ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD MEETING
October 16, 2008 Meeting
Members & Staff Present: Diane Chauncey (Staff), Bradley Houseworth (Staff),
Joe Koziell (Member), Andrew Robblee (Chair), Steve Schacht (ExOfficio), Missy Taylor (Member), Kathi Wasserloos (Member), CR Willeke (Alternate)
Member & Staff Absent: Scott Burnside (Member), Sandy Snow (Member)
Public Attendees: None
Public Meeting: Chair Robblee convened the public meeting at 7:15 PM, and appointed Mr. Willeke to sit for the absent Mr. Burnside.
Approval of Planning Board Meeting Minutes: Mr. Schacht motioned to approve the minutes of the October 2, 2008 Board meeting as presented. Mrs. Wasserloos seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved by the Board.
Public Hearings: NONE
Business Meeting:
Master Plan – Chapter Review Session: Ms. Taylor led the review of the previously assigned reading materials regarding the proposed Master Plan chapters. The following are some discussion topics listed under the chapter heading they pertained to:
Natural Resource & Conservation
· The Antrim town boundary should be clearly identified in the Quabbin to Cardigan Conservation Collaborative map
· Short discussion of scenic views in Antrim. The assessor for the Town of Antrim assesses parcels according to their particular view merits.
Earth Excavation Sites
· There are six (6) active sites (one of which is an incidental excavation).
· The inactive site (Tax Map 233 Lot 42) should possibly include the abutting parcel (Tax Map 233 Lot 43).
· There was a short discussion of the Town of Antrim's 'Earth Excavation and Reclamation Regulations' and the need to clarify various earth excavation activities within the regulations and zoning ordinances.
· The Board should determine in which zoning districts, if any, new earth excavation sites will be allowed, either by permitted use or as a special exception. Attorney Bart Mayer's letter of April 9, 2007 (re: how does one define a non-residential area as stated in RSA 155-e:4, III) was discussed, specifically his recommendations regarding earth excavations.
· Developing criteria for special exception conditions to permit new earth excavation sites in Antrim could be difficult as they should be more specific than the special exception conditions listed in RSA 155-E:4, III.
· Aquifer protection requirements could be added to the earth excavation regulations to help protect groundwater resources underlying proposed or new earth excavation sites in town.
Community Facilities
· Mrs. Wasserloos will update the current educational statistics
Economic Development
· More content needed. Mr. Koziell will add to this chapter. Mr. Koziell expressed concerns about the ideology and recommendations of the ‘Economic Development’ chapter conflicting with those of the ‘Natural Resources and Conservation’ chapter. Mr. Houseworth reiterated the importances of making sure chapters don’t conflict with one another and that the plan have one consistent voice.
· A lengthy discussion of the possibility of the Town of Antrim purchasing land for commercial development ensued
· The rezoning of Route 9 was discussed. According to Mr. Willeke, the NH Department of Transportation (DOT) views Route 9 as a major east/west corridor. In his opinion, Route 202 would be better suited for commercial development because of traffic patterns, the number of existing and approved curb cuts, and the terrain.
Energy Usage and Conservation
· No comments
The Planning Board complimented Ms. Taylor and her committee for their hard work and thorough results. The Board discussed whether or not to place the chapters on the www.antrimnh.org website - possibly with an introductory paragraph explaining the committee's task and the need for resident's input as part of the Master Plan development process. Chapters for next meeting include: Water Resources and Historical and Cultural Resources.
Planning Department 2009 Budget Review: Town Planner, Mr. Bradley Houseworth, presented his proposed 2009 Planning Department budget to the Board. He distributed four (4) handouts:
· 2008 Transmittal of Funds – Planning Department Application Ledger (a spreadsheet that breaks down the applicant's fees into categories)
· 2008 Transmittal of Funds - Peer Reviews and Construction Inspections Ledger (lists the money paid by applicants for plan reviews and construction inspection services provided by the Town Engineer, Peter Pitsas)
· 2009 Proposed Budget (spreadsheet listing categories, expenses, and comments)
· Current Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment Hearing Fees
Mr. Houseworth began the discussion by explaining that the Selectmen requested an 8% decrease in the overall budget from every department. The Planning Department has made every effort to cut costs, but did not achieve 8%. The information for each spreadsheet was discussed line by line. The Board did not see any areas in which costs could be further cut. The Board thinks it would be useful for the Planning Staff to keep track of actual time spent processing all Planning Department applications (certified letters, Public Notices, meeting packets, telephone calls, etc.). Major subdivisions hearing fees could possibly be increased because of the staff time involved. The possibility of establishing a renewal fee for major subdivisions if the subdivision reviews or construction phases go over a period of time was discussed.
Some Board members felt that since the Planning Department worked for the Town, the current fee schedule was appropriate. Other members felt that the applicant should pay for all of the staff’s time devoted to that particular application. Possibly the Board should change the way in which the fees are rated (such as using the square footage of a commercial building to determine the cost of a site plan review). After a lengthy discussion, no changes were made to the Departments’ Hearing Fee Schedule.
Next Board Meeting – October 30, 2008 or November 6, 2008?: Mr. Houseworth informed the Board that he unfortunately won’t be able to attend the Board’s next meeting on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 7:00 PM and asked the Board if they preferred to: a) proceed with the meeting on November 6; b) move the meeting to October 30; or c) cancel the meeting. Mr. Koziell made a motion to not have a November 6 meeting; Mr. Willeke seconded it. After a short discussion of the November 6th meeting being used as a ‘work session’ regarding the review of the proposed Master Plan chapters, Mr. Koziell withdrew his motion. Therefore, the next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for November 6, 2008 to review the following Master Plan chapters: Water Resources and Historical and Cultural
Resources.
Correspondences:
In’Ex Homes, LLC – Irrevocable Letter of Credits for Earth Excavation operations continued: The irrevocable letters of credit have been renewed until September 28, 2009.
Kateco Developing, LLC - Request to reduce the Irrevocable Letter of Credit was granted: Mr. Houseworth confirmed that the Irrevocable Letter of Credit for the ‘Homes at High Hill’ subdivision was reduced from $54,236.50 to $37,837.50.
Planning Board Subcommittee – Capital Improvements Program (CIP) committee: The meeting schedule for the CIP committee will be at 5:00 PM on Thursdays before the Planning Board meetings (October 16, 30, and November 6, 2008) to review various Departments’ CIP requests.
Final pavement letter - Pierce Lake Estates II Subdivision (Tax Map 215-4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13): The letter addresses Bob Varnum's two (2) main concerns regarding the final paving of ‘Pierce Lake Estates II’ subdivision road called ‘Knapton Circle’: 1). Ripply/Wavy Surface, 2.) coarseness of the asphalt mix). Mr. Pitsas (Town Engineer) did not believe that the ripply/wavy surface is an issue, but that the coarseness may be (and "the coarseness may work itself out"). This letter evoked a conversation on Town Engineer vs. Testing Agency and the pros and cons of each.
Upcoming Conferences, Trainings, and Workshops:
NH Office of Energy and Planning (NH OEP) – ‘2008 NH Fall Planning & Zoning Conference,’ on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at the Mountain Club on Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH, from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM. For more info visit www.nharpc.org; (Agenda attached) Is there anyone that has registered for this or is planning on attending?
Mr. Houseworth will be driving the Antrim Community bus to the event and so far three (3) Antrim residents and four (4) Bennington residents have confirmed to ride the bus.
NH Local Government Center (NH LGC) – ‘67th Annual Conference: Challenging Times, Creative Solutions,’ on Wednesday – Friday, November 12-14, 2008 at the Radisson Hotel Manchester in Manchester, NH.
At 8:48, Mr. Koziell moved to adjourn the meeting, which was seconded by Chair Robblee, and unanimously agreed upon by all. Chair Robblee adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Chauncey, Staff,
On Behalf of the Antrim Planning Board
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