Before the next Zoning Board hearing on two applications for variances on a Davis Lane property Sept. 21, applicant Richard Lawrence, members of his family and neighbors, as well as members of the Francestown ZBA conducted a walk-through on the property Thursday.

The variances applied for by the Lawrences would be seeking to adjust the more substantial setback of the property deemed necessary by a 1988 decision by the Planning Board. The proposal meets all criteria of the zoning ordinance aside from the 1988 decision by the Planning Board, and Silas Little, chairman of the ZBA, stated that New Hampshire Supreme Court case Town of Auburn vs. McAvoy has “bearing” on this application, despite the Lawrences being heard by the board three times over the course of one year. Town of Auburn vs. McAvoy set a precedent of a 30-day window for Planning Board decisions to be appealed. 

Richard Lawrence bought the plot on Davis Lane in 1999, and his son Phillip is looking to build a single-family residence on the property. It will have approximately 3,000 square feet of usable space and will stand between 28 and 29 feet tall. Phillip Lawrence, his wife, two children and mother-in-law would live there. 

During a Zoning Board hearing Aug. 10 regarding the variance requests, the 1988 Planning Board decision to subdivide the lot and the two abutting properties was repeatedly mentioned. The decision, as claimed by the ZBA, allows one residence to be built on the property, but substantially smaller than that requested by the Lawrences and several hundred feet back into a heavily wooded area. The lot is surrounded by wetland areas and ancestral deer trails.

A letter written by the Francestown Conservation Commission to the ZBA was opened during the Aug. 10 hearing, and the Lawrences claim the commission would prefer the property be developed in their proposed envelope to lessen the environmental impact. The envelope decided upon in 1988 would also not allow for Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility due to the smaller footprint, and Phillip Lawrence’s mother-in-law has mobility concerns and will be using a wheelchair.

The site visit Aug. 17 aimed to provide the ZBA an understanding of the situation of the lot and the density of the woods in the southernly portion of the property where the 1988 decision stated the property could be developed, as well as the proximity to the abutting neighbor on Davis Lane. 

The Sept. 21 hearing will be at 7 p.m. in the Francestown Town Offices.