ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD
Minutes of the October 20, 2005 Meeting
Members Present:
Fred Anderson Bob Edwards Ron Haggett Renee Rabideau Brian Sawich Alex Snow
Members Absent:
Bob Bethel Scott Burnside Ed Rowehl
Public Attendees:
Meredith Cooper, SWRPC Jane Lauber Burtis Lauber
Gayle Rochford, LLS Richard Fink, P.E.
Vice Chairman Edwards opened the meeting at 7:00 PM and designated Ms. Rabideau to sit for Mr. Bethel and Mr. Snow to sit for Mr. Rowehl. The first order of business was to discuss a request by Meridian Land Services. They have asked if it was necessary to survey an entire parcel of land which was 60 acres in order to subdivide 2 or 3 two-acre lots. The Secretary pointed out that in July of 2001; the Board had adopted a policy that an entire tract of land needs to be surveyed. This policy has been applied to all applicants since 2001 and the consensus of the Board was that a precedent had been set and there was not justification to waive the requirement in this instance.
The Secretary advised the members that Mr. Mellen, the surveyor handling the Knapton application and Mr. Moser, the engineer handling the Jones application had requested a continuance of their hearings scheduled for this evening until November 3rd. Mr. Haggett moved to accept the minutes of the October 6, 2005 meeting as corrected. The motion was seconded by Mr. Anderson and passed.
Members were provided with copies of memos from the Fire Chief approving the water supplies for the Mighty Oaks Realty and Pierce Lake Estates II subdivisions, copies of which are in the respective files. The Fire Chief also provided a draft entitled “Water Supply Requirements for Fire Protection for New Developments in the Town of Antrim … as of October 19, 2005”. Mr. Edwards commented on conversations he had with personnel in Peterborough and other towns. Following some discussion of the Chief’s report, it was the consensus that an effort needs to be made to develop requirements which not only meet the needs of the Fire Department but also can be equitably administered by the Planning Board. This effort will be undertaken following the survey to be completed by the Rural Water Resources Group which is being funded
by FEMA. Ms. Cooper offered the services of SWRPC to develop regulations.
Members reviewed a draft of a warranty deed for Map 1A Lot 170-2 owned by Antrim Mills. Ms. Rabideau pointed out that some of the metes and bounds were not logical. The Secretary was instructed to review the deed against the plot plan, have any errors corrected and forward the draft to Town Counsel for review and comments.
Mr. Vasques presented his resignation as an alternate member of the Board. Ms. Cooper explained that in his position as Town Planner which involved reviewing plans, his designation to sit for an absent member and voting on plans he had reviewed could be construed as a conflict of interest.
At 7:30 PM, Mr. Edwards continue the public hearing on the application of the Laubers for a major subdivision. The applicant presented requests for waivers as follows.
1. A waiver to the requirement that “The road shall have at least 4’ gravel shoulders on each side of the traveled way …” Because of the existing stonewalls on Ashley Road, the engineers propose that the first 200’ of Ashley have 2’ paved shoulders with Type A curbs and the balance of the road shall be 18’ wide with gravel shoulders. Mr. Haggett moved to grant the waiver. Mr. Anderson seconded it. The motion passed unanimously.
2. A waiver to the requirement that culverts have 3 – 4 feet of coverage. Because of the slope of the road, this is not feasible. Mr. Haggett made a motion that the waiver be granted which was seconded by Mr. Sawich and passed unanimously.
3. A waiver was requested to the requirement that the shared portion of the driveway be 20’ wide. It was proposed that the shared portion of the driveway be 18’ wide to minimize the impact on the wetlands. Mr. Haggett made a motion to grant the waiver which was seconded by Mr. Sawich and passed unanimously
Members then began a review of suggested conditions which could be applied to an approval of the subdivision. For the most part, the conditions were acceptable to the applicant and their representatives although a good deal of discussion was devoted to the water supply for fire fighting. Mr. Fink made an impassioned plea for the costs of a cistern to be shared by the town and not born solely by the Laubers. Mr. Vasques advised Mr. Fink that the proposed cistern was sized to serve the Lauber development and the fact that the town could use the cistern to fight fires in other parts of town was immaterial. He said that this was based on advice from Town Counsel. If the Laubers did not wish the cistern to be used for homes outside of the development, the Laubers could retain title to it and have it maintained by the homeowners association. Mr.
Fink suggested that the Laubers donate to a Town Fund to develop water sources for firefighting. It was pointed out that no such vehicle existed nor could such a mechanism be set up which would not delay the granting of a conditional approval. Ms. Cooper referred to RSA 676:16 which stipulates that title to lots cannot be transferred until the subdivision is approved and registered. A debate followed as to whether or not lots could be sold if all the conditions of the approval were not met. It was decided that Mr. Vasques would seek advice from Town Counsel and advise the applicants.
Following a review of all the suggested conditions, Mr. Sawich made a motion to conditionally approve the application of Jane & Burtis Lauber File # 2005-05PB for a major subdivision of property located off of Pierce Lake Road and Elm Avenue, Antrim, NH, Tax Map 7 Lots 19 & 20 located in the Rural District. The applicant proposes to subdivide the property into ten (10) lots. The following conditions apply to this approval:
Planning Board requirements, commitments and agreements made by the applicant and/or his agent as recorded in the meeting minutes dated October 20, 2005 and previous meetings as they pertain to this application are a conditional part of this approval.
The applicant is to obtain a building permit for any construction or alteration and adhere to all building, health and fire codes.
Corrections will be made to the construction drawings to the satisfaction of the Town Planner for checklist items #21, 22, 27, 28, 64, 92b, 110, 115b, 118a, 118b, 120 and 141c.
Pending the design of a water supply system for fire fighting which meets with the approval of the Fire Chief and Planning Board. Said system to be installed and made operational no later than two (2) years from the design approval date or before the third building permit in the development is issued, whichever comes first.
Approval of Town Counsel of the easements per sheet #4.
Subject to approval by the Board of Selectmen and Town Legal Counsel of a Bond or Irrevocable letter of credit from an acceptable financial institution in form and dollar amount adequate in the sole opinion of the Selectmen to ensure the accurate setting of all applicable boundary markers, that road construction is completed in accordance with the final approved construction plan(s) as reviewed and approved by an engineering firm selected by the Town and that water supply requirements for fire fighting noted in 4 above are installed. This condition shall extend to and include approval by the Board of Selectmen of the required oversight of road construction by Town’s engineering firm and will include the detailed road construction inspection schedule.
Documentation from the Conservation Commission regarding mitigation for disturbing the buffer zone to the wetlands.
The final drawings shall show the signature and seal of the Wetland Scientist
Pending approval of Town Counsel regarding the easement for the shared driveway.
Pending NHDES Wetlands approval
Pending NHDES amended Subdivision approval
The final Mylar shall have a note indicating the possible location of cistern(s) should they be required by item 4 above.
As Built plans are to be approved by the Town’s engineer prior to the release of bonding or security instruments.
Mr. Haggett seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Mr. Anderson – aye, Mr. Snow – aye, Mr. Sawich – aye, Ms. Rabideau – aye, Mr. Haggett – aye.
Mr. Edwards reported that the Growth Committee’s next step would be to coordinate with the Master Plan Committee and suggested that he attend the Master Plan meetings. Mr. Haggett indicated that little work would be done on the Master Plan until after the March 2006 Town Meeting. Mr. Edwards reported that the Open Space Committee would be having its final meeting on November 8th at which time they would be finalizing their report to the Selectmen. Mr. Sawich asked about the schedule for requesting changes to the ordinances and regulations. He was advised that any changes proposed by the Board should go to public hearing no later than the December 15th meeting. Mr. Vasques explained that any member could submit proposed changes to the Board for consideration and that he would welcome suggestions and drafts
from anyone.
Mr. Haggett made a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Mr. Anderson and passed. Mr. Edwards adjourned the meeting at 10:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul L. Vasques, Secretary
Antrim Planning Board
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