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West Haven residents press council over special exceptions for infill; work session requested
Summary
Residents and civic-league leaders urged the council to review a 2023 zoning change that allows special exceptions for reduced side-yard setbacks, saying approvals are altering West Haven’s character; the council asked staff for data and a work session with planning/zoning to consider unwinding the policy if needed.
Residents of the West Haven neighborhood pressed Portsmouth City Council on June 23 to reconsider how the city approves reduced side-yard setbacks and other special exceptions for infill development, arguing the practice has changed neighborhood character and that staff reports contain errors.
Alexander Westfall, speaking for the West Haven Civic League, said proposed infill projects that reduce lot width, setbacks and increase height are "changing the character of the neighborhood" and that she and neighbors are campaigning against case SE-26-10 with more than 300 combined signatures. Westfall said the staff report for the case contains factual errors — from proposed square footage to addresses and dates — and questioned why proposed conditions referenced a 3-foot sideyard setback when the applicant requested a reduction to 5 feet.
"When infill development is designed, scale and orientation of existing structures on the block should act as design precedents," Westfall told the council, urging either a return to a variance/hardship process for reduced setbacks or a moratorium on further applications until the rules are reviewed.
Councilmembers responded with repeated requests for a focused work session. Councilman Hugle said the Board of Zoning Appeals previously reported a regular stream of waiver requests and the city switched the code to allow special exceptions instead of variances; neighbors now report the board appears to be approving most cases. "I'd be interested in getting a recommendation from you and your team around unwinding what we've done with the sideyard setbacks," Hugle said, asking staff to assemble data on approval rates and options such as overlays or code changes.
City Manager Steven Carter said staff will compile the case approvals, denials and trends and bring recommendations. Councilmembers asked that planning and zoning staff (who report through the same department director) attend the work session and present possible ordinance or overlay changes and process options to ensure neighbors' concerns are heard.
Council agreed to schedule a work session to review the special-exception process and to seek staff recommendations that will include data on approval rates and proposed remedies if an over-approval pattern is confirmed.
The matter remains in the discussion stage; no formal policy change was enacted at the meeting, and council members asked staff to return with data and specific recommendations.
