Plaistow planning board trims temporary-structure rules, clears zoning amendment for warrant

The Plaistow Planning Board voted Jan. 15 to remove a newly drafted section regulating temporary structures from a proposed zoning amendment and to post the revised amendment to the town warrant for the March 2025 town meeting.

Board members said the action was intended to avoid imposing a broad new time limit on structures residents commonly use for storage, such as portable carports and seasonal shelters, and to give staff and boards more time to reconcile the language with state building-code definitions.

The amendment as posted removes language in Section 220-43 that would have limited many temporary structures to 180 consecutive days and 180 total days per year and would have required building permits for some seasonal shelters. Those provisions were the focus of a lengthy public-comment period in which homeowners said the 180-day limit would force the removal of structures used year-round for vehicle and equipment protection, and would be costly to apply retroactively.

Residents urged the board to either allow longer periods, create clearer exemptions for carports and garden structures, or grandfather existing installations. “If you have storage, you don't have it sitting out in your yard or causing problems,” said Ryan Labreck, 174 Main Street, during public comment. “We need places to store things … and it's not feasible to put these up and take them down every 180 days.”

Board discussion focused on the difficulty of reconciling the draft zoning language with the New Hampshire building code’s definitions of temporary structures — which are tied to a 180-day period under the state code — and on the practical difficulties of enforcement. Board member Tim Moore told the public the intent was not to force current homeowners to remove structures overnight but rather to clarify regulatory language so enforcement would be consistent.

Moore moved to amend the draft by deleting the proposed Section 220-43 and removing the phrase “by right” from the related permitted-uses text in Section 220-33. The motion was seconded and carried; the board then voted to post the revised zoning amendment to the warrant as recommended by the Planning Board.

The Planning Board’s action does not itself change the building code or enforcement; rather it removes the new temporary-structure language from the zoning amendment that will go to voters. If adopted at town meeting, the board and town staff said they plan to work through the winter and spring on a clearer definition and a separate protocol that is aligned with the building inspector and state code.

What happens next: The amended zoning article (with Section 220-43 deleted and the phrasing change in 220-33) will appear on the March 2025 warrant with the Planning Board’s recommendation. The board encouraged residents with existing temporary structures who are uncertain about compliance to contact the Building Department for guidance.

Votes and procedure: The board amended the draft ordinance to remove Section 220-43 and to delete the words “by right” from Section 220-33; the board then voted to post the revised amendment to the town warrant for March 2025.