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Planning Board Minutes 01/29/09
ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD MEETING

January 29, 2009 Meeting

Members & Staff Present:        Scott Burnside           Diane Chauncey Joe Koziell
Missy Taylor                        Sandy Snow           Paul Vasques           CR Willeke
Kathi Wasserloos                Andrew Robblee                                                                                  
Member & Staff Absent:          Steve Schacht

Public Attendees:  Ron Haggett, Josh Bond (Monadnock Ledger/Transcript),
Peter Mellen (agent for the applicant), Peter Beblowski        

Public Meeting:  Chair Robblee convened the public meeting at 7:15 PM. Although the public hearing for proposed ordinances changes was scheduled for 7:15, Chair Robblee asked the public attendees if they were willing to allow the application of the Antonellis to go forward before the hearing on the ordinances. There were no objections from the public attendees.

File #2008-09PB: Antonellis Family Recreational Trust Living Trust and Lawrence J. & Janet T. Nesbitt for a lot line adjustment and annexation of properties
Chair Robblee requested that Mr. Vasques read the public notice which follows: “Notice is hereby given that a public meeting will be held at 7:15 PM Thursday, January 29, 2009 at the Antrim Town Hall on the request of Antonellis Family Recreational Trust Living Trust and Lawrence J. & Janet T. Nesbitt for a lot line adjustment and annexation of properties located on Pierce Lake Road (Tax Map 206, Lots 78, 79, 79.1, 80.1, & 80.2), Antrim, NH 03440 in the Rural Conservation District and the Lakefront Residential District. You are invited to appear in person or by agent or counsel to state reasons why you think this request should or should not be granted. Written concerns should be submitted to the Antrim Town Office prior to the meeting. The application and supporting documents are available for review at the Antrim Town Offices 8 am to 4 pm Monday- Thursday.” Mr. Vasques stated that a review of the application indicated that there was no regional impact.

Notifications were sent to all abutters. Return receipts were received from all the abutters with the exception of Mr. Noble. No comments were received from the abutters or public either by phone call, letter, or in person at Town Hall.

Chair Robblee asked Mr. Mellen, the Antonellis/Nesbitt agent to present the proposal.

Mr. Mellen stated that the applicants’ parcels were located on the privately owned portion of Pierce Lake Road. Board members requested that Mr. Mellen show the parcels on the Antrim Zoning Map (displayed on an easel in the Town Hall). Mr. Mellen explained that between the Antonellis family and the Nesbitt family there were five tracts of land. Two parcels are owned by the Antonellis, one is owned by the Nesbitts, and two parcels are owned jointly by the Nesbitts and the Antonellis. Mr. Mellon explained that the subdividing of the lots was done prior to the current Antrim Zoning Ordinance. The application before the Planning Board is “to clean things up”. The proposal is to take five legally non-conforming lots and create three legally non-conforming lots Although still non-conforming, the three new lots will be more conforming to the Antrim Zoning Ordinance, and there will be no half interests. Mr. Mellen concluded his presentation by stating that the Antonellis and the Nesbitts will own their respective parcels exclusively.

Mr. Vasques advised the Board that the Planning Staff had reviewed the application, drawing and checklist and that in his opinion the application was sufficiently complete that the Board could consider accepting it. Mr. Koziell moved that the application be accepted as presented. Mr. Burnside seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Ms. Taylor, aye; Mr. Koziell, aye; Chair Robblee, aye; Mr. Burnside, aye; Mrs. Wasserloos, aye; Mr. Snow, aye.

Mr., Vasques stated that a review of the checklist indicated that all items were either satisfied or not applicable with the exception of six items from which the applicants were requesting waivers.

Mr. Mellen presented his waiver letter which is in File #2008-09PB. The letter stated that the waivers requested are based on the fact that the annexation will not create any new building lots nor is any construction proposed. The Board considered each of the waiver requests separately.


Item B.3.a(9)   Location of all buffers and setbacks by use of dashed lines Mr. Burnside                        made a motion to grant the waiver which was seconded by Mr. Koziell.                    Roll call vote: Ms. Taylor, aye; Mr. Koziell, aye; Chair Robblee, aye; Mr.                      Burnside, aye; Mrs. Wasserloos, aye; Mr. Snow, aye.

Item B.3.a(11)  Location of wetlands and 100-year flood elevation line- Mr. Robblee                     made a motion to grant the waiver which was seconded by Mr.                             Burnside. Roll call vote: Ms. Taylor, aye; Mr. Koziell, aye; Chair                              Robblee, aye; Mr. Burnside, aye; Mrs. Wasserloos, aye; Mr. Snow, aye.  

Item B.3.a(12)  Location of water bodies, streams, rock ledges, cemeteries, drainage,                   ditches and bridges Mr. Koziell made a motion to grant the waiver which                         was seconded by Ms. Taylor. Roll call vote: Ms. Taylor, aye; Mr. Koziell,                       aye; Chair Robblee, aye; Mr. Burnside, aye; Mrs. Wasserloos, aye; Mr.                   Snow, aye.   


Item B.3.a.(17)Location of all soil test pits, test borings, percolation test pits, and 4000 sq                 ft septic area on each proposed lot . Mr. Burnside made a motion to grant                       the waiver which was seconded by Ms. Wasserloos. Roll call vote: Ms.                    Taylor, aye; Mr. Koziell, aye; Chair Robblee, aye; Mr. Burnside, aye; Mrs.              Wasserloos, aye; Mr. Snow, aye.
  
Item B.3.a(18)  The existing grades, drainage systems and topographical contours at                     intervals not exceeding five (5) feet with spot elevations where the grade                      is less than two (2) percent. Also, all low points and high points and other                    areas needing   spot elevations shall be shown using dashed lines. Contour                      lines are to be          field run or photogrammetric and not interpolation of                   USGS maps. The source of the data shall be shown. Mr. Koziell made a                    motion to grant the waiver      which was seconded by Mr. Snow. Roll call                       vote: Ms. Taylor, aye; Mr. Koziell, aye; Chair Robblee, aye; Mr. Burnside,              aye; Mrs. Wasserloos, aye; Mr. Snow, aye.
   
Item B.3.a(25)  Existing soils delineation based on the “Soils Survey of Hillsborough                   County, NH, Western Part” and a legend which explains the map symbols.          Mr. Burnside made a motion to grant the waiver which was                                seconded by Mr. Koziell. Roll call vote: Taylor, aye; Koziell, aye;                             Burnside, aye; Wasserloos, aye; Snow, aye.

Mr. Koziell  moved to approve the application of Antonellis Family Recreational Trust Living Trust and Lawrence J. & Janet T. Nesbitt for a lot line adjustment and annexation of properties located on Pierce Lake Road (Tax Map 206, Lots 78, 79, 79.1, 80.1, & 80.2), Antrim, NH 03440 in the Rural Conservation District and the Lakefront Residential District.

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 January 29, 2009 and subsequent meetings.
The applicant is to obtain a building permit for any construction or alteration and adhere to all building, health and fire codes.
Subject to payment of LCHIP $25.00 fee.

The motion was seconded by Mr. Snow

Roll call vote: Ms. Taylor, aye; Mr. Koziell, aye; Chair Robblee, aye; Mr. Burnside, aye; Mrs. Wasserloos, aye; Mr. Snow, aye.  
  
The Mylar has been signed by the owners – the Antonellis and the Nesbitts. Chair Robblee and Mr. Vasques, Secretary to the Planning Board signed the Mylar and one copy.

The Lot Line Adjustment request was approved. A Notice of Decision signed and stipulating the above mentioned conditions, will be sent to the Antonellis and Nesbitts within 144 hours of the end of the meeting. Mr. Mellen pointed out that there may be a problem registering the Mylar. The Chair and Town Planner may have noticed that the Mylar had a possible erasure, in the above left corner of the plat. The Mylar had been sent to the property owners for their signatures. The signatures were in place, but after the Nesbitts had signed, there was  a spot  on the upper left hand corner which the Nesbitts declared in a letter was due to cat vomit. The letter is copied and on record should there be a problem with the Registry of Deeds. If the registry does not process the Mylar, Mr. Mellon will prepare a clean copy for submittal.

Public Hearings:  Chair Robblee opened the Public Hearing to review the proposed changes to the Antrim Zoning Ordinance. This is the second public hearing on proposed changes to the Shoreland Protection District and the adoption of an ordinance for Small Wind Energy Systems.

1. Changes to Article XI-A - Shoreland Protection District   

The changes to the Article XI-A Shoreland Protection District of the Antrim Zoning Ordinance were proposed to insure compliance with the State of NH's Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (RSA 483-B) which became effective July 1, 2008. Chair Robblee asked Mr. Vasques if there had been any concerns from residents. Mr. Vasques reviewed the definition of the word 'chemical' in XI-A-5. PROHIBITED USES formerly c. Bulk storage of chemicals. Mr. Chris Salmon had said that chemical could be used to describe an innocuous substance such as detergent. The Board had voted at the 1/8/09 Public Hearing to eliminate 'c. Bulk storage of chemicals '. At this Public Hearing, Mr. Beblowski suggested that the word chemical should be replaced with “regulated substances”. The Board members discussed it and decided that in Section 5. PROHIBITED USES: Paragraph c. new  'c.' would  should read as follows:

        5. c.  Bulk storage of petroleum products, hazardous materials, or regulated substances.

Mr. Burnside made the motion to amend Article XI-A-5.c. as stated above. Mr. Koziell seconded it. Roll call vote: Ms. Taylor, aye; Mr. Koziell, aye; Chair Robblee, aye; Mr. Burnside, aye; Mrs. Wasserloos, aye; Mr. Snow, aye.

2. Article XIV –D Small Wind Energy Systems

Article XIV-D would be a new ordinance that is modeled after the NH Office of Energy and Planning ordinance. Mr. Vasques had called Town Counsel and discussed the ordinance. Mr. Vasques felt that there were numerous imperfections. Town Counsel agreed that it is not a perfect ordinance, but that his suggestion is that the town go forward with the model and let the courts sort it out.

The following points are issues that the Board and Public Attendees discussed:
  • The model ordinance is set up to conform to state law – like it or not
  • The Building inspector would have an important role
  • Abutter and regional notification may be necessary
  • Question of whether or not the wind turbine would be taxed as a structure has yet to be resolved. To do so would require a warrant article to be voted on at Town Meeting. 76 towns currently have warrants to make wind turbines exempt from property taxes.
  • One Board member felt that the statute is unclear
  • It would appear that the building inspector  has sole authority.
  • One Board member felt that – although the ordinance may be flawed – it is better to have something than to have nothing
  • Should there be a site plan review – at this time, no, let the issues go to court and modify the ordinance as needed
  • The building inspector needs to clearly understand the ordinance and follow the codes
  • The question of how many wind turbines on a lot was posed - the definition of wind system ( “A wind energy conversion system consisting of a wind generator, a tower, and associated control pr conversion electronics, which has a rated capacity of 100 kilowatts or less and will be used for primarily onsite consumption.) was discussed, particularly in reference to how many wind turbines could be built on a lot. The consensus was that Setbacks would determine the number of wind turbines permitted on a lot . A 100’ tower needs a 150’ setback in case of structure failure (fall down area).
After a long discussion, the Board reaffirmed that the model ordinance is flawed and will need corrections but prudence would dictate adopting it.

Considering the discussion of the above bullets, the Planning Board moved to adopt the Model Ordinance with one change:

ii) The color of the small wind energy system shall be a non-reflective, unobtrusive color that blends in with the surrounding environment. Approved colors include but are not limited to white, off-white, gray, or black.

Mr. Burnside motioned to adopt Article XIV-D SMALL WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS (a model ordinance form NH Office of Energy & Planning) with the above change. Mrs. Wasserloos seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Ms. Taylor, aye; Mr. Koziell, aye; Mr. Burnside, aye; Mr. Snow, aye; Mrs. Wasserloos, aye; and Mr. Willeke, aye.

Business Meeting:

Approval of Planning Board Meeting Minutes:  Mr. Burnside   motioned to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2009 Board meeting as corrected. Mrs. Wasserloos   seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved by the Board

Ms. Chauncey announced that the three vacant seats for the Planning Board had been signed up for as follows.  Andrew Robblee for 3 years, Scott Burnside for  3 years and CR Willeke for 2 years

Master Plan – Chapter Review Session

Ms. Taylor distributed copies of the Economic Report Development Chapter and the Open Space Committee Plan for members to review and comment on. Ms. Taylor stated that Mr. Lévesque, Chairman of the Open Space Committee felt that the Master Plan should acknowledge that the Committee Report had been adopted at Town Meeting. The consensus of the Board was that this should be reflected in the Master Plan. Mr. Snow indicated that he had planned that the Open Space Committee Report be included as an appendix in the Master Plan.

Mr. Burnside felt that the Master Plan as written is pro conservation and restrictive – there should be more of a balance. Ms. Taylor understands Mr. Burnsides point, but she is not taking  a position either way and that how it is worded in the Natural Resources and Conservation chapter and Economic Development chapter is a policy decision for the Planning Board.

Mrs. Wasserloos stated her willingness to work with Ms. Taylor on the ‘final touches’ of the Plan.

Ms. Taylor will provide the Planning Department with up-to-date versions of all elements of the Master Plan.  The Planning Staff will post the updates on the web. They will also print the entire Plan and have it available for the Board members at the February 5th meeting. A date will be picked for the Board to complete a final review. Following incorporation of any changes, a Public Hearing will be set for scheduled.  The Master Plan could then be adopted.

  • Antrim Energy Conservation Committee - Mr. Willeke’s request – what about a wind energy system placement on town property? Mr. Snow said that he would present it to the next meeting of the Energy Committee.
  • Mr. Mueller’s possible proposal to subdivide on a Class VI road (Whittemore property) contrary to the subdivision regulation that you cannot subdivide on a Class VI road. A long discussion ensued regarding building on a Class VI road with a Right of Way through the Camp Chenoa land. Ms. Chauncey provided a deed to the property which indicated that in exchange for the right-of-way there were restrictions prohibiting the subdivision of the land. The Town Planner was instructed to advise Mr. Mueller of said restrictions.
  • Work Force Housing Ordinance –At this time, a Zoning Ordinance should be in place for the Town of Antrim by July 1, 2009.  Mr. Vasques will begin to look at the issues that are presented by this proposed ordinance.
  • File #2007-10PB In'Ex Homes – Mr. Vasques presented a copy of a certified letter requesting additional peer review expenses of $2117.59. The letter notified In-Ex Homes, LLC that no further action on their subdivision application would be taken until payment was received.
At 8:45 pm, Mr. Koziell made a motion to adjourn the meeting which was seconded by Mr. Snow and unanimously agreed upon by all.  Chair Robblee adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted, Diane Chauncey, Planning Assistant