TOWN OF FARMINGTON
PLANNING BOARD
MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday – November 17, 2009
356 Main Street - Farmington, NH
Members Present: Chairman Paul Parker, David Kestner, Cindy Snowdon, Tracy Major, Glen Demers, Charlie Doke and Jim Horgan
Members Absent: Tim Moody
Selectman’s Rep: Charlie King
Staff Present: Mike Garrepy, Interim Town Planner
Public Present: Ryan Corbett, Carol Corbett and Rene Toussaint.
Chairman Paul Parker called the meeting to order at 6:04pm and seated Jim Horgan for Tim Moody. Paul also informed the Board that the Selectmen hired a new planner, Kathy Menici and she will be starting on December 21, 2009.
BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD:
1. Review and Approve Meeting Minutes of 10-6-09 and 10-20-09:
- Jim Horgan motioned to accept the minutes of 10-6-09 as amended, 2nd Tracy Major. Motion carried.
- Jim Horgan motioned to accept the minutes of 10-20-09 as written, 2nd Cindy Snowdon. Motion carried with Charlie Doke abstaining.
2. Discussion of Ordinance Conflicts with Subdivision and Site Plans:
Charlie King motioned to table the discussion to the end of the meeting, 2nd Jim Horgan. Motion carried with all in favor.
3. Other Business Before the Board:
- Jim stated that the Conservation Commission went out to monitor an easement at Energy Resources and they noticed the silt fence was still on the property. He suggested the Board consider removal of silt fencing on completed construction sites and maybe tie this removal to Certificate of Occupancies or releasing of a bond or something of that nature.
- Paul Parker motioned to table other business to end of the meeting, 2nd Jim Horgan. Motion carried with all in favor.
At 6:24pm, Tracy Major motioned for a short recess, 2nd Dave Kestner. Motion carried.
At 6:32pm the Board reconvened.
PUBLIC HEARING at 6:32pm
CONTINUED CASES:
- Application for Minor Site Plan Review By: Ryan Corbett (Tax Map R04, Lot 004); To allow for Pre-existing garage and driveway to be used as commercial business by home owner for automotive service and repair, in the Agricultural Residential (AR) Zoning District. Parcel is located at 77 Ten Rod Road.
Charlie King recused himself from the application. The applicant, Ryan Corbett, provided the Board with a revised plan to show the proposed fencing. Joel and Mike were both on-site and suggested the placement of the dumpster be adjacent to the parking with fencing and arborvitae tree planting to help with screening. The trees are proposed to be planted 15’ from the road. Joel also addressed the drainage concerns in his memo dated 11-9-09 in which it states he has no issue but would recommend putting a crown in the driveway when paving so the storm water runoff is discharged on the property. Mike then commented that in his opinion the fencing is sufficient and would even suggest not requiring the arborvitaes because he does not see the benefit.
Paul polled the Board to get a consensus on the application. Jim stated he is in support of the application and he thinks the compromises Mr. Corbett has made are good and help to maintain the rural character; plus he would eliminate the arborvitaes. Tracy stated she feels the Table of Permitted Uses prohibits the use and therefore she would not be in favor of the application. Dave commended the applicant on the changes but also feels the Table of Permitted Uses is what determines what is allowed in each zone and he is also not sure the proposed business is an accessory use. Charlie D. stated he is in favor of the project because enough provisions have been made to maintain the rural character of the zone. Cindy said she would be in favor of the application knowing that the Board is going to
address the zoning conflicts this year and she feels confident approving the application because Mr. Corbett worked so hard to maintain the rural character.
Paul commented that one recommendation by Mike is to require the garage doors to be closed for noise control but he is concerned what will happen when it is hot and humid. Dave added that the fences are going to act as a sight and sound barrier.
Paul opened the public hearing for the application. Rene Toussaint asked if there is a requirement for bathroom facilities and the response was no, not for this size building. Paul closed the public hearing.
Charlie Doke motioned to approve the application for a minor site plan review by Ryan Corbett (Tax Map R04, Lot 004) with 7 conditions; 1. eliminate arborvitae planting and replace with appropriate landscaping along fence line. 2. all proposed site improvements completed and inspected prior to a Certificate of Occupancy for the use. 3. establish hours of operation (Monday through Friday 8am – 5pm). 4. limit the number of non-personal cars that can be located outside to four. 5. require that all work be conducted inside the garage with the doors closed. 6. require that the disposal of waste be done in accordance with the requirements of NHDES. 7. the incorporation of all requirements of the DPW per the letter from its Director dated 11-9-09.; 2nd Cindy Snowdon. Discussion followed in which Mike reminded the Board that the approval runs with the land and as staff he is not making a recommendation in favor or not of the project. Motion carried with Cindy Snowdon, Jim Horgan, Paul
Parker, Glen Demers and Charlie Doke in favor and Tracy Major and Dave Kestner opposed.
At 7:18pm, Dave Kestner motioned for a short recess, 2nd Tracy Major. Motion carried.
At 7:26pm the Board reconvened.
NEW CASES:
- Notice of Voluntary Merger of Pre-Existing Lots By: Richard Wheeler (Tax Map R17, Lot 006 & 007), in the Rural Residential (RR) Zoning District. Parcels located at 40 Branson Road.
Jim Horgan motioned to approve the voluntary merger of pre-existing lots by Richard Wheeler (Tax Map R17, Lots 006 & 007) conditional upon the completion of the application to fill in the book and page number, 2nd Charlie Doke. Discussion followed in which Mike stated there doesn’t appear to be any violations that would be created with the merger though the book and page number needs to be included on the application. Charlie K. asked if the applicant is the owner of record for both lots and Mike replied yes. Motion carried with all in favor.
Discussion of Ordinance Conflicts with Subdivision and Site Plans:
Mike reminded the Board that they only have a limited amount of time to make recommendations for zoning amendments because Town Meeting is right around the corner and therefore the Board might want to leave this discussion till later. Charlie King motioned to table the Ordinance Conflicts with Subdivision and Site Plans until the first workshop in February, 2nd Jim Horgan. Motion carried.
Discussion of Site Plan Lot Requirements:
Mike provided a proposal for an amendment to add suggested language to the Zoning Ordinance for Lot Dimensional Criteria for Section 2.01 D. Charlie K. asked if “residential” should be stricken and Mike replied that this particular section is specific to the AR district and each district there after so it should be left in Section 2.01 D, Section 2.01 E and Section 2.03 D.
Dave commented that when this discussion first started he recalls wanting to increase the requirement to 43,560 square feet or 1 acre so there is a minimum of an acre required. Glen then questioned if the wetland buffer area should be subtracted out of the calculations too, so that there is enough buildable land. Charlie K. asked if the lot line setbacks should be subtracted also and if all subtractions should be from the contiguous upland requirement and not the lot size.
Cindy asked if there is a way to apply a grace period for the effective date of this change so that lot owners would have time to make changes with there properties if needed. Mike said the Board can certainly put an effective date on it but that maybe the Board should wait on this and allow the new planner to research and work with the Board to see what will work best. It was discussed that the Board should all get copies of subdivisions from different zones and identify exactly what they like and don’t like and what a minimum requirement should be. Charlie King motioned to continue to the next meeting on December 12/1/09, 2nd Tracy Major. Motion carried with all in favor.
Home Business and Home Occupation:
Cindy Snowdon motioned for a short recess at 8:53pm, 2nd Charlie King. Motion carried.
At 9:02 the Board reconvened.
Paul informed the Board that Mike provided some suggested definitions and guidelines for home occupation and home business. Tracy commented that she doesn’t understand why they are not considered the same. Charlie K. replied that a home occupation is within an existing residential dwelling with one employee who is the home owner and is permitted without review. Paul questioned if a separate section in the zoning ordinance should be created to provide standards for a home business and home occupation for review and approval. Charlie K. reminded the Board that the approval given tonight was not consistent with the Table of Permitted Uses.
Mike commented that he would encourage the Board to create a separate table as to what would be allowed for an accessory use, giving the example that an office is not allowed though the Board would probably allow a home business such as a CPA office. Charlie K. agreed noting that he believes their should be two separate sections for home business and home occupation with listing what would be considered for home occupations and then be more strict with what is definitely not permitted.
At 9:19pm, Charlie King motioned to extend the meeting until 10:00pm, 2nd Jim Horgan. Motion carried with all in favor.
Cindy noted that the proposed language for Home Occupations says there cannot be any signage and questioned if that is what the Board would want. It was noted that by having a sign the occupation would be changed to a Home Business and would go through site plan review. The Board came to a consensus to have two separate sections in the Zoning Ordinance to address the Home Occupation and Home Business and to down-size the definition of Home Occupation to default to the new section. The Board will review Mike’s proposed language and come back with comments at the next workshop. Jim Horgan motioned to continue the discussion on Home Business and Home Occupation to the next workshop meeting, 2nd Charlie King. Motion carried with all in favor.
Aquifer Protection Overlay District:
Paul noted that he thinks it is extremely important to discuss the aquifer protection overlay are and rectify the conflict. In his opinion the list of permitted uses needs to be removed. Mike suggested deleting Section 4.01D. (n) and adding a separate paragraph that the lot coverage shall be no more than 20% but the Planning Board could increase to up to 50% if the applicant utilizes innovative storm water management techniques. Tracy found a copy of what Dan had proposed for this section earlier and questioned if the Board was going to start from scratch again even though they had already started on this version. The Board was in consensus to have Mike get a copy of Dan’s version and the minutes and create a compiled version. Paul Parker motioned to continue the Aquifer
Protection Overlay discussion until 12/1/09, 2nd Jim Horgan. Motion carried with all in favor.
Other:
- Mike informed the Board that he was asked by a resident to create an ordinance to provide more opportunities for accessory apartments and that he provided the Board with some draft language for consideration. Paul questioned if a certain amount of acreage is required now in order to create an in-law apartment over an existing garage and Mike replied yes. Charlie K. asked how the Town would be able to enforce #7 and was puzzled why one resident’s comments would ensue this discussion. He also added that he is concerned with making the leap from detached to attached dwelling, plus accessory apartments are already permitted without review and all this would do is reduce the land area required. Dave questioned why the Town would re-invent this ordinance when a person could just apply for a variance. Mike
replied his comment is just that this proposal would set a standard for what an accessory apartment is. Charlie King motioned to continue this discussion on accessory apartments to 12/1/09, 2nd Jim Horgan. Motion carried with all in favor.
At 10:09pm, Dave Kestner motioned to adjourn, 2nd Tracy Major. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 10:09pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brandy Sanger
Recording Secretary
___________________________ _________________
Paul Parker, Chairman Date
| 
