Town of Kensington

Minutes for Zoning Board of Adjustment

January 16, 2001 Meeting

Approved May 8, 2001

In Attendance: Chairman Dan Chaisson, Katherine Clark, Joan Skewes, and Paul Kimball

The Meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm.

Continuance of Kensington Leadership Center – Joan Skewes reported she had spoken with Town Counsel, Charles Tucker, regarding the issue of non-profit organizations and defining commercial use implications. Attorney Tucker’s explanation suggested the Board focus on the use, using the analogy that if a church wanted to open a gravel pit, you would look at the use. H. Bragg stated the intended use is approximately ten times a year, various groups of people visit and may sleep over. The studio portion may be used approximately six times a year for various groups up to fifty people. Last year the studio was used only twice. The property is rented monthly by a trust, Grand Circle Corporation of Boston, MA, but no payment is received for the use. There are no cooking facilities on the properties and large groups usually stay at inns in the area. There was a lengthy discussion regarding low-impact commercial use. Chairman Chaisson said he felt the Board should have discretion over dimensional issues and that the current regulations seem too restrictive. Currently all businesses are treated the same regardless of the number of employees or the degree of business activity. K. Clark said she thought there should be some type of allowances made for buildings and properties in existence prior to the new regulations. Requiring owners to move buildings in order to comply with the regulations, or having to restrict uses that might even be in the best interests of the town, did not make sense. Paul Kimball suggested writing to someone on the Master Plan and asking them to look at the issues. The Board agreed that the Master Plan Committee might be able to have some input. Chairman Chaisson offered to write a letter to the Master Plan Committee explaining the Board’s assessment of restrictive regulations. K. Clark motioned to have the Administrative Assistant write the letter, but following discussion with the Board, withdrew her motion.

Preliminary Consultation: Mr. Swanton had called the Administrative Assistant earlier in the day and asked to withdraw.

Approval of December 5, 2000 minutes: Paul Kimball asked that the prior owner’s name, Jeffrey Brown, be inserted in paragraph three in order to clarify the statement. K. Clark moved to approve the minutes of December 5, 2000 as corrected. Paul Kimball seconded with all in favor.

J. Skewes motioned to adjourn at 8:25 pm, seconded by Paul Kimball with all in favor.

Submitted by,

Denise Gregson

Administrative Assistant