ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD
February 16, 2012
Members & Staff Present: David Dubois (Member) Jesse Lazar (Vice-Chair) Charles Levesque (Member) Martha Pinello (Member) John Robertson (Ex-Officio)
Members & Staff Absent:
Scott Burnside (Member) Mike Tatro (Alternate) Stephen Schacht (Alternate)
Andrew Robblee (Chair) Diane Chauncey (Secretary)
Public Attendees: Stephen MacDonald
7:00 PM – Public Meeting
Vice Chair Lazar opened the meeting at 7:05pm.
1. Charles Levesque asked that two items be added to the agenda: communication and education relative to the ordinance proposal for town meeting; and filing for intervenor status before the SEC for the AWE application.
2. Minutes from the February 2, 2012 meeting – Martha Pinello Moved to approve the minutes from the February 2, 2012 PB meeting as presented. David Dubois Seconded.
David Dubois said that Page 1 third bullet is unclear unless you were at the meeting. The Board agreed that the second sentence beginning with “The procedure” should be deleted.
Jesse Lazar suggested and the Board agreed to strike “was ambiguous” from the next sentence.
The Motion to adopt the minutes, as amended, passed unanimously.
3. ZBA application form – Diane Chauncey asked the Planning Board to review the ZBA application form for possible changes. She told the Planning Board that she thought there might be some problems with it. Martha Pinello suggested that Jesse Lazar talk with John Kendall and Diane Chauncey to discuss where, specifically, the application has problems.
Ms. Pinello wondered about the section on the “hardship” question on page iii – it is not clear. It was suggested that Peterborough’s application and the Office of Energy and Planning may be sources for information to update the form. Martha Pinello agreed to research the Office of Energy and Planning website after the meeting.
ACTION: Jesse Lazar to contact John Kendall and Diane Chauncey about possible changes to the form. He will report back at the next Planning Board meeting.
ACTION: Martha Pinello agreed to research what information on this topic the NH Office of Energy and Planning has on the topic.
4. DES letter relative the Chauncey Gravel Pit – David Dubois said that the Planning Board had agreed to send a letter relative to the Pit complaint originally sent to the Selectboard and reviewed by the Board on January 5. Jesse Lazar was asked to review the application after that meeting. He said that the only thing unclear about the application is that the timeline for the Pit is missing. There is some confusion as to whether Matt and Diane Chauncey are still co-owners of the pit.
Martha Pinello said that the Planning Board needs to have the file on the pit to review it if we are going to discuss it. Further, it is important to separate the NH DRA role in this (Mary Pinkham Langer) with that of the Planning Board and NH DES. DRA does not have the role of oversight for the environmental issues and application plan as does the Planning Board. Their role is the gravel tax only.
A discussion ensued relative to roles of the various state agencies and the Planning Board relative to this and all pits. The NH DES letter issued to the Chaunceys on February 1, 2012 is really for information purposes for the Planning Board but it will be added to the file and it will come up in the future. Jesse Lazar said that our role is really about making sure that the pits are being run according to the plan that was approved. Carol Ogilvie confirmed this role to Mr. Lazar.
Mr. Dubois said that the oversight really needs to be coordinated by a planner staff or our consultant planner. Mr. Levesque suggested that we really take charge of the review process this year when review time comes later in the year. Ms. Pinello said that it would be great to have a pit binder where all this information is readily available.
Mr. Lazar suggested we lay out the procedure we should follow for annual review.
ACTION: The Planning Board agreed that it will develop a checklist of the annual review of the pits beginning in June of this year and then do field reviews before the NH DRA does its review. This will be added to the Planning Board calendar.
There was a discussion about how the original letter to the selectmen about the Matt Chauncey complaint never was sent.
5. Supporting the Wind Ordinance at Town Meeting – Charles Levesque suggested that the Planning Board should, at minimum, send a letter from the Board to the newspapers. Jesse Lazar said that he was asked and submitted a letter to the Limrik in support of the ordinance. Mr. Lazar read the letter to the Board. It was signed “Jesse Lazar. Vice-Chair, Planning Board”. A discussion followed about the content of the proposed letter. Charles Levesque said that the letter was too technical and that it would serve to confuse most people in town who have not been part of this. The others on the board had similar concerns. Steve MacDonald is doing the counterpoint to Mr. Lazar’s letter. He said that he would agree with Mr. Levesque. He thought that the
well-meaning print piece put out by Brian Biehl before the November vote didn’t help those who knew nothing about this. It was too complex and confused them.
Charles Levesque suggested that a full letter to the other newspapers from the Planning Board be drafted.
Martha Pinello made a Motion that the Planning Board draft a letter and other forms of communication in support of the wind ordinance and that it be sent to the local newspapers and used for other public purposes. Seconded by David Dubois. The Motion passed unanimously. Martha Pinello, David Dubois and Charles Levesque agreed to work on the letter.
ACTION: A letter in support of the ordinance will be drafted for the Planning Board by Mr. Dubois, Ms. Pinello and Mr. Levesque.
A discussion ensued about other forms of communication the Planning Board could sponsor. Charles Levesque suggested the board think about holding an open house session on the ordinance. There was not agreement on that issue.
Mr. Levesque suggested an informational table at the entrance of the Town Hall on the ordinance. Martha Pinello will ask the Town Moderator or Asst. Town Moderator about what could be done in an information format.
ACTION: Martha Pinello will ask the Town Moderator about the Planning Board having information on the proposed ordinance at Town Hall at the entrance for people to pick up.
6. SEC docket on Antrim Wind – Charles Levesque said that he thought that the Planning Board should, again, file for intervenor status again for the new docket opened up for the Antrim Wind project application. Martha Pinello said that because Antrim has two elected boards and with different roles, it makes sense to have the Planning Board participate before the SEC this way in addition to the Selectboard. This also would mirror the other applications that have come before the SEC for projects in the other towns.
Discussion ensued. Jesse Lazar thought this might confuse our role. David Dubois said that the AWE application includes a request for subdivision – which is clearly the role of the Planning Board. This is another reason for the Planning Board to be present. Further discussion ensued.
The pending court cases on the Special Exception on the met tower may have some effect on the SEC deliberations. If the ordinance doesn’t pass, will the court cases have some effect on the SEC decision making process? There was discussion about what effect this might have.
Motion was made by David Dubois to apply for intervenor status in the AWE docket before the SEC, Martha Pinello Seconded. The Chair called for a roll call vote:
Pinello – yes, Lazar – yes, Robertson – abstain, Levesque – yes, Dubois, yes. The Motion passed.
7. Other
Steve MacDonald was thanked for running for one of the open Planning Board slots.
Discussion ensued about getting the likely new members copies of the AT&T cell tower application.
John Robertson made a Motion to adjourn. Seconded by Charles Levesque. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:07 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Charles Levesque
Planning Board member
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