ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD
Regular Meeting
March 21st, 2019
MINUTES
Members & Planning Staff Present:
Janet McEwen (Chair), Mary Allen (Member), John Robertson (Ex-Officio), Mark D. Murdough (Member), John Anderson (Member), Neal Pattison (Member), Lynne Rosansky (Member), and Ashley Brudnick-Destromp (Assistant to Land Use Boards)
Members/Staff Absent: Carol Ogilvie (Planning Consultant), and Steve MacDonald (Alternate)
Others Present:
CTO: Chair McEwen called the meeting to order at 7:00PM.
I. Welcoming New Board Members & Election of Officers
Chair McEwen said she wanted to take a moment to welcome the new Board members, and thank them for their interest in the Planning Board. The Board members each introduced themselves.
Neal Pattison entered at 7:11 PM.
Election of Officers: Chair McEwen explained that they have to nominate and elect a Chair and a Vice Chair, and explained the process.
Motion: Mr. Pattison nominated Chair McEwen to remain the Chair, Mr. Murdough second it.
Vote: by a voice vote, all were in favor
Motion: Ms. Allen nominated Ms. Rosansky for Vice Chair, Mr. Anderson second it.
Vote: By a voice vote, all were in favor
II. Minutes:
Review: Chair McEwen asked the Board to review the minutes from 3/7/19.
Motion: Ms. Rosansky made a motion to review the minutes, Ms. Allen second it.
Vote: By a voice vote, all were in favor.
Discussion: There were several spelling and grammatical errors that were corrected.
Motion: Mr. Robertson made a motion to approve the minutes as amended, Ms. Rosansky second it.
Vote: Mr. Pattison, Mr. Murdough, and Mr. Anderson abstained. By a voice vote, all were in favor
III. Review of Bylaws
Chair McEwen asked the Board to review the bylaws. She also verified that all 3 new Board Members were sworn in. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp stated that they were. Chair McEwen had a discussion about the need for new alternates, and how the Board can have up to 6. She asked that if the Board members knew anyone that would be interested, to please have them reach out to the Planning Board. Mr. MacDonald will stay on as an alternate this year she said.
Chair McEwen said that all new members should have at least 6 hours of training according to the bylaws. She mentioned the 25th Annual Spring Planning & Zoning Conference on Saturday, June 1st, 2019. There was a discussion on if the 6 hours was required, or just a suggestion, and if it should be changed or not. It was decided to leave it worded as is. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp also mentioned the Law Lecture Series at the end of the year. Mr. Robertson also brought up the latest copy of the NHMA newsletter, and the materials in it.
Chair McEwen discussed the CIP. It was decided that Mr. Pattison and Mr. MacDonald would be on the CIP this year from the Planning Board.
There was a discussion of the secretary. It was decided Ms. Brudnick-Destromp would remain as the secretary.
Chair McEwen also mentioned that there are no discussions via email that can be interpreted as a meeting, and to be mindful of that. The Chair said, for example, group email responses should go directly to Ms. Brudnick-Destromp, and not to the entire group. Chair McEwen also mentioned conflict of interest, and when to remove yourself from the Board during an application. The Chair also mentioned attendance, and how important it is to try and be here for every meeting. She said if you are not able to attend, to please let Ms. Brudnick-Destromp know ahead of time so that we can guarantee there is a quorum.
The Chair continued to go through the bylaws, she mentioned having a quorum, posting of notices, and that no decisions are made after 10pm even if the meeting goes that late. The Chair said that moving forward, she would like to encourage that if there is a discussion, it will be at the end of the Agenda, and all questions should try and be asked and directed one at a time to the Chair.
The Chair discussed applications, excavation pits, and the types of applications the Board receives. The Chair mentioned the difference between a Public Meeting and a Public Hearing. Mr. Pattison and Chair McEwen had a discussion about the language used, and Mr. Murdough agreed with Mr. Pattison’s view on how it applies to both. There were several errors that were noticed in the language of saying “he” instead of “the Chair,” that will need to be changed in the bylaws, this was pointed out by a Board member.
The Chair went over site walks, Amendments, and clarification.
Mr. Anderson said that he would like the Board to define the Public Hearing and the Public Meeting so there is a clear definition for the public to view. There was a discussion, and it was decided that at the next meeting, there will be a discussion about defining each more clearly for the bylaws.
Mr. Anderson, Ms. Rosansky, and Chair McEwen had a discussion about clarification of public input, the specific cases or pending cases, and the public speaking at a public hearing. Mr. Anderson specifically asked about the 2 minute limit for the public to speak that was mentioned in the bylaws. Chair McEwen said that the Board does not limit the public speaking, unless there is a large group of people, and then they will tell them they need to speak again once everyone else has spoken.
IV. Planning needs for this year & goal setting
The Chair asked Ms. Brudnick-Destromp to write this year’s goals on a bulletin board. There was a long discussion, and the following was written down for the 2019 Planning Board Goals:
1. Cell Tower ordinance
2. Master Plan 2020
- Vision (done)
- Land Use Section (Ms. Allen and Chair McEwen will be the subcommittee for this.)
- Conservation (Conservation Commission will do this section)
- Business (land use, economic development, inventory, infrastructure to improve local business. Mr. Murdough and Mr. Anderson will be the subcommittee on this.
- Housing
3. Commercial Solar & Residential Ordinance
There was a discussion amongst the Board about needing a Commercial Solar Ordinance this year. Mr. Pattison added that there should be a Residential one as well. Ms. Rosansky said that she didn’t believe there should be a Residential Solar Ordinance. There was further discussion between Ms. Allen, Chair McEwen, Ms. Rosansky, and Mr. Pattison regarding the topic.
V. Planning Assistant Report
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said she wanted to let the Board know that Susan Wards private road was officially renamed “Fox Run,” as part of an ongoing project with the State to correct incorrectly addressed properties in the Town.
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said that everyone should have a copy of the letter from DES that was sent in regards to the Zeke & Macks Realty LLC Excavation Pit. The letter just states that DES had received a 5 year Progress Update on Dec. 12th, 2017, and that the next Progress Plan is due December of 2022.
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said she received a letter from Trileaf, who are conducting an investigation for 80 Smith Road in Antrim, Tax Map 233 Lot 062, for the possibility of a 120ft monopole Verizon Wireless cell tower. She explained that this is a NEPA review, and that Trileaf is requesting any information the Town may have regarding the tower’s potential effect on Historic Properties, if there even are any. The letter was sent March 12th, and we have 30 days to respond. Chair McEwen would like a response letter drafted to Trileaf informing them that at this time there is no comment, but that we will be checking with the Historical Society.
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp wanted to inform everyone that the next meeting scheduled on April 4th will be a public hearing for Eversource of NH to trim trees along scenic roads. She added that she noticed the Town of Antrim has no application for this type of a situation, and that the Town loses $150 in application fee each time one of these comes through. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said that she has asked Ms. Ogilvie to put together an application for future cases to avoid this, and she agreed that there should be one. At this point, they only pay the $90 public notification fee. Chair McEwen said that she did not agree with that, and does not want to inforce an application on them where this is a need. Mr. Pattison asked if they are allowed to tell them how to cut the tree. Chair McEwen said that there have been public in the past that
have spoken at these public hearings, but the Board really has no say in how the tree is cut. Several other members mentioned that they did not feel like Eversource would cut the trees if they had to pay an application fee. Chair McEwen asked Ms. Brudnick-Destromp to see if other towns have an application for this, and to report back.
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said that she was asked by the Chair to price check how much Public Notifications cost in the Monadnock Ledger. Ms. Brudnick-Destromp explained that the current rate is $90 on the application fee, as that is how much it cost when the Villager was open. The Messenger charges $60, whom she currently uses, and the left over $30 helps offset the time to write the notification, or pay Ms. Ogilvie in some cases to write one if needed. Monadnock Ledger does not have a set rate, but when Mr. Parisi used them for the Vertex Tower notification, he put it, that notice was $92.50. If we would like to use Monadnock Ledger moving forward, we would need to increase the notification price on the application.
CBS Holdings LLC has submitted what was needed to move forward with the voluntary lot merger. Ms. Brudnick-Drestomp said that according to Ms. Ogilvie, we do not need to have a public hearing on this. Kristine Cloud is both the share holder, as we as the mortgage lender. Mr. Bosse had a power of attorney sign the documents needed from Kristine Cloud, we still however need her or her power of attorney’s signature on the physical application before we can set a date. As long as Mr. Bosse takes care of this in time, this will also be discussed at the next meeting on April 4th.
Ms. Brudnick-Destromp said she had sent everyone a copy of it, but just wanted the Board to know that the letter in response to the Selectboard regarding the ITW Cell Tower on Pierce Lake, and the concerns of Tom Davis and Art Kaufman was signed by the Chair, and sent into the Selectboard. She does not know if they have sent the letter to the two yet, but the Planning Board’s part in the matter is completed at this point.
Motion: Ms. Rosansky made a motion to close the meeting, Mr. Robertson second it.
Vote: By a voice vote, all agreed
Meeting Adjourned: ~ The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Ashley Brudnick-Destromp
(Assistant to Land Use Boards)
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