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Board grants height variance on Cross Beach Road to allow raised construction after flooding
Summary
Seabrook’s Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance to allow a 40-foot structure in a rural zone at 6 Cross Beach Road so the applicant can raise lowest floors above recent flood levels; the board found the five variance criteria were met.
At its Feb. 26 meeting the Seabrook Board of Adjustment heard from Paul Lepere on behalf of Jillian Real Estate Development seeking a height variance for a property on Cross Beach Road.
Lepere said the property experienced about two feet of flooding over a seven-day period last year and that the road has been inundated this year. He told the board the extra height—up to 40 feet under the requested variance—would allow the lowest occupied floor to be raised above the flood elevation. He described a construction approach that includes a 24-inch footing, a poured foundation, flood gates/vents in the foundation and a prohibition on living space within four feet of the base level.
The request was characterized as a variance to Section 7 (subsection Table 1) to permit 40-foot building height in Zone 1 (rural) to meet flood-elevation requirements. Board members reviewed the five required variance findings and recorded affirmative votes on each criterion, noting the limited increase in height is intended to reduce flood damage and enable elevating the lower floor.
Board members Jeff Brown, Jim Sanborn, Phil Howshan, Fidae Azouri and Teresa Rowe voted yes on the findings. Fidae Azouri moved to accept the variance as written; Jim Sanborn seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
The board did not record additional conditions beyond those Lepere described; the decision authorizes the applicant to proceed with the variance and standard permitting steps.
