City Council

Minutes were approved by the Government Operations & Ordinances Subcommittee on August 13, 2025. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING Government Operations & Ordinances City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber 3:00 P.M. 7/11/2025 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Haynes called the meeting to order at 3:12 PM. 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chairman Haynes led the salute to the flag. 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Hilary Young, Administrative Assistant to the City Clerk 4. ROLL CALL Ms. Young called the roll of the following committee members: Councilor Cheney and Councilor Haynes. Councilor Felch entered the meeting at 3:20 PM. 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kirk Beattie, City Manager, Wes Anderson, Director of DPW, Rob Mora, Planning Director and Tyler Carmichael, Assistant Planner. 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 6.A. Approval of Government Operations and Ordinances Subcommittee meeting minutes of March 27, 2025 Councilor Cheney made a motion to approve March 27, 2025 minutes as distributed. Seconded by Chairman Haynes. The motion passed with all in favor. 2-0 Councilor Felch absent from vote. 7. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ORDINANCES (Haynes, Felch, Cheney) 7.A. Ordinance 2025-201-7, 13 - Proposed changes amending Chapter 201, Streets and Sidewalks, Depositing Snow or Ice Director Anderson stated that he spoke with the City Attorney and verified that the City cannot charge for both the cost of removal and penalties. He would like to see the penalties for violating Chapter 201-7, Depositing snow or Ice increased for all offenses. Councilor Cheney made a motion to increase the fines respectfully to $200, $400, $700. Seconded by Chairman Haynes. The motion passed with all in favor. 2-0 Councilor Felch absent from vote.  Councilor Cheney made a motion to increase the fines respectfully to $200, $400, $700. Seconded by Chairman Haynes. The motion passed with all in favor. 2-0 Councilor Felch absent from vote. 7.B. Request for resident only parking on Simpson Avenue Simpson Ave is a street in the Methodist Campground area of the City. The roads that are public roads and their parking restrictions in this area are: · Weeks Street No parking on either side of the street · Centenary Ave No parking on either side of the street · Simpson Ave No restrictions Janes Ave was laid out as a public street on May 12, 2025. The appeal period expires 61 days after that date. Once the appeal period expires, the public section of Janes Ave is subject to parking restrictions approved by the City Council. All other roads in the Methodist Campground area are private and the City Council does not have the authority to establish parking restrictions on those roads as they are private property. Unless otherwise approved by the City, roads without parking restrictions under state law are parallel parking only. There is one AirBnb on Simpson Ave. It and four other properties on Simpson Ave were overnight residences for motorcycle riders during Laconia Motorcycle Week. Most of the motorcycle operators parked perpendicular to Simpson Ave not parallel. City Ordinances prohibit overnight parking in any City owned parking lot. An exception was made by the City Manager at the time for residents who live in apartments downtown. Resident parking must still meet daytime parking restrictions. Public Works issued overnight parking permits to the landlords or their agents who are responsible for providing passes to their tenants and collecting them back when a tenant moves. There are other public roads in the City that may request resident only parking. The following is a list of some municipalities in the State have established resident parking permit systems: · Concord · Dover · Hampton · Merrimack Director Anderson asked for guidance on how to handle requests for other streets. It is suggested that they would need to contact their Council member in which that road is in for it to be sponsored. Councilor Cheney made a motion that Director Anderson is to write up a procedure for resident parking and get it to the City Manager at his earliest convenience and to bring it back to the subcommittee. Seconded by Councilor Felch. The motion passed with all in favor. 3-0 7.C. Ordinance 2025-235-12, 235-13, 235-41 and Table of Permitted Uses related to keeping domestic chickens as a residential accessory use in the City This proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance will add provisions to Articles II and VII related to the regulation of keeping domestic chickens as a residential accessory use in the City. These provisions include definitions, performance standards, and adding the use to the table of Permitted Uses. Said definitions and performance standards are proposed to regulate the location, number, type, housing, and storage of manure and materials related to the keeping of chickens. The Table of Permitted Uses will be updated accordingly to ensure that the keeping of chickens is permitted solely as an accessory use to a single-family residential use.  This proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance will add provisions to Articles II and VII related to the regulation of keeping domestic chickens as a residential accessory use in the City. These provisions include definitions, performance standards, and adding the use to the table of Permitted Uses. Said definitions and performance standards are proposed to regulate the location, number, type, housing, and storage of manure and materials related to the keeping of chickens. The Table of Permitted Uses will be updated accordingly to ensure that the keeping of chickens is permitted solely as an accessory use to a single-family residential use. In accordance with Article XIV of the Zoning Ordinance, the Planning Board held a public hearing on and approved of the proposed ordinance at its May 6,2025 meeting. Councilor Felch asked what other towns and cities require for acreage. Director Mora stated that many are similar, between ¼ and ½ acre, many also do not specify the lot size. Councilor Cheney stated as an owner of chickens, he knows how loud and difficult they can be and on a small lot size, the neighbors are going to be listening to the chickens. Chairman Haynes asked what the average lot size is for residential zone. Director Mora stated that they are between ¼ - ½ acre. Chairman Haynes asked if they have been asked more regarding chickens. Director Mora stated it comes in spurts. Councilor Felch asked if the Planning Board had a public hearing, and if so, did anyone speak from the public. Director Mora stated they did have a public hearing and no one from the public spoke, only Councilor Hoffman. Councilor Haynes asked if they would be required to get a permit. Director Mora stated that when they spoke to the attorney, they initially wanted to do a permit, but legally the city cannot require a permit in the zoning ordinance. They were discussing if they could require a license. Councilor Felch made a motion to table and for Director Mora to get more information on if they can require a license. Seconded by Councilor Cheney. The motion passed with all in favor. 3-0 8. CITIZENS REQUESTS TO COMMENT ON CURRENT AGENDA ITEMS 9. Any other business that may come before the Council City Manager Beattie stated that at the next council meeting he will be bringing forward a request for reducing the speed limit on Busiel, Lewis and Edgewater. It was supported by their Council member. It may be referred to the subcommittee. 10. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Haynes adjourned the meeting at 3:45 PM. Respectfully submitted, Hilary Young, Administrative Assistant to the City Clerk