Zoning board grants frontage variance for Gulf Road lot; Select Board to set conditions

The Greenfield Zoning Board of Adjustment voted Feb. 26 to grant a frontage variance for a 40-acre parcel on Gulf Road, provided the applicant complies with New Hampshire statutes (RSAs) and any conditions the Select Board imposes.

The board’s decision came after applicant Eric Fasciani chose to proceed with his hearing despite the option to wait for additional members. Chair Gil Morris told Fasciani that "he could choose to wait until more members of the Board are present," and Fasciani opted to move forward.

Why it matters: The variance clears a key zoning hurdle that had hinged on a short segment of Gulf Road that reverted to a Class VI (non‑maintained) status. Board members said the lot sits roughly 500 feet from a maintained Class V section of Gulf Road and that driveway and access improvements could make the property functionally similar to conforming parcels.

Board members and the applicant discussed several access and safety issues. Planning Board materials read into the record recommended an engineered plan and suggested the town consider a bond for road work; the board and Planning Board representative George Rainier advised doing the work "right and once." Tom Bascom told the board the state will change law in July so towns may not be able to deny a building permit solely because a property lies on a Class VI road: "We would not be able to then deny a building permit solely because it's on a Class VI road," he said, adding that insurance and waiver criteria will also change.

The board considered emergency access and roadway width. Bascom noted Gulf Road was not wide enough for two vehicles to pass in places and pressed whether width requirements could be imposed; applicant Fasciani said he wants the road widened for two‑vehicle passage and that his contractor recommended installing culverts (the contractor recommended two culverts).

During public comment, abutter Debbie Ellis recounted that when she moved to the area in 1997 she and neighbors upgraded a road to Class V and that maintenance problems (which she attributed to an individual named Duffy removing culverts) had previously left a road impassable part of the year. "They didn't have to go to Town Meeting," Ellis said of her prior upgrade, and she told the ZBA she had no objection to granting the variance.

Deliberations followed. Chair Morris read the statutory variance criteria and the applicant’s written responses. The board approved each criterion (public interest; spirit of the ordinance; substantial justice; no diminution of property values; unnecessary hardship) and then voted to grant the variance "as long as the applicant complies with the RSAs and complies with all conditions set by the Select Board." The motion was moved by Tom Bascom, seconded by Sheldon Pennoyer, and recorded as passed unanimously by members present.

What happens next: The variance approval is not the final administrative step. The applicant must return to the Select Board, which will determine the specific conditions—potentially including engineered plans, bonding, road width requirements, culvert installation, and maintenance or waiver terms—under which an access permit or future building permit may be allowed. Planning Board materials and the board’s discussion made clear that an engineered plan and consideration of a bond remain likely prerequisites.

The public hearing closed at 8:10 p.m. The board recorded a flyer from the Southwestern New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission in its mail and adjourned at 8:15 p.m.