By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Goffstown residents flooded out of their homes can continue to use recreational vehicles as temporary housing, members of the board of selectmen voted on Monday, June 5.

That vote was one of four decisions selectmen made to accommodate homeowners who experienced property damage during last month’s flooding.

Board members also voted to extend a waiver of disposal fees at the town transfer station for residents removing flood-damaged material from their property.

Finally, the town will continue making trash containers and portable toilets available to residents doing repair work on their homes.

All these decisions primarily concerned the Lynchville/Danis Park neighborhood of Goffstown, an area also known as “The Parks.” Approximately 70 households in the area were evacuated and have experienced extensive property damage during the floods.

The neighborhood was the subject of a potential $10 million improvement plan for road, sewer, water and drainage even before floods hit.

“We knew there were special issues with The Parks, and they’ve been made more special because of the floods,” Selectmen Chairman Barbara Griffin said.

Several residents of The Parks area took to living in recreational vehicles on their property while doing repair work to their homes.

Controversy erupted over the issue when police, acting on the suggestion of code enforcement officials, gave residents living in RVs copies of a town code forbidding such accommodations.

No enforcement action was taken pending Monday’s discussion of the issue, Griffin said.

The RV regulation stems from an ordinance voted upon at Town Meeting approximately five years ago, said Town Administrator Sue Desruisseaux.

“Because this is a zoning ordinance voted on with a ballot, we don’t have the authority to just turn a blind eye to it,” Griffin said. However, she said selectmen could vote to defer enforcement.

Goffstown’s participation in the National Flood Insurance Program also precludes the town from allowing people to live in their RVs indefinitely, Desruisseaux said. The flood insurance program’s rules forbid residents from living in RVs for more than six months.

In the vote taken at the meeting, selectmen decided unanimously to allow residents to live in their RVs until Aug. 30, at which time board members will review the situation.

Residents living in campers will have to fill out a form with the building inspector, selectmen decided. The living conditions will be subject to approval from the building and health inspectors, selectmen said.

The decision on RVs will affect approximately 15 residents living in vehicles, said Police Chief Michael French.

There are currently 75 houses which are not approved for occupation throughout the town, French said. Of those, he said 67 are approved for the limited use of cleaning and renovations, while eight have not had power restored due to safety concerns.

About a dozen residents of The Parks area turned out at the meeting to comment on the issue of RVs, as well as the portable toilets and trash bins which were recently removed from the area.

Resident Deb Gaudette said she was surprised to see the RV ordinance enforced, when she’d seen other regulations flouted in the past without any police notice.

“I’m not sure you truly understand what we’ve all been through,” Gaudette said to selectmen.

“I’ve seen people ignore rules for eight years. Now that everyone’s been flooded out of their homes and lost everything they own, you start enforcing them?”

Several residents also complained about the portable toilets and trash containers that were removed from the area following the Memorial Day weekend.

“Some people don’t have a truck to bring their materials to the transfer station,” resident Mark Payne said regarding the absence of the containers. “If you just pull them on everybody, people will wonder where they went.”

When asked how much it cost to provide trash bins to residents of The Parks, Director of Public Works Carl Quiram said the town had spent about $16,000 on the service thus far.

Selectmen voted unanimously to continue providing trash containers and portable toilets to The Parks area, as well as suspending disposal fees at the transfer station, subject to review in two weeks.