02/18/2021 BOARD OF HEALTH Minutes

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Roll call vote: Ernest Virgilio, (yes); Veronica Warden (yes); Brian Baumgaertel (yes). VOTE: Unanimous 2. Review and approval of expense warrants. It was understood that expense warrants would have to be signed outside of the meeting, due to there being no Board members physically present., 3. Review of appeal of Title V violation — 47 Fox Hill Road, Kenneth Dugal. Mr. Harrington commented that, after several calls from realtors and potential buyers, on November 24, 2020" an order letter was sent to the owner of 47 Fox Hill Road requesting access to confirm the legal number of bedrooms in the dwelling. The advertised listing sheet stated two bedrooms were in the dwelling,and pictures revealed three potential bedrooms. The 2002 septic permit states that a one bedroom is allowed. On December 10, 2020, the owner allowed the Health Agent and Assistant Health Agent access to perform an inspection. A copy of the inspection form was provided to the owner. On February 3. 2021,, an order letter, including the violation of Title V, was sent to the owner. This hearing is an appeal of that violation and order to abate the number of bedrooms in the dwelling. At the inspection, possible abatement actions were discussed. They included removal of walls to meet the six-foot opening requirement or removal of the heat from the rooms. The owner is an HVAC contractor and thought removal of the heat would be a less costly option., rather than taking down wails. Mr. Harrington stated that initially he was amenable to that option,, but reversed his opinion due to the way the housing code is worded,and after consulting with Chair Baumgaertel. On February 11, 2021, Mr. Harrington spoke with Parke Madden, the realtor for the buyer. He explained to Mr. Madden that, if the buyers were willing to purchase the property and bring it into compliance, the Board may utilize an enforceable agreement to allow that. Mr. Harrington commented that the owner has been very cooperative and forthright in his efforts to resolve the s ituation.I Ken Dugal,the property owner, introduced himself for the record. He stated that he knew about deed restriction when purchasing the house. He said he understands everything that has been explained to him about bringing the property into compliance,and what it would take to turn the house into a conforming two or even three-bedroom home. He indicated that he would have liked to avoid a full overhaul of the house, but understands why removal of the heat was rejected as an option. Mr. Dugal proposed removing the doors to the bedrooms, wrapping the openings to both upstairs bedrooms in plaster, and moving the light switches to the exterior of the rooms. Ms.Warden commented that the Board cannot be less strict than Title V and, if the property has a bedroom restriction, the Board would not be able to approve his proposal. She suggested putting a six-foot cas'ed opening on the downstairs bedroom, and making the two upstairs bedrooms into one master suite. Mr. Harrington noted that the property fallsjust short of the lot size required to use denitrification to get the second bedroom. Chair Baumgaertel agreed that, with a quarter-acre lot, it would require a combination of denitrification and a Nitrogen Aggregation Plan to get additional bedrooms. He commented that a six-foot cased opening has always been the requirement for eliminating privacy and, as the Health Agent pointed o�ut, it would be a violation of the state Sanitary Code to not have portions of the livable space heated. He also suggested opening up the downstairs bedroom, and acquiring credit land for the two upstairs bedrooms. Board members felt that all the options had been presented, and Mr. Dugal confirmed his understanding of those options. 5