March 23, 2017
New Hampshire

Jaffrey residents cast votes on town officers, zoning amendments

By Sentinel Staff | The Keene Sentinel | March 23, 2017 | www.sentinelsource.com

AFFREY – A week after a nor’easter caused voting to be postponed, Jaffrey residents took to the polls Tuesday to elect town officers and cast their ballots on proposed zoning amendments.
In contested races, James A. Weimann defeated Timothy Gordon, 288-240, for a three-year seat on the town’s board of selectmen, and Diane B. Schaumann won a two-year term as supervisor of the checklist, garnering 322 votes to Nancy Beiter’s 165.
Elected without contest were Kelly Rollins, to a three-year term as town clerk; Patricia MacIsaac, to a three-year term as a library trustee; Nancy Belletete, to a three-year term as trustee of trust funds; Sandra Stewart, to a three-year term as treasurer; and Carolyn Garretson, to a six-year term as a supervisor of the checklist.
Voters also OK’d amendments to the town’s Land Use Code Tuesday. The first enacted a change to the definition of accessory dwelling unit to align with a recent change to state statute; it passed 304-125. The second, which voters approved 276-147, proposed changes to sections IV, XIII and XX of the Land Use Code to improve their clarity and organization.
The third amendment to the Land Use Code, which passed 274-139, clarified the minimum lot size for apartment houses within the town’s General Business District where water and sewer services are available. Voters passed another amendment, 291-125, to bring the code in line with a recent statute change to RSA 674:33, limiting the term length of special exceptions and variances to two years and adding clarity for determining “unnecessary hardship.”
The fifth proposed amendment, which voters passed 320-108, raised the production capacity of tower-mounted small wind energy systems that can be permitted as an accessory use in certain zoning districts, from up to 60 to up to 100 kilowatts, bringing the code in line with state regulations. The final Land Use Code amendment passed 286-131 and deleted references to content-based restrictions in the town’s sign ordinance in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s verdict in Reed v. Gilbert.
Jaffrey voters will weigh in on a $6,357,088 proposed operating budget, along with the rest of the warrant, at the town’s annual business meeting Saturday at 9 a.m. at VFW Post 5613 on Hathorn Road.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/03/23/jaffrey-residents-cast-votes-on-town-officers-zoning-amendments/