The audience members present were Scott and Noriko Parker, and Stanley Hodgeman.

David Gulbrandsen called the meeting to order at 7:00PM.

II. Additions & Corrections
There were none.

III. Approval of Minutes: June 8, 2011
Barbara Ingalls made a motion to move approval of the minutes to the end of the agenda. Lynn Esty seconded it. All were unanimous.
Barbara Ingalls made a motion to approve the minutes of June 8, 2011 with corrections. Lynn Esty seconded it. All were unanimous.
IV. Public Hearings
(A) App. #06.0711 by Scott and Noriko Parker appealing the decision of the zoning administrator to deny their zoning permit application based on the height of the proposed structure
David Gulbrandsen opened the hearing at 7:03PM. All audience members affirmed. There was no conflict of interest or exparte communication among the Board members.
Scott Parker stated that he scaled the height of the house on the plans and it is under the 35 feet at the gable end. It is 32.4 feet from the exterior around the house. There is a walkout basement with a deck going 16 feet out to the east and 10 feet below the deck is the basement. He showed the ZBA a drawing of the house. The earth will be approximately 9 feet high for retaining wall. There are two gable ends. The eaves are 18 feet up from the back side. The deck is 6 inches below. The level is 20 to 25 feet out from the house. It is 10 feet below the basement. The house faces the east. The south, north, and west side have a minus one foot elevation. The east side has minus 9 feet elevation. All sides will be 32.4 feet high. The garage doors are on the north side.
Exhibit 1 was the application and the side view of the house. Exhibit 2 was the site plan. Scott Parker stated that there is already an existing mud room and garage. He is adding onto the mudroom. The garage is at grade. The garage is 21 feet high. David Gulbrandsen read Bylaw 6.1.2. Scott Parker wanted to know why the height of 35 feet was picked. He wanted to know if it was because of the fire department. deForest Bearse stated that is usually the answer.
Scott Parker stated that the deck is 16 feet from the house, but the fire truck will be able to get up next to the building on the other three sides. There is a 9 foot drop where the deck is going to be located. He stated that the deck is 8 x 36 x 6. The house is 32 feet by 36 feet. Stanley Hodgeman stated that he can see their garage from his house and he has no concerns with the house being built. Exhibit 2 was the interactive map viewer of 441 Downer Hill Road.
deForest Bearse said that according to the bylaw the maximum height is 35 feet from the average height of the grade. She did not consider the average grade on all four sides. She just did the east side which is more than 35 feet. David Gulbrandsen asked if the fire department was contacted. deForest Bearse said no.
Scott Parker asked what does the term average finished grade mean. David Gulbrandsen stated that there is no definition for that. Exhibit 4 was a picture of a house on Old Bow Road. Barbara Ingalls asked how many feet of lawn will be on the side with the 9 feet. Scott Parker stated that there is 100 feet in the front by the driveway and 125 feet from the back. There have been large trucks coming and going up there.
Barbara Ingalls made a motion to close the hearing at 7:40 PM. Lynn Esty seconded it. All were unanimous to close the hearing.

V. Public Comment
There was none.

V. Other Business
(A) Review hearing procedures
This was postponed to the meeting of August 24, 2011.

VI. Adjournment
Barbara Ingalls made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:00PM. Lynn Esty seconded it. All were unanimous to adjourn.

Respectfully submitted,

Diana Day