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Case 12/10/13–1
Tuesday, December 10, 2013 — Notice
Hilltop Cafe (applicant) and Senator Development, LLC (owner) have applied for a variance to section 6.1 of the Wilton Zoning Ordinance, to permit the use of a portion of Lot F–98–1, 195 Isaac Frye Highway (Four Corners Farm) as a café. Specifically, the purpose of the requested variance is to amend the conditions of a variance previously granted on June 8, 2010, in Wilton ZBA Case 6/8/10–1, in order expand the permitted seating and hours of operation and make certain alterations to the exterior of the building.
The Town of Wilton Zoning Board of Adjustment will consider this application in a public hearing in the Wilton Town Hall Courtroom on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
The application for this case, and any other documents submitted with it, are available for inspection in the Wilton Town Offices.
The application as a PDF fle.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013 — Decision
The application by Hilltop Cafe (applicant) and Senator Development, LLC (owner) for a variance to section 6.1 of the Wilton Zoning Ordinance has been granted. The variance will permit the continuing use of a portion of a building on Lot F–98–1, 195 Isaac Frye Highway (Four Corners Farm) as a café.
The café may have up to 24 seats. Hours of operation are to be limited to 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Thursday, and 8 am to 9 pm, Friday through Sunday. Parking is to be as shown on the plan submitted with the variance application in ZBA Case #6/8/10–1.
The new door and window already constructed are approved. Any further exterior changes to the building must be approved by any easement holders and authorities having jurisdiction.
This decision shall expire if the construction or use permitted by it has not begun by Thursday, December 10, 2015. (Wilton Zoning Ordinance section 17.4)
The selectmen, any party to the action or proceedings, or any person directly affected thereby may apply for a rehearing of this decision. A request for a rehearing must be filed in writing with the Zoning Board of Adjustment on or before Thursday, January 9, 2014, and must fully specify all grounds on which the rehearing is requested. (N.H. RSA 677:2)
Thursday, February 20, 2014 — Request for Rehearing
Joseph Gottstein has requested that the Zoning Board hold a new hearing to reconsider its decision to grant the variance requested by the Hilltop Cafe and Senator Development, LLC, to allow expanded seating and hours of operation, and certain exterior building changes, for the Hilltop Cafe at Four Corners Farm, Lot F–91–1, 195 Isaac Frye Highway.
The meeting will be open to the public, but the decision on this request will be made on the basis of the written request and the history of the case; no evidence, testimony, or other input will be taken at the meeting.
Request for rehearing received Thursday, January 9, 2014 (PDF).
Addendum to the request for rehearing received Tuesday, February 18, 2014 (PDF).
Thursday, February 20, 2014 — Decision
The request by Joseph Gottstein for a rehearing of the decision by the Town of Wilton Zoning Board of Adjustment in Case #12/10/13–1 has been denied.
On December 10, 2013, following a lengthy hearing, the ZBA granted a variance to Hilltop Café and Senator Development, LLC, pertaining to an expansion of the existing café use on Lot F–98–1, 195 Isaac Frye Highway (Four Corners Farm). On January 9, 2014, the ZBA received a timely request for a rehearing from Joseph Gottstein, which explicitly reserved his right to amend the request within 30 days following the posting of the minutes of the December 10 hearing. The minutes were posted on January 19, and Mr. Gottstein filed a timely amendment of his request on February 18. The ZBA met on February 20 to consider the amended request.
- The ZBA found that Mr. Gottstein does not have standing to request a rehearing of the decision. In his request, Mr. Gottstein asserts that he is directly affected by the decision because [he is] “Living in the residential/agriculturally zoned neighborhood where the cafe/restaurant is expanding.” The ZBA observes that Mr. Gottstein lives 0.4 miles from the café location (on a curving, wooded road), out of sight or hearing of the café, and not on the principal route of access to the café. The ZBA is therefore not persuaded that Mr. Gottstein is affected by the decision in a way that would confer standing on him.
- Even if Mr. Gottstein had standing to request a rehearing, the ZBA did not find anything in the request for rehearing to persuade it that there is a reasonable likelihood that a rehearing would produce a different result than the original hearing.