Working out details slowing in-law apt. proposal

LACONIA — Three months after a proposal for streamlining the approval process for in-law apartments was brought before the City Council, getting the amended ordinance into its final form is still a work in progress.

The city’s Planning Department is urging the process be simplified because many find the current procedures, which require applicants to get permission from the Zoning Board of Adjustment, too cumbersome.

Half or more of those seriously considering adding private space on the same property as a single-family home drop the idea because they see the current process as too burdensome, Planning Director Dean Trefethen told the council in December.

Under the change being proposed, the Zoning Board would no longer be involved, except for appeals. The decision would instead be made by the Planning Department staff.

The Planning Board recommended the council approve the change to the ordinance in November.

City Councilor Henry Lipman is insisting that any change in the ordinance be worded in such a way that the decision of whether to grant or deny an application is based on consistent and hard-and-fast criteria which do not rely on individual interpretation and which can stand up to legal scrutiny.

“I support the idea (of making the process easier) so long as the people who will be making the decision have clear guidance for making that decision,” Lipman said. He said the standards for making the decision need to be spelled out so the criteria for approval is consistent from case to case.

He said the recent experience with COVID has made the idea of having an older family member live on the same property more attractive. He said that living arrangement could also appeal to those who are helping an adult child who is just getting established but may not be able to completely afford living on their own.

Trefethen said the big issue that needs to be ironed out is how the staff in the Planning Department will make the decision.

In addition to Lipman, Trefethen said Councilor Bob Hamel also has also asked questions and voiced concerns about how the process will work.

Trefethen said he hoped to bring an updated form of the proposed ordinance, with more precisely defined terminology, to the council in the coming weeks, perhaps sometime in April.