Members Present: Jane Roberts, Chairman, Steve Filipi, Coni Porter and Gretchen Wittenborg, and alternate Jack Ernst.
Others present: Alternate Matt Buonomano and Selectmen’s representative Tom Parker.
Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM
Roberts outlined the procedure to be followed at tonight’s hearing. She read the relevant ordinance, 127-8E, pertaining to livestock keeping. The appellant will make a statement, then the Board will hear from abutters pro and con.
Public hearing: Bernadette Hietala appeal for a special exception under Article III, Section 127-8 E. to keep livestock on property located at 19 Perry Road 4, Residential District, Map 29, Lot 4.
Mr. and Mrs. Hietala stated they first appeared before the Planning Board for permission to have one horse on their property. They were given permission in early March 2006. Subsequently the town approved a new ordinance that requires anyone with less than 5 acres if not in the rural district to come before the ZBA for a special exception if they want to keep livestock. The Hietala’s received a cease and desist letter, dated July 12, 2006 from the Selectmen informing them that they must get rid of their livestock or apply for a special exception. That is why they filed an appeal.
Mrs. Hietala said they have one horse, one rooster and four chickens. The horse is kept in the barn; the chickens and rooster are kept in a hut in back of the dog enclosure. Other poultry do not belong to the Hietala’s according to Mrs. Hietala.
In response to a question from Roberts, Mr. Hietala said his barn is about 75 feet from the back and 75 to 100 feet from the side boundary. But measurements are not exact. He said the town maps are not accurate and hopes the ZBA will come down and see for themselves. Porter asked if the boundary is staked. Mr. Hietala said they could find most of the pin markers, one is missing and they were told that the stone fence was a boundary line.
Wittenborg asked if the chickens were fenced. Mrs. Hietala answered yes, adding that they did not have any guinea fowl. Porter asked where the horse was now, and she said at their home, there is nowhere else for it. She said they got conflicting letters, one from the Planning Board in March saying they could keep their horse and one from the Selectmen in July saying they had to get rid of it.
Roberts asked if there was anyone present who was in favor of granting the special exception.
Travis Eaton, Royalston Road, a friend of Mrs. Hietala, said he has horses, chickens and geese on his farm. He visited the Hietala’s on the hottest day of the year, Wednesday, August 2, 2006, and there was nothing wrong, the place was pretty spotless, there was no odor. He said the Hietalas have very few animals.
Helen Columbo, Daley Road, an animal lover and a concerned citizen, was there in support.
Roberts asked if there was anyone opposed to the appeal.
John Hanninen, Pleasant Street, said he lives across the street and through the woods. He visited the Hietala’s property two weeks ago and the odor was foul. Their horse had been on his lawn and while they removed the horse, they did not remove the manure. He said he’d lived on a farm and the Hietala’s property is not fit for keeping animals – it is wetlands, the grass is sparse, manure is not managed properly, the animal shelters are not clean.
Mrs. Hanninen said she was mowing grass today and you could smell the odor.
Dennis Troutman, Church Street, noted that the special exception was not just for the horse, but for the chickens and rooster too. He said the rooster starts at 3:30 or 4:00 AM every day and is very loud and disruptive. Of the 15 abutters to the Hietala property, 13 occupy less than 5 acres, which includes neighbors on three different roads. The neighborhood is very compact and dense. They are concerned about the odor, noise and ground water contamination. He added the neighborhood is too dense to tolerate this kind of activity.
Porter asked if his water had been tested. He said the water in his old dug well, which is not used anymore, was tested and is contaminated with e coli bacteria. That well is 25-50 feet deep. His new drilled well is 200 feet deep and is OK.
Ann Cramer, Church Street, agreed with complaints, adding that noise is a very big issue. She wondered if the other neighbors with fowl received cease and desist letters. Tom Parker, Selectmen’s representative, said he didn’t think so, but at the next Selectmen’s meeting they would take care of that.
Ms. Cramer said the animal control officer has visited the Hietalas and couldn’t get an accurate count of the fowl, adding the Hietalas weren’t cooperative. She said there are at least three roosters and guinea fowl in that area and the neighborhood is sleep deprived. They are concerned for their wells and the wetlands adjacent. They don’t know where the manure goes but see it collected and dumped in back where there are wetlands. Their wells are down slope and on bedrock so the potential for contamination is great. She feels it is not an appropriate neighborhood for livestock. The potential for devastation of the ecology is enormous. Once another neighbor had animals which brought in flies, skunks and other animals – they don’t want to repeat that
experience.
Cheryl Jackson, Perry Road, said they moved to Fitzwilliam in November 2005 and her husband commutes, getting up at 4:30 AM. With the geese, chickens, guinea fowl and roosters loose in the neighborhood, there is no going back to sleep. She said they don’t stay home when they have a day off, they can’t even sit on their porch or back patio – it is too smelly and noisy. She added that she loves animals but shouldn’t have to put up with this situation.
Roberts asked which animals belonged to the Hietalas and which to neighbors. It wouldn’t be fair to blame the Hietalas for other people’s animals. This needs to be sorted out and she suggested the Board so the site walk to determine setbacks and get a feel for the situation.
Mr. Troutman said he thought it was pretty clear that the neighbors don’t want to have livestock in the neighborhood. He thinks that if the people next door come in for a special exception it should be denied too. The property is just not suitable.
Andy Caouette, Perry Street, said he was the closest neighbor and it doesn’t matter what kind of animals they have or how many, they disrupt the neighborhood. He didn’t think a site walk was necessary.
Roberts and Porter said the Board needed to see the situation first hand.
Mrs. Jackson asked if this meant further delay and another whole hearing for the other neighbors who have animals. She said animal control had counted more that 40 animals in the neighborhood and they have been putting up with the disturbance for a long time now.
Porter said everyone needed to have a fair hearing. Wittenborg suggested that the Board do a site walk immediately and schedule a special meeting to continue this hearing. The Board agreed.
Roberts said this hearing would be continued to a special meeting, two weeks from tonight, Tuesday, August 22, 2006 at 7 PM. Roberts said no new fees would have to be paid. The Site Walk is scheduled for Wednesday, August 9, 2006 at 5 PM. Steve Filipi was not sure he could make it, and Matt Buonomano, an alternate, will attend.
Parker noted the Selectmen had received a number of complaints and acted on them. Animal control had a number of calls and he wasn’t sure of the resolution to those calls. The Selectmen will meet tomorrow and issue cease and desist letters to other neighbors if appropriate. He added that the ZBA will decide this case.
When asked if abutters could come on the property during the site walk, Mrs. Hietala refused.
Mrs. Jackson asked why, when the Hietalas had received a cease and desist letter in July, was the situation still ongoing. Roberts noted that the Hietalas had 30 days to either get rid of the animals or file an appeal for a special exception, which they have done. The ZBA will make a decision following the site walk at the next meeting on the 22nd.
Someone questioned whether poultry were considered livestock. The town has a legal opinion that confirms their belief that the ordinance as written does include poultry as livestock and that it is legal to do so. Parker added that veterinarians don’t necessarily agree with that determination.
Porter told the Hietalas that she would be asking about manure management on the site walk.
Sue Caouette, abutter, said they recently had a problem with the horse getting loose and having to try to return it to the Hietalas late at night.
Ernst clarified that setbacks were relevant in this case. They are, setbacks in the ordinance 127-8E apply.
Wittenborg said she has a rooster and usually roosters do not crow all day long unless they are stressed in some way. She said roosters are normally kept sequestered until morning so they don’t start crowing in the early hours. Her hen house is sound proofed. Porter said she had driven by the Hietalas today and it was noisy then.
Wittenborg wants to discuss the policy and why the ordinance was enacted. She said the NH legislature hasn’t yet passed enabling legislation to clarify which pets are OK to be kept and which aren’t, and which are actually livestock. Parker said the Selectmen would enforce the ordinance, adding it was enacted to protect neighborhoods. If the special exception is denied, they will enforce the ordinance, giving reasonable deadlines for removal of animals or compliance.
Minutes: Wittenborg moved, Filipi seconded and the Board approved the minutes of the July 11, 2006 meeting as written.
Wittenborg moved, Ernst seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.
| 
