Suggested problems for the Appeals Board

This publication is presented for "Classroom Use Only."  Its intended use is to stimulate and aid in discussion and role playing within a classroom setting.

The first thing a member of an Appeals Board should do is learn the boundaries of an Appeals Board's jurisdiction. What can a Board of Appeals do? Not do?What is a variance? When can a variance be granted? What conditions must be met before a variance can be granted?

When you have all that information ... you are ready to listen to appeals from people and rule on them. Good Luck.

1. Mark West has a piece of property that is shaped like a pie. It is 258 ' on the wide end, 78' on the narrow, and about 186' in depth. Mark wants to put in a driveway on the narrow end. The town's ordinance states that a driveway needs to be built on a piece of land at least 100' in width. The Planning Board turned Mark down. Now he is at the Appeals Board. Should he get his driveway?

2. Most towns have requirements for locating buildings on lots, called setbacks. When building a new garage, Dennis placed it four feet closer to his property line than the ordinance allowed. His neighbor complained. The Board of Appeals hear the case. If you were a member of the Board, how would you vote? Should Dennis have to tear down his garage7 What about the neighbor?

3. Mr. and Mrs. Compton want to build a convenience store on the corner in town. They have an option to purchase the land and have put together financing for the building and the stock needed to open and operate. A gasoline company has been contacted to install gas pumps. The Planning Board refused to sign a permit, saying the Comptons should have come to them before they got a financing package together. The Comptons are heading right to the Appeals Board and plan to argue that the Planning Board's action was incorrect. What evidence would you need to see and hear in order to make a decision, if you were a Board member?

4. The Wallaces  went to the Planning Board several years ago; they wanted to operate a kennel. They got a permit, but soon there was a difference of opinion as to what a kennel did, how it operated and how many dogs were sold. One neighbor claimed that dogs were sold by the dozens; it was a "puppy mill." Neighbors complained to the town and the Board of Appeals was asked to hear the complaints. The Wallaces were at the meeting, as were the neighbors. As a Board member, what kind of information would you want in order for you to make a decision? What would you need to know for the Wallaces? The neighbors? How would you decide?