Creation of appeals board on warrant at East Machias

EAST MACHIAS — Voters in East Machias will meet next week to decide whether to establish an appeals board to handle disputes between the Planning Board and people who may be denied a building permit.

The special town meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, April 30, at the East Machias Municipal Building.

Under the proposed ordinance that would create the appeals board, five members would be appointed by selectmen to serve five-year terms. The only exception to those terms would be the first appointments, in which one term would end at the annual town meeting in 1993, and two each would end in 1994 and 1995.

The proposal also specifies that municipal officers or their spouses are prohibited from serving as active or associate members of the appeals board.

The board would be authorized “to interpret the provisions of any applicable town ordinance.” It also could issue special-exception and conditional-use permits.

Variances also could be granted by the appeals board for cases in which strict adherence to a town ordinance “would cause undue hardship.”

The proposed ordinance states that an undue hardship would exist when:

The land in question cannot yield a reasonable return unless a variance is granted;

A variance would be needed because of “unique circumstances of the property”;

The granting of the variance would not alter “the essential character” of the locality;

The hardship is not a result of action taken by the owner.

The appeals board would have 30 days after a hearing to decide an issue. It also would be allowed to reconsider any decision it made if it does so within 30 days of the original decision.

Voters will be asked to define the terms of office for the Planning Board. Last month, selectmen appointed five members to one-year terms and considered asking residents to change the method of selecting the board’s membership from appointment by selectmen to election by resident voters.

Since then, Rebecca Talbot, Planning Board chairman, has resigned. She was replaced by William Vandergrift, who had resigned from the board a month before.

Selectmen now propose that the five members of the Planning Board be appointed, but change the terms from one year to five. The terms for those members now serving on the board would have to be staggered.

If the proposal is approved Monday, Vandergrift’s term would expire at annual town meeting in 1992. Ann Gaddis would remain until 1995; Niki Albee through annual meeting in 1994; Carol BryanCQ, until 1993. The term of newly elected member Anita Johnson would expire in 1991.

The warrant for the special town meeting also will ask voters to elect a new member to the board of assessors to replace William Talbot, who resigned earlier this month.

Voters also will be asked to amend the town’s subdivision law and the sewer use and on-site, waste-water-disposal management ordinances.