Council moves for ZBA to reconsider short-term rental decision

LACONIA — The City Council wants the Zoning Board of Adjustment to reconsider its decision to grant a special exception to the owners of a South Down residence who want to continue renting the premises on a short-term basis.

The council voted 6-0 Monday to have the city attorney file a motion for rehearing regarding a residence on Birdie Way. The owner received the special exception from the ZBA last month after arguing that having the premises occupied periodically was a benefit to the city.

City Councilor Bob Hamel brought the matter before the council.

“In granting the special exception, the ZBA determined there was a public benefit of having the house be occupied,” reads a staff report explaining Hamel’s request. "Councilor Hamel requests that the council discuss whether this was the type of public benefit intended when the ordinance (governing short-term rentals) was drafted."

The exception was one of two to be granted under the new ordinance which limits short-term rentals to dwellings that are occupied by the owner for a minimum of 150 days a year. Exceptions are allowed if the premises has been rented out on a short-term basis for more than five years, or if the use would entail “a general community benefit that rises above the financial gains of the applicant.”

Jennifer Butchma, an owner of the Birdie Way property, applied for the special exception on the grounds that it was beneficial to the community for the premises to be occupied by short-term tenants, rather than having it vacant.

Hamel said the ZBA erred in granting the waiver.

“I don’t think just having a house vacant is sufficient for an exception,” he told the council. “It sets the bar very low,” he added

The minutes of the March 16 ZBA meeting state that Butchma and her husband “prefer for the house to look occupied and lived in to prevent the potential for crime activity.”

ZBA member Gail Ober, who made the motion to grant the special exception, said, she (wanted) the special exception to apply to the Butchmas only.

“There is discussion amongst the Board and Staff about the benefit to the community of having the unit be occupied rather than vacant, and the language and intent of the Special Exception criteria,” the minutes read.

The council vote to file for a rehearing came three days before the opportunity to ask for a rehearing would have expired.