City Hall·Fort Fairfield Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting
Fort Fairfield Zoning Board Grants One-Time Variance for Land Sale
The Fort Fairfield Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously on Sept. 29, 2026, to grant a one-time setback variance allowing Northern Community Trails to sell a machine shed and adjacent land to a neighboring family. Board members weighed the town's ordinance, which requires a 25-foot setback and caps certain residential variances at 20 percent, against past practice of approving variances when both parties agree. The board also elected Jeff Murchison as chair, its first in more than 20 years.
Key points
- Jeff Murchison was nominated and unanimously elected chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, which had not recognized a chair in over 20 years.
- The board voted to approve a one-time variance allowing Northern Community Trails to sell a machine shed and land to neighbor Caitlyn Sears, moving the grandfathered lot line from the south side of the building to the north side.
- Code enforcement officials said the denial was sound because the hardship was self-created by the choice to sell, which does not meet one of the four variance criteria.
- Board members cited past practice of granting variances when both parties agree, with Murchison saying he wanted to honor that precedent.
- Chris Condon, representing Northern Community Trails, said the sale would let the nonprofit shed a building it does not need to maintain or insure, and Sears said it would give her family more storage and land and ease safety concerns about the driveway near her four young children.
- The board discussed whether it was legally bound by the ordinance's 20 percent cap on setback variances for year-round owner-occupied single-family residences, and members raised a hypothetical risk of future litigation over an illegal variance.
Next steps
- Town staff noted a $10,000 grant has been received to begin amending town ordinances, a process that would go through the planning board and then the town council.
- The board adjourned after granting the variance.
Where this came from
Town of Fort Fairfield YouTube
The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.
Watch the meeting ↗The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.