To do so, the Board
must hold a noticed public hearing at its own expense, and then must
determine that material information on which the original approval
was based was defective, incomplete or misrepresented. Any full review
with an approved plan recorded at the Carroll County Registry of Deeds
may be revoked in accordance with RSA 676:4-a. A rescinded approval
shall be deemed a denial of the original application. A new notice
of decision shall be issued, which states the reason for the new decision.
The site plan review regulations in no way relieve an applicant from compliance with Chapter 190, Zoning, or Chapter 130, Subdivision of Land, of the Conway Code or any other code adopted by the Town or any other governmental unit. In the event that the requirements of this chapter are in conflict with other codes, the more stringent shall apply.
If any clause, portion or section of this chapter is found invalid
by a court of competent jurisdiction, this finding shall not invalidate
the remainder of this chapter.
