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Francestown board authorizes cease-and-desist over unpermitted garage, weighs driveway-regulation review
Summary
The Select Board authorized a cease-and-desist letter for an unpermitted garage on Wilson Hill Road that appears to violate setback rules, approved a related response about Map 5 Lot 42 enforcement costs, and directed a Planning Board review of driveway regulations after approving a local driveway permit for Map 13 Lot 24.
The Francestown Select Board on June 15 authorized Town Administrator Jamie A. Pike to send a cease-and-desist letter after the Building Inspector reported a 16-by-20-foot garage under construction on Wilson Hill Road (Map 10, Lot 10) without a required building permit and located approximately 63 feet from the road centerline, a distance the minutes record as short of the required setback.
Select Board members voted to send the drafted notice after the Building Inspector presented the matter. The board also reviewed a separate enforcement matter at Map 5 Lot 42: a resident asked why the Town had not sought fines or reimbursement of attorney fees. The board reviewed and approved a drafted response explaining that pursuing such penalties would likely create significant additional legal expenses that could outweigh any financial benefit; Town Administrator Pike was authorized to send that letter as presented.
On a separate but related permitting issue, the board approved a local driveway permit for Map 13 Lot 24. That property holds a New Hampshire Department of Transportation driveway approval for the state-maintained road, but the Town Building Inspector requested a local permit as well. Mr. Kendall told the board that the Town should consider revising its driveway regulations because NHDOT approvals do not remove the need for consistent local permitting; Town Administrator Pike will ask the Planning Board to review potential amendments.
The Select Board’s actions were recorded by motion and carried at the June 15 meeting; the minutes provide the relevant map numbers and the board’s rationale for not pursuing costlier enforcement measures in the Map 5 Lot 42 matter.
