City Council

Minutes were approved on January 30, 2025, by the Government Operations & Ordinances Subcommittee. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING Government Operations & Ordinances City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber 3:30 P.M. 7/10/2024 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Haynes called the meeting to order at 3:32 PM 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Councilor Felch led the salute to the flag 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Katie Gargano, City Clerk 4. ROLL CALL Clerk Gargano called the roll of the following committee members Councilor Cheney, Councilor Haynes and Councilor Felch. Chairman Haynes noted that all 3 committee members were in attendance and a quorum was established. 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kirk Beattie, City Manager 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS Minutes of the May 22, 2024, meeting were distributed to the committee members on May 28, 2024. Councilor Cheney made a motion to approve minutes from May 22, 2024, as distributed, seconded by Councilor Felch, Approved. 7. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ORDINANCES (Haynes, Felch, Cheney) 7.A. Discussion of the Fire Department's Fire Prevention Ordinance Chief Joubert stated that the current ordinance is outdated, and they’d like to bring the ordinances up to date. Deputy Chief Loutrel has been working on this. Deputy Chief Loutrel passed out a packet to the committee outlining the proposed changes. The largest change is to the fees, they were last updated in 2007, since then many area communities have increased their fees where ours have stayed the same. The updates have been met in the middle, so the contractors and residents are not hit as hard. Change to Chapter 149-10 to adjust to the use of fire alarm systems monitored by third party companies from the municipal master box system. Removed wording in 149-13.1 A (1) that required new residential one- and two-family occupancies of  middle, so the contractors and residents are not hit as hard. Change to Chapter 149-10 to adjust to the use of fire alarm systems monitored by third party companies from the municipal master box system. Removed wording in 149-13.1 A (1) that required new residential one- and two-family occupancies of more than 3,000 sq ft to have a sprinkler system. The state fire code exempts one- and two-family occupancies. Remove 149-13.1, A. (2) to get rid of cluster development verbiage. Further sections will need to be renumbered. Remove cluster development verbiage in 149- 13.4, A. Adding wording in 149.13.5 to allow for an approved water supply system in lieu of sprinkler system. Change amendment in 149-11 from more than two living units to more than five living units. Councilor Cheney asked about access to gates and fences be electronic so they could be accessed by a tablet instead of having to struggle. He hopes to see this ordinance updated regularly. Chief Joubert stated for public outreach he would like to see these fees come back into an enterprise fund to help pay for trainings. Councilor Felch made a motion to bring the proposed ordinance changes forward to the full Council, seconded by Councilor Cheney for a first reading and ordinance change. The motion was approved unanimously. 7.B. Accessory Dwelling Units Director Mora spoke to the Council about changing the size perimeter of the accessory dwelling units. Councilor Cheney asked about the building maintaining the character of the traffic, the character cannot be radically different. It is addressed in #9 Manager Beattie asked about #3, it was originally put in there for residents who go away for the winter months. Director Mora stated that is still the intent, they are just making it clearer. Councilor Haynes asked when there is a question about lot lines that must go in front of the Zoning Board, do we require them to submit a survey. We currently use the GIS mapping system to go off lot lines. If abutters disagree with where the lot line is, that is a Civil matter. In Chapter 119 of the building code, the director can require that for any building permit. Councilor Felch made a motion to send this to the full council, seconded by Councilor Cheney. The motion was approved unanimously. 7.C. Short-Term Lodging Director Mora admitted that this ordinance was written a bit confusing and left a lot up for interpretation. This caused issues with neighbors. They have basically rewritten the whole ordinance, to meet the intent of what the residents want and to make it easier to manage. They have removed the time limits on the amount of time you can rent the unit. Removing the special exceptions, making them go in front of the zoning board for all exceptions. A lot of language changes and changed the flow for approval.  to make it easier to manage. They have removed the time limits on the amount of time you can rent the unit. Removing the special exceptions, making them go in front of the zoning board for all exceptions. A lot of language changes and changed the flow for approval. The committee would like to have some more time to read through the changes submitted. Manager Beattie mentioned they limited the number of short-term units allowed in an apartment building. Councilor Haynes asked if in general, are we getting a handle on this? Director Mora stated we only get about 30 applications per year, he has seen 12 since he started back. Most is complaint driven, it is very difficult to track and enforce. He thinks there are probably a couple hundred out there. Councilor Felch asked if there is someone on staff who is searching websites looking for listings. The committee would like to know about the outside management company and how much it would cost. They would like to compare the cost vs hiring a part-time person. Manager Beattie confirmed that complaints have been few lately. There is one that Councilor Cheney has received. Manager Beattie stated that they have been able to streamline going through the court. Councilor Felch made a motion to table. Seconded by Councilor Cheney Director Mora passed out a 46-page packet to review potential changes to the zoning ordinance. The changes were passed out to the planning board, and he’d like to hear feedback from the committee. This must be approved by the Planning Board prior to Council approval. 8. CITIZENS REQUESTS TO COMMENT ON CURRENT AGENDA ITEMS 9. Any other business that may come before the Council 10. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Haynes adjourned the meeting at 4:16 PM Respectfully Submitted, Katie Gargano, City Clerk