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Abutters argue Phillips Exeter proposal is ineligible for special exception, cite lot-area and setback violations
Summary
An attorney for River Street abutters told the board the 0.36-acre build site and the proposed lot merger do not meet density, minimum-lot-area and setback rules, urging denial; the board heard the objections before conditioning approval.
Kirsten Allen, an attorney with Shaheen & Gordon representing multiple River Street abutters, told the Zoning Board the application to build three duplexes on the property at 3537 River Street fails to meet the R2 district's dimensional rules and thus "is not eligible for special exception." Allen said the build footprint sits on approximately 0.36 acres (about 15,000 square feet), while the ordinance requires 24,000 square feet per duplex in the R2 district.
Allen also argued the applicant's proposed lot merger with a roughly 49-acre campus parcel does not cure the application's dimensional and setback shortcomings because uses, yards and setback calculations for one lot cannot be reassigned to another. "The proposed merger is an attempted workaround of the zoning requirements," she told the board, adding that the application lacks precise frontage, width and depth measurements necessary for the board to fully evaluate compliance. The board considered the legal argument alongside town code enforcement and ultimately approved the application with conditions, but the eligibility question was a central, contested point of the hearing and remains a likely subject for further attention in subsequent reviews.
