LONDONDERRY — Duane Besso says he's just a guy who wants to live in a house he built with his own two hands.
Londonderry officials says the house and its septic system were illegally built and are too close to a protected wetland area.
To this point, the courts have sided with Londonderry.
Besso is due back in Derry District Court on June 30, having not yet paid $8,200 in fines and fees he was assessed by the court in July. Besso was found guilty of failing to pay $2,750 in town fines for construction work illegally done at his West Road property, according to Frank Holdsworth, the Londonderry's zoning enforcement officer.
Besso was fined for failing to obtain an electrical permit and for having installed a septic system that had not been approved by the town for his property at 103 West Road, according to court documents.
He fought the case all the way to the state Supreme Court, but it was returned to District Court.
The dispute between Besso and the town dates back several years.
He claims the town won't allow him to build on, occupy, or sell the 8-acre property he purchased in 2001 for $10,000. A building sits on the land, but there's a question whether it is technically a home or a shed since the town only granted approval for the latter, according to Town Manager Dave Caron.
"The town doesn't want me to build on my property, not even occupy it, but they want me to pay taxes," Besso said.
The property is valued at $63,200 — $51,000 for the land and $12,200 for the building — with Besso assessed $1,150 in annual property taxes according to the Assessing Department, which says the building is being taxed as a shed, not a home.
Besso said that before purchasing the property, he talked to the Building and Planning Department and was assured there was no way the town could prevent him from constructing at least one building on the property.
Although no current town employees worked in the Planning Department when Besso bought the land, Planning Department officials Tim Thompson and Andre Garon both said they don't believe he was told what he claims because the property is mostly wetlands and cannot accommodate a legal septic system.
Caron said Besso requested a permit, but not for a home.
"Mr. Besso applied for a permit for a garage or shed, a nonliving unit, and was granted that permit," Caron said. "He decided to expand construction and expand it illegally."
Records at Town Hall show Besso applied for a building permit for a 12-by-16 shed with no electrical or plumbing work to be done.
Besso cannot obtain a permit for his property because it does not meet the requirements for a septic system on a residential property, according to Caron and the Building and Planning Department.
In a letter dated Feb. 12, 2002, and signed by James Smith, who was the town's chief building inspector, Besso was notified that his proposed plan for a septic system did not meet the setback requirement of 75 feet for the tank and absorption field.
Caron said the regulations for water sources and septic systems approved by the Town Council help to safeguard the health and safety of the community.
"The town expects all residents to comply with all those regulations, as well as other residents," he said.
Besso insists the Incinolet septic system he installed on his property protects the wetlands by incinerating the waste.
"We are trying to protect the wetland and water tables, and they were insisting that I install a $15,000 to $20,000 (septic) system that puts all of the waste product right into the water table," he said.
Caron believes, but is not sure, that the septic system used by Besso was not approved by the state and that Besso was notified of this by the town on various occasions.
"The septic system, that I understand he has on his property, is not a system approved by our ordinances," the town manager said.
Caron acknowledges that the town has refused to grant Besso an occupancy permit for the West Road property. He says that an occupancy permit can't be granted for a structure that was expanded illegally beyond the limits of the building permit.
To occupy a property, an applicant needs to have a plan approved by the town or state for water and septic systems before obtaining a building permit.
Documents at the Building and Planning Department show a West Road resident complained about electrical wires running through the road from Besso's property to a "waterway" 300 feet away. Besso was notified that he had an improper electrical hook-up.
Besso said the fines and the outcome of his June 30 court appearance won't change his plans or lessen his determination to force the town to let him live in the house he built.
"I'm going back to court to sue the town," he said. "They kicked me around last time because they are more powerful." Besso said he also intends to expose the town.
"The town wants you to obey the rules and they do whatever they want to do to further its own needs."
The real problem, Besso said, dates back four or five years ago when Londonderry built an 11.8-acre soccer complex and started taking water from Nesenkeag Brook — about one million gallons per month as reported in town records — instead of drilling wells to get water from the ground.
Besso said he was the only person left in the neighborhood with property not owned by the town. As a result, he claims the town tried to penalize him to cover up what it was doing.
"The town had kicked out anybody that had property on the Nesenkeag stream because they will notice that there was water being taken from the stream to water the soccer fields," he said. "Last summer, all you saw was rocks on the ground at the bottom of the stream."
Caron denies Besso's accusations, saying the soccer fields have their own water pump system installed by Continental Paving.
"The fields had a pre-existing pump system to provide water, and we are using the same system," he said.
