Town of Buxton Planning Board
Minutes
Monday, April 8, 2013
Members in attendance: Keith Emery, David Savage, Nicholas Murray and Larry Curtis.
Members not in attendance: John Vedral and Christopher Carroll.
Others in attendance: Code Officer Fred Farnham, Cliff Thomas and Henry Huntley
Call to Order: Keith opened the meeting at 7 p.m.
Pledge of allegiance:
" Motioned by Nicholas, seconded by Larry open public hearing at 7:02 p.m. The motion passed with a 4 - 0 vote.
Public hearing to review the proposed amendments, additions or deletions to the Town of Buxton Zoning Ordinance, on Monday, April 8, 2013 at 7:00 pm.
Article : Shall an ordinance entitled 'An act to amend Article 12 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance' be enacted? An act to amend Article 12 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance reads as follows:
Amend Article 12 - Road Acceptance Regulations' of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance as follows
(Additions are bold and underlined, deletions are strikethrough):
12.12 All signs and signposts shall follow the standards in the Town of Buxton Sign and Post Requirements as published by the Public Works Director and available from the Code Enforcement Office.
Further Amend Article 12 to re-number existing Articles 12.12 through 12.16 to become Articles 12.13 through 12.17.
This amendment was proposed to inform contractors and developers of the sign and post requirements for our town. Green signs are used for public or town and state roads and blue signs are used to mark private roads.
Article : Shall an ordinance entitled 'An act to amend Article 9 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance' be enacted? An act to amend Article 9 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance reads as follows:
Amend 'Article 9 - District Regulations' of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance as follows (Additions are bold and underlined, deletions are strikethrough):
9.8.C All lots for which a conditional use is applied shall meet the minimum lot requirements of those zones. (added 6/13/09)
This amendment is due to some applicants are being denied a use that could be performed on less acreage than what is required for a particular zone. This article is too restrictive, we intend to modify and re-introduce with amendments next year.
Article : Shall an ordinance entitled 'An act to amend Articles 2 and 6 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance' be enacted? An act to amend Article 2 and 6 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance reads as follows:
Amend 'Article 6 - Board of Appeals ' of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance as follows
(Additions are bold and underlined, deletions are strikethrough):
6.2.B. Variance Appeals. The Board may grant a Variance only from the terms of this Ordinance which impose restrictions on height, buildable area, lot coverage, lot size or setback and only where strict application of those terms to the petitioner and his property would cause undue hardship to the petitioner, owing solely to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of actions of the petitioner. A financial hardship shall not constitute grounds for granting a Variance. The crucial points for obtaining a Variance are undue hardship and unique circumstances applying to the property, neither of which are the results of actions taken by the applicant or a prior owner. A Variance shall not be granted unless all four elements contained in the definition of undue hardship in Article 2 are presented to
the Board. In granting Variance appeals, the Board may prescribe such conditions and safeguards as are appropriate under the Ordinance. In areas of Special Flood Hazard, as established in Article 3.3, permits shall be issued according to the provisions of Article 14 of this Ordinance, without regard to section 5.5. amended 11/6/2001
Amend 'Article 2 - Definitions' of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance as follows (Additions are bold and underlined, deletions are strikethrough):
Variance: A relaxation in the terms of this Ordinance which impose restrictions on height, buildable area, lot coverage, lot size or setback as permitted by section 6.2.B of this Ordinance. Amended 11/6/2001
Fred explained that each lot needs to meet the requirements of buildable area, lot size and coverage in order for it to be a build a lot.
Article : Shall an ordinance entitled 'An act to amend Article 3 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance' be enacted? An act to amend Article 3 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance reads as follows:
Amend 'Article 3 - Establishment of Districts' of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance as follows
(Additions are bold and underlined, deletions are strikethrough):
3.1 Districts.
To implement the provisions of the Ordinance, the Town of Buxton is hereby divided into the following districts as defined in Article 9:
The ordinance is vague, it introduces the different districts in Article 3, but the definitions are listed in Article 9. Bring more clarity to the ordinance.
Article : Shall an ordinance entitled 'An act to amend Article 7 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance' be enacted? An act to amend Article 7 of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance reads as follows:
Amend 'Article 7 - Amendments' of the Buxton Zoning Ordinance as follows
(Additions are bold and underlined, deletions are strikethrough):
Article 7.2 Hearing.
The Planning Board shall hold a Public Hearing on the proposed amendment at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting of the governing body. Notice of the hearing shall be given at a time and method current with state statutes. posted at least ten (10) days in advance in a newspaper of general circulation in the area. The Planning Board shall report its recommendations to the meeting of the governing body.
This will keep the ordinance up to date with the State Statutes at all times.
Article : Shall an ordinance entitled 'An act to adopt a new building code of the Town of Buxton Building Code' be enacted? An act to adopt a new building code of the Town of Buxton Building Code reads as follows:
Amend 'the building codes of the Town of Buxton Building Code as follows
(Additions are bold and underlined, deletions are strikethrough):
The Town of Buxton has adopted the following as its building codes:
2009 2003 Edition of IBC ICC International Building Code"
2009 2003 Edition of IRC ICC International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings"
2001 Edition of "NFPA 31 Installation of Oil Burning Equipment"
2003 Edition of "NFPA 101 Life Safety Code"
2003 Edition of "NFPA 211 Standards for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents
and Solid Fuel Appliances" (Amended November 28, 2007)
2009 International Energy Conservation Code
Residential Radon ASTME 1465-08
These amendments are to keep the Building Code up to date. Fred Farnham is required to use and update to the national codes every three years. This amendment will keep the Building Code current. The State requires the towns to use 2009 IBC and IRC.
Public comments: Cliff Thomas international Energy conservation code and residential radon code is an administrative that are not presently in existence. The 2009 code has administrative requirements that need to be presented and enacted to the town. Is anyone aware of this? Cliff read 'in Section 109, a Board of Appeals has to be formed' and 'one of the responsibilities is to create a Board of Appeals appointed by the governing body'. Cliff continued reading, 'shall consist of members qualified by experience and training and not employees of the jurisdiction. Cliff asked, if adopted, are the Selectmen going to appoint a special BOA for the energy code? Cliff asked that the 2012 energy code is out now and it is even more restrictive than the one now. This is something to look at and keep
in mind. Keith asked Fred to look into it since this has nothing to do with the Planning Board.
" Motioned to close the public hearing on the 2013 proposed ordinance amendments by Nicholas, seconded by Larry at 7:20 p.m. The motion passed with a 4 - 0 vote.
Schedule a Site walk for Daniel & Roberta Aceto are requesting an expansion of their Conditional Use permit for a warehouse & outdoor storage facility. Aceto Construction is located at 1027 Narragansett Trail on Tax Map 8, 20A-35.
" Motioned by Nicholas to schedule a site walk on Tuesday, April 16th at 6 p.m. Seconded by Larry, the motion passed with a 4 - 0 vote.
CEO Report: None
Approval of Minutes: None at this time
Approval of Bills: None at this time.
Communications:
~Southern Maine Regional Planning Committee - email update on maps
~David Savage submitted a letter of resignation.
~Buxton/Hollis Historical updates www.buxtonhollishistorical.org
~Article from the Portland Press Herald - April 4th edition - Establishing a village center
Other Business: Looking for new Planning Board members.
Attendees may address the Board on the evening's business: Cliff asked of the code updates could be separated, so they can be voted on individually. The attorney has grouped the proposed amendments as listed.
Adjourn.
" Motioned by David seconded by Nicholas to close the meeting at 7:28 p.m., a unanimous vote.
Approval Date: __5/13/13_________
________________________ ________________
Keith Emery, Chair Signature Date
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