Town of Buxton Planning Board
Minutes
March 12, 2012
Recorded by Hilda Lynch
Board Members Present: John Vedral, David Savage, Sr.; Harry Kavouksorian; James Logan; Susanne Schaller; and Lawrence Curtis.
Board Members Absent: Jeremiah Ross III
Others Present: Henry Huntley, Scott Lyons, Amanda Stanley & children; Rob Lewis; Chief Michael Grovo; and Cliff Thomas
Chairman Harry Kavouksorian opened the Buxton Planning Board meeting of March 12, 2012, at 7 p.m.
Pledge of Allegiance
The Board agreed to re-arrange the Agenda as Amanda Stanley, Chief Grovo and Fred Farnham were not yet in attendance, so the Board went to the Approval of Minutes first. Then, the Agenda was taken up in the order printed.
Public Hearing for Amanda Stanley
Amanda submitted a paragraph to the Board written by a neighbor who was unable to attend. She reviewed the number of animals that she planned to have on her property: 10 fowl, 1 pony, 6 goats until June 2nd (4 afterwards), and 1 pig. Harry clarified that her application is for 4 goats after June 2nd.
- Motioned by Jim, seconded by Sue, to open the public hearing. Six voted in favor.
Harry asked Board members for any comments. Sue asked how successful Amanda is with “mucking out” the pigpen. Amanda stated that she felt they were pretty successful with this. Sue could be convinced to approve the application if there would be no “buck” goats. John asked Amanda if anyone has gotten any water tests back from their wells. Amanda didn’t know if her neighbor had tested his well, and she didn’t know she would have to test her well. Testing her well had not been a requirement. She has removed all roosters and 12-hens since her initial application. She has a total of 10-fowl that are contained.
Harry mentioned submissions from Tasha Pinkham and Vanessa Howard who submitted notes to the Board in support of Amanda’s application. Sue read Tasha’s note and part of Vanessa’s letter.
Harry asked if any abutters, neighbors or members of the public would like to speak about this application. None came forward, although Amanda’s daughter requested reading a statement. Alivia Stanley read a statement in support of keeping their animals.
Board members reviewed conditions of approval they would have. John asked if Amanda would consider not replacing the pig once her current one is gone. Amanda agreed that she could agree to this.
Sue expressed her concerns about Amanda’s pig. She discussed the dangers involved and concerns about having a pig over an aquifer. Amanda said that her pig is not aggressive, and she trusts the pig around her children. Jim talked about reviewing our ordinance regarding any protections over an aquifer and did not find any. Jim said he might feel differently if a lot of neighbors came to express concern. John agrees. He’d like to see a compromise - keep the pig but not replace it. David agrees. Amanda said she could commit to this. Harry said it could be made a condition of approval.
Jim moved, seconded by Sue, to close the public hearing. Six voted in favor.
Harry read the standard Conditions of Approval:
1. All elements and features of the application and all representations made by the applicant concerning the development and use of the property which appear in the record of the Planning Board proceedings are conditions of the approval. No change from the conditions of approval is permitted unless an amended plan is first submitted to and approved by the Planning Board.
2. That the applicant be in compliance with all applicable provisions of Articles 8.2.B & 10.
- Motioned by Jim, seconded by David, to waive the reading of Article 8.2.B. and 10. Six voted in favor.
3. That the applicant be in compliance with all applicable provisions of Article 11 (if applicable).
4. All outstanding bills paid before a permit is issued.
5. Cement-lined manure pile with a cover
6. Two goats go home in June and four remain
7. Pig will not be replaced once it expires
8. No breeding or farrowing of the pig on site
9. No unaltered male goats will be permitted
- Sue motioned, seconded by Harry, that based on previous discussions, we find the application to be in compliance with all applicable provisions of Articles 8.2.B and 10. Six voted in favor.
- Sue motioned, seconded by Harry, to approve the application with the conditions stated and from previous meetings. Six voted in favor.
Julia and Alivia expressed thanks for the approval.
Discussion/purpose of a Mass Gathering Ordinance with Police Chief Michael Grovo.
Chief Grovo thinks a mass gathering ordinance is a good idea if it is done correctly; it could prevent problems down the road. He has looked at another town’s ordinance. The previous chief had also put one together. He would be a little more specific and could review it later if they were to work on it. An ordinance could cover anything from people having weddings at their house to possibly having a concert somewhere in the community. Right now, they (the Town) don’t have anything but will ask for outside assistance if they know of a large gathering. The Police Dept. is in the position of putting together mutual aid agreements with surrounding towns.
Harry had some questions of the Chief. The Chief said that what he has is pretty similar to what other surrounding towns have. Port-a-potties were mentioned. The Chief read some information regarding these from Scarborough’s ordinance. He got Scarborough’s mass gathering and public assembly ordinances. What number would be a consideration for this mass gathering ordinance? The Chief says Scarborough has both a minor (150-1000 people) and major (at least 1000 people in a single area) ordinance. Harry asked about the duration of an event. The Chief thinks anything before 9 in the morning and after 11 p.m. would be of concern. Anything outside of those hours would be intrusive. It also depends upon the area. Harry mentioned the decibel levels changing
depending upon the hour. Scarborough requires the operator of a mass gathering to install a decibel meter. There are certain requirements that have to be met. Buxton currently has a noise ordinance.
John says that Buxton proposed a mass gathering ordinance many years ago which is not in force. He mentioned that the State has an ordinance. Why not take the State’s ordinance and request that any mass gatherings abide by these? John believes that the Chief has plenty of tools to deal with this. The Chief agrees that the State has guidelines. John does not want to have a mass gathering ordinance at all and was happy that the Selectmen didn’t really think they needed one at this time. He doesn’t want people’s rights infringed upon.
The Chief says that an ordinance clarifies a lot of questions for people. He can understand that John wouldn’t want to have one for 200 relatives at a party. He would be interested in something for an event such as the community days. The Chief thinks we should have one in the future. Jim can see that we might not need one now but wants to be pro-active for safety concerns. Setting aside money ahead of time for damages and expenses were mentioned as part of mass gathering ordinances in other communities. Harry thinks they have to get their head around what a mass gathering is. He mentioned differentiating between a family event and another type of public event. Jim brings the Board’s attention to the noise ordinance. He refers to 10.6.C.7 - as events that have a
permit might be exempted. Sue mentioned making this ordinance compliant with hours.
John says that it appears that we’re not going to proceed at this time. Harry doesn’t think we are anywhere near ready to begin this process. Harry said he wanted to talk with the Chief to see if there was any great need to go forward with this, but he doesn’t see that the Chief sees that there is right now. Harry believes that for any changes to ordinances needing to be made that they need something submitted in writing. Jim thinks it is appropriate to consider things like this if only for health or safety. Harry believes that it doesn’t seem to be a pressing issue so thanked the Chief for his time.
CEO Report
None
Approval of Minutes:
February 27, 2012
- Motioned by Jim, seconded by David, to approve the minutes as amended. Five voted in favor; John abstained.
Approval of Bills:
No bills. Larry met with the Budget Committee for the review of the Board’s budget. Jere was good enough to attend with him. Everything seemed to go smoothly.
Communications:
1. The Board has received a note from Yuseung Kim from USM re digitizing tax maps and GIS. Harry asked Sue what she’s found. Krystal e-mailed Charles Colgan, and it was referred to Yuseung Kim. Sue read the response. The Board’s interest is to open the maps and look at them. Sue asked about the ? Files. ArcView does not operate on the Windows 7 operating system, Sue said. An option would be to find an old computer and run this on it. The goal is to be able to digitize our tax maps. Sue said that USM is giving us digitized tax maps. She asked them to send her a copy as she has ArcView, and she wanted to be able to open them up. If we had the files as .jpg files, they could be posted to the website, Sue thought. Some towns have them on their
website. Harry asked how much info and what kind of info they would need? Jim mentioned that some towns can even view overlays. Harry asked what the difference in cost would be between something homegrown and something outsourced w/overlays. Sue thinks it might be up to the tax assessor to put tax info online. There should be spreadsheets available online where people can go and look up information.
Harry asked if this is a worthwhile first step? Sue thinks that USM is assuming that we don’t have GIS capability.
2. Letter that came to Peter Burns regarding the speed limit change initiated by Fred on the Portland Road. The letter acknowledges that this is done.
3. John MacLaine’s letter regarding the wetlands at Sunrise Ridge Subdivision was reviewed. Previously the forms the DEP produced said that there was no 75 ft. setback. He clarified that there was no 75 ft. setback to the wetlands because of a man-made pond, but they can regulate what happens within the wetlands. They changed “man-made pond” to impounded wetland.
Other Business
Sign Findings of Facts for Jessica Buzzell - Harry will sign approved version from last meeting.
Review Finding of Facts for Fogg Brook Estates Subdivision - Harry did not see this in the packet.
Sign Mylar and final plans for Fogg Brook Estates Subdivision - will sign at the end of the meeting
Review of ordinance amendments - Harry stated that he would like to have Fred here to point out what he’s looking for on things that he has presented to the Board. Harry wanted to know if they wanted to put this on hold. Sue asked if they had examples. Harry said that Fred wanted something on nonconforming lots, auto graveyards, and phasing subdivisions. The phasing of subdivisions would become part of an application, and conditions of approval might need to be established with this.
- Motioned by Sue, seconded by Larry, to adjourn the meeting at 8:07 p.m.
Approval Date:
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Harry Kavouksorian, Chairman Signature Date
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