Board allows one commercial utility vehicle at 5 Midland Street for on‑call Eversource foreman

The Zoning Board granted a special exception under Section 28‑7‑17 and Section 28‑9‑3‑B to permit one commercial vehicle to be parked at 5 Midland Street, the residence of a newly promoted Eversource foreman. Paul (surname transcribed as “Scribe” in the record) identified himself as an Eversource foreman and said company policy encourages foremen to take trucks home so they can respond quickly to outages; he described the vehicle as a cutaway E‑350 utility van about 10 feet long and roughly 10 feet tall and said it is registered to Eversource. He and his wife, Megan Krevier, said the vehicle can be parked behind the house out of the front setback and that they had taken steps to position it to avoid blocking sight lines. A neighbor, Bill Whitmore of 4 Midland Street, spoke in favor and said the vehicle has not impaired sight lines and that family‑oriented dead‑end street parking is best kept unobstructed. Staff explained the municipal definition of a commercial vehicle triggers the special exception requirement because the vehicle exceeds the 7‑foot height threshold and that the ordinance allows a single commercial vehicle at a residence if the board grants a special exception. Board members asked about alternatives (storage at a company yard in Hooksett, on‑street parking subject to 48‑hour move rules) and learned the applicant preferred to keep the truck at home to reduce response times during major outages. The board moved to grant the special exception, adopting the applicant’s proposed findings. Members discussed limiting the approval to one commercial vehicle on the site and noted the decision is based on the record presented — the owner’s role as a first responder for a utility and neighbor support. The motion passed unanimously.