ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD
Minutes of the May 20, 2004 meeting
Members present:
Bob Bethel Bob Edwards Scott Burnside Spencer Garrett Mike Oldershaw Ed Rowehl
Members absent:
Fred Anderson Dan Valley
Public attendees:
Dean Proctor Ellen Proctor Greg Perry
Ken Boucher Brian Boucher Ed Boehm
D. M. Jung Richard Hart Mr. Uy
Chairman Rowehl opened the meeting at 7:00 PM by appointing Mr. Edwards to sit for Mr. Anderson. He announced the public hearing on the request by Kenneth & Susan Boucher for a home occupation on property located at 1054 Concord Street, Antrim, NH 03440, Tax Map 7, Lot 40 located in the Highway Business District. The applicant proposes to sell firewood commercially. Mr. Rowehl explained the procedure to be followed for the hearing and the secretary noted that the application was duly advertised in a local newspaper, all abutters had been notified and that return receipts were received from all abutters.
Mr. Boucher explained that his son and a friend planned to establish a business on the site to sell firewood under his supervision. He presented a drawing showing what currently exist on the property and an alternate layout of the property showing the location of equipment and material once the business was established. He explained that trucks would import logs which would then be cut and split into firewood. There were no plans to deal in any other wood products than firewood. They did propose to sell wood/gas boiler systems as a sideline. Mr. Edwards asked if a new entrance would be cut in from Route 202 and what sort of truck traffic volume there would be. Mr. Boucher said that they planned to use the existing curb cut and that they anticipated an average of one truckload of logs per week but this could vary
depending upon the time of year. In response to a question regarding hours of operation, Mr. Boucher said that they would like to operate from 7 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week although this was negotiable. Mr. Rowehl asked for abutters who wished to speak in support of the application. Mr. Uy said that he had no objections. There were no abutters present who spoke in opposition to the application. Mr. Rowehl pointed out the necessity to maintain all operations within the setback lines. Mr. Edwards asked about the number of employees and sanitary provisions. Mr. Boucher said that there would be only two employees and a recreational vehicle type toilet would be on site which would be periodically pumped out. There was some discussion of limiting operating hours from 7 Am until sunset. Mr. Oldershaw moved to accept the application. Mr. Burnside seconded the motion. Role call vote: Mr. Bethel – aye, Mr. Burnside – aye, Mr. Edwards – aye, Mr. Garrett – aye,
Mr. Oldershaw – aye. Mr. Oldershaw suggested that approval of the application be subject to site review. The board concurred and a site review was schedule for Saturday, May 29, 2004 at 8 AM. Mr. Rowehl then ruled that the public hearing would be continued to June 3, 2004 at 7:00 PM as the 1st item on the agenda.
The next order of business was the public hearing on the request by Barrett H. Proctor, Sr. for a Minor Subdivision. The applicant proposes to subdivide property at 168 Keene Road, Tax Map 8C, Lot 3 in the Highway Business & Lakefront Residential Districts into two (2) lots. The secretary noted that the application was duly advertised in a local newspaper, all abutters had been notified and that return receipts were received from all abutters. Mr. Proctor present a plat prepared By Mr. McKenney, LLS. The drawing showed the subdivision of lot 2-2 consisting of 2.2 acres. Mr. Rowehl asked for abutters who wished to speak either in favor or against the application. There were none. Mr. Rowehl closed the public participation in the hearing and the Board went into deliberation. The entrance to the lot would be from the
old woods road however this was not shown on the drawing. The Board felt that the driveway to the lot should be on the plat. Mr. Rowehl noted that the lot size and road frontage conformed to the ordinance. The Board then reviewed the checklist. They noted that the following items should be noted on the final Mylar.
Classification of Route 9 (Keene Road)
Location of all soil test pits, test borings and percolation test pits
Contour lines
Dept. of Transportation Driveway permit number (if issued)
The driveway entrance to lot 2-2 should be shown on the Mylar
The consensus of the Board was that there was not sufficient information to accept the application. Mr. Proctor was advised to have the Mylar include the above five items and Mr. Rowehl continued the public hearing as the second item on the June 3, 2004 agenda.
The Board then heard the presentation of a conceptual consultation for a major subdivision of Lot 1C-167 located on the corner of Elm Street and Concord Street. Design Home Builders presented a plat showing the creation of four building lots and a portion of lot 167 being annexed to lot 166. Following a brief review, the applicants were advise that it appeared that the conceptual presentation conformed with the subdivision regulations however that this was not to be construed as assurance that such a subdivision would be approved. The applicants would be required to file a formal application for a major subdivision.
The secretary introduced Dr. Perry who was in the audience. Dr. Perry indicated that he was at the meeting solely to get a feel of how the planning board operates. His primary interest was in the upcoming public hearing for Jon Buschbaum scheduled for June 3, 2004.
Mr. Garrett moved to accept the minutes of the May 6, 2004 meeting as corrected. The motion was seconded by Mr. Oldershaw and passed
The Board reviewed a letter sent to excavation site operators canceling their meeting with the Board which was scheduled for May 20, 2004. They reviewed and approved the Capital Improvement Plan submitted by the Police Department and instructed that it be forwarded to the selectmen without any changes. Notices of code violations issued to Clifton & Theresa Chandler and Andrew D. Shepardson by the code enforcement officer were reviewed. Mr. Oldershaw explained to the Board how Mr. Parsons, our code enforcement officer would get some training from an individual that had experience in processing code violations. A memo from the selectmen was read which solicited information on any possible Brownfields in town. Mr. Burnside mentioned the old Antrim Landfill by the Contoocook River. The secretary will send a memo
to the selectmen advising them of this possible Brownfield.
The members then began discussion of the location of cluster housing in the town. Some members felt that cluster housing should not be permitted in the Rural District. Article XIV, Section O.3.a permits cluster housing in the Rural District by omission. The major reasons stated for not having cluster housing in the Rural District were:
Not in keeping with the rural characteristics of the topography
Tendency to result in affordable (low income) housing
Lower priced housing attracts “starter” type families resulting in more school children
Current lot sizes in the rural district would result in higher priced homes which translate into higher taxes.
A lively discussion followed which dealt with the pros and cons of cluster housing in various districts. The consensus was that this was a very complex subject and a decision on a course of action could not be reached without more research into the matter. The secretary was instructed to obtain more reference material for review by the members. Mr. Oldershaw suggested that perhaps SWRPC had someone who was knowledgeable about cluster housing ordinances that could address the Board. The secretary will look into it.
Members then discussed tractor-trailers and school busses being used for storage and the fact that there are no ordinances to control them. The members felt that they should not be permitted anywhere in town although some members felt they might be permissible in commercial areas. The question came up of what to do about those that already exist. Mr. Burnside felt that as long as the trailers or buses were registered, they should be allowed. He pointed out that a variation of the tractor-trailer was the “container” which was not mounted on wheels. The secretary was instructed to survey other towns to see if any had ordinances to cover such storage facilities and to report back to the Board.
Mr. Edwards moved that the meeting be adjourned. Mr. Burnside seconded the motion which was passed. Chairman Rowehl adjourned the meeting at 9:18 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul L. Vasques, Secretary
Antrim Planning Board
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