TOWN OF FARMINGTON
PLANNING BOARD WORKSHOP
Tuesday - April 24, 2007
Members Present: Chairman Charlie King, Planner Julie LaBranche, Gerry R. Gibson, David Kestner, Selectman's Rep. Joan Funk and Don McVane.
Members Excused: Paul Parker, Hiram Watson, David Meeham, and Jim Horgan
Chairman Charlie King opened the meeting at 6:20pm and stated this meeting was rescheduled from April 17, 2007.
Chairman King noted that the parties involved for the first agenda item were unavailable until about 8pm so the Board would move along down the agenda.
Review of Forms:
1. Notice of Assessments - The Board suggested the following changes be made; 1. the article cited should be Article II Section 8 C and D, 2. changing last line in first paragraph to read "The Town may assess fees directly to Applicants for any services provided to the Planning Board," 3. and under the Fees will not be charged for section the applicants will only receive up to three hours of review, not four per the Selectmen. Don McVane also suggested posting this form in the Planning Office so that all parties can view it.
2. Instructions and Information - There were no changes to this form.
3. Site Plan Completeness and Review Checklist - It was noted this is a great condensed, more workable version for applicants and the Town to use. One suggestion was to change the first paragraph second sentence to read " The Applicant is responsible for providing all requirements of the Site Plan Review Regulation and/or the appropriate waivers with justification for the waiver request as part of the application.
4. Site Plan Review Application - A few items were noted;
a. the box at the top that state's for Applicant's Use should be for Planning Office Use.
b. #15 c. should read 100 Feet from a water body?
c. #17, Chairman King questioned the 150 ft. setback and Julie will look up the ordinance for this requirement.
d. There is no #20 and no #25
e. #23, Chairman King questioned if there is a set of guidelines established to set the amounts of escrow that would be required. Ms. LaBranche replied that in Article 2 Section 8D of the Site Plan Review Regulation it does read there is a $200 escrow needed for minor plans and a $750 escrow need for major plans. The Board would like this stated on the form. Ms. LaBranche stated that the Board should request the Town staff to notify the Planning Board when escrow accounts are low or in the negative, so they can act appropriately.
Chairman King seated Gerry R. Gibson for Hiram Watson.
Continuation of Discussion Of Hazardous Mitigation State Plan:
Selectmen's Rep. Joan Funk informed the Board that without this Plan being signed there is a good chance the Town will not receive FEMA reimbursements for this month's flooding. Don McVane stated that the current Plan seems like a wish list from several departments and not financially realistic. David Kestner questioned if the Planning Board will be held to the document if they were to accept it as it is written now. Joan Funk responded that this Plan is an advisory document, so it can be signed now and updated tomorrow if the Board so choosed to do so. Chairman King questioned if this continuation was from a Public Hearing or a discussion. David Kestner motioned for a five minute recess to research the previous Planning Board minutes to identify if this discussion was continued from a
Public Hearing or not, Don McVane seconded. Motion passed with all in favor.
Chairman King reconvened the meeting at 7:37pm.
Chairman King stated that after reviewing the past minutes it is unclear if this discussion was continued from a Public Hearing or not. Joan Funk moved to accept the Hazardous Mitigation Plan as written, Don McVane seconded. Discussion followed that it appears this Plan is needed by FEMA, so the prudent thing to do would be accept and sign it now and then go back and review it. Motion passed with all in favor.
Chairman Charlie King motioned to post the Hazardous Mitigation Plan for a Public Hearing on June 19, 2007 for discussion and amendments, Don McVane seconded. Motion passed with all in favor.
Brief Discussion Re: Application for subdivision of 31 lots; By: Gail Ellis (Tax Map R22, Lot #7); Located in the (AR) Agricultural Residential Zoning District on Ten Rod Road; This is being proposed as an Open Space Development; presented by Chris Berry of Berry Surveying and Engineering.
Mr. Berry provided a Natural Resource Plan as asked by this Board identifying slopes, wetlands and areas of concern.
1. Don McVane asked how large this lot is. Mr. Berry responded the first lot is 100 acres and the second lot is 30 acres.
2. Chairman King questioned if Mr. Berry has had any communication with the State about obtaining wetland permits. Mr. Berry responded no, not yet.
3. David Kestner asked what the usable square footage of the lots will be. Mr. Berry stated the size has not been identified yet because this is conceptual.
4. Chairman King stated that he believes this property would be better suited for a cluster ordinance to achieve the best protection of wetlands and high quality lots.
5. Don McVane questioned how long the proposed road will be and Mr. Berry responded 4200 feet.
6. Julie LaBranche stated that sometimes small water areas are sometimes better than one large basin and that may prove true on this property. She would like to see an alternate road plan with two roads shown and also have 15% slopes included in their Resource Plan.
7. Chairman King asked what the basic lot size is predicted to be based on the soil analysis. Mr. Berry responded about 50,000 square feet.
8. Mr. Berry invited the Board for a site walk of the property on Thursday, April 26, 2007 at 5pm.
9. Julie LaBranche questioned what the sloping was from and Mr. Berry stated he was unsure but there was some mining and logging going on in the last 10 years. She also recommends contacting the Natural Heritage office to see if any wildlife would be affected by this development and a courtesy call to the City of Rochester making them aware of the project.
General Discussion:
1. Master Plan - Chairman King stated that Doreen Hayden is in the process of completing an edited version of the Master Plan and will get a final copy to this Board as soon as it is done, then the Implementation Chapter will be all that is left.
2. Chairman King stated that the Board received a letter from Superintendent, Michelle Langa requesting that all future correspondence be directed to her.
3. Julie LaBranche informed the Board that there is Subdivision being proposed in Milton on Governor's Rd and she will write a letter on behalf of the Board to open the lines of communication for this development. There are some concerns about the increase in traffic and the conditions of the road at this development that would impact Farmington
4. Julie LaBranche informed the Board of another development on Dream Hill Terrace. She will call and request copies of this Plan and noted that there is a municipal inactive well near this development that would need to be looked at. Don McVane stated that it would be prudent to see both plans mentioned and the Milton Planning Board minutes at the next workshop. Julie LaBranche will request them.
5. Julie LaBranche brought a Buffer map for the Board to have from the NH Estuary Projects.
Don McVane motioned to adjourn, Gerry R. Gibson seconded. Motion passed with all in favor.
Workshop adjourned at 9:03pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brandy Sanger
Recording Secretary
APPROVED AS WRITTEN 05-01-2007
__________________________________ _______________________
Charlie King, Chairman Date
Farmington Planning Board
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