DRAFT
Minutes of the December 23, 2002 Meeting of the Greenfield Planning Board
The meeting opened at 7:00 P.M. with members Cernota, Fletcher, Marshall, Rainier and Winslow in attendance. Minutes of 12/09 were read and accepted with the following corrections: on page 2, paragraph 1, line 6, we changed the first word from “approval” to “motion”. On page 2, paragraph 3, #9, we added that the board concurred.
Peter Hopkins came to the meeting. He reported that he and John Hopkins are planning to use the GPS unit on the Robertson excavation sometime between now and January 3. Peter will let Steve know that they are coming. Marilyn read a copy of a letter dated 12/22 that the Selectmen had sent to him returning his checks and intents to excavate since they can’t approve the forms without Planning Board recommendation. We need to make some decisions on his pit after the GPS survey has been completed.
At 7:30 P.M. we held a site plan review for Verizon New England. All members listed above were present. Notice of the hearing was posted at the Town Office and Post Office on 12/11, notice was published in the Transcript and Ledger on 12/12 and 8 abutter letters were mailed on 12/13. Five response cards have been returned. It appears that fees will be $405.36. Thomas Petersen, architect, spoke for Verizon. Dave Giffin was also present from Verizon. Mr. Petersen explained that the building at the corner of Forest Road and Francestown Road houses electronic switchgear. There are no permanent employees stationed there. With the growth of Internet use, often requiring two telephone lines per person, more phone lines are needed. The present switch space
needs to be expanded. They understand that the lot is non-conforming and that they can’t increase the encroachment. They plan on building on top of the present building, then remove the old building. For the equipment and racks they need an 11-foot ceiling. They are required by the Federal Government to provide service, so they need generators to cope with emergencies. These are run frequently for a few hours. The new building will have much improved electrical service and the generator box will be set on a concrete pad with a soundproof cover on the Francestown Road side. Pine trees and other vegetation as needed will screen it. The building itself will be brick, and the new roof will be dark bronze metal.
The board then went over the application. Questions arose whether putting the generator enclosure to the west would mean more encroachment. Some of the abutters were missing from the plans such as the Town House, Library, Carbee’s Corner. Marilyn had mailed notices to them. There were questions about how far away buildings on abutting properties were- our rules require that any building closer than 200 feet must be shown on the plans. Bob Marshall especially questioned whether the generator was too close to the house to the north. Mr. Petersen said the generator could be changed but that the plans show it not any closer than at present. Peter Hopkins asked who owned the small piece of land around the corner of the property. There was no record in the town’s file for Verizon. Bob then moved that we accept the application with the following deficiencies which need to be satisfied: 3 abutters missing, location of buildings within a 200 foot radius, fees paid. The board then
voted to accept the application as moved. The setback requirements were waived. The generator enclosure may change existing setbacks but this will not further violate setbacks.
The board had questions on the fans at the north end of the building. Mr. Petersen said that the noise from the generator enclosure or the fans will be substantially less with new equipment. There will be no toilet facilities since there are no employees there. The pay phone will probably stay there. There will be two or three parking spaces, which they feel should be satisfactory. We told Mr. Petersen that the town uses IBC 2000 and that this code had been accepted at town meeting. The proposed building will be about 7 feet higher than the original building with a measurement of 21 feet to the peak. A question was asked it they could put in a basement and lower the roof, but Mr. Petersen explained that the cost would be too exorbitant.
Abutters then had a chance to ask questions. Nell Conkright stated that the new building will block their view and encroaches on a unique apricot tree. She would like a more attractive building and suggested that adding windows to the long all-brick side would make the building more pleasing to look at. It was also suggested that the door be centered and that landscaping was needed to hide the large brick expanse. Parking was a worry. Will the driveway be widened? Verizon will extend the driveway to the corner of the property. Neighbors stated that there are often more than 2 vehicles parked there and frequently vans park on the street. It was asked if DSL service will minimize the number of lines needed. Will the building need to be expanded in the future
if the population of Greenfield increases? Can the ceiling height be lowered? Mr. Petersen said that the pitch could be changed slightly but they really need all the space they can get. The concensus was that the building plans should be redone showing a building more suitable with the neighborhood. The metal roof was a concern, and Mr. Petersen said that they could, if necessary, change to a shingled roof. Peter mentioned that often there is water draining under the Verizon building running from behind Nell’s house. Mr. Petersen suggested that if anyone had questions or comments, they could call Verizon or he would have Verizon call the town. The public portion of the hearing was closed at 9:15 P.M.
We have received plans from the Library. Since we aren’t going to sign off, we will send them to the Selectmen. Adele Gagnon came in to discuss zoning for apartments in the center of town if the town gets sewerage. Questions arose about the proposed septic system. We need to know how many people the proposed system can handle and if it can be expanded if needed. George will look into this.
At 9:30 P.M. we held a Preliminary Conceptual Consultation with Joe Lamacchia who wants to buy property on Driscoll Hill Road. He is proposing a lot line adjustment with Fey and Mulcahy. The road is now a class VI road. We advised that our regulations prohibit subdivision on a Class VI road He said that the road is going to be upgraded to a Class V road and he doesn’t think that the town has the right to make him wait for a year after the upgrade to have the road accepted. The Selectmen will be having a meeting on this on January 16 and he will attend the meeting. We suggested that he find out exactly where Driscoll Road goes since there are two differing opinions. The Hearing closed at 9:50 P.M.
The board then considered proposed ordinances for the March voting. Marilyn passed out copies of proposed warrant articles submitted by the Conservation Commission. They voted these on 12/18. We pointed out that Section I should be changed to Section III, I, Subsection 2, paragraph e. The present paragraph should be numbered 1. 2. should be that no new septic tank or leach field may be closer than 75 feet to any wetland. Exceptions, granted by the Code Enforcement Officer, may be made to repair or enlarge existing systems. The proposed 2nd amendment will become #3. Marilyn will email this to Peter Hopkins. We discussed mixed-use zoning. If we don’t do anything about this, Ray Cilley will submit it as a petition article. We
will work on this at the January 13 meeting. A hearing on amendments will be scheduled for January 27th. We will also discuss rescinding the Excavation Ordinance at the next meeting.
We have received a minor subdivision application from David Sysyn. A hearing will be set for January 13th.
We then went over the mail. We agreed to add to the Site Plan Review application that four paper copies are required and that the cost of advertising is $160.00
We received notice from New Boston of a hearing for ATT for a cell tower. The State of NH Dept of Revenue Administration sent a letter on Discretionary Preservation Easements. There was a copy of a memo from Catherine to Southwest with road names for the zoning map. There was a memo from Selectmen that there is a Repairs and Maintenance log. Plan NH sent a letter on Design Assistance for Local Projects. We received a copy of the budget and bills from Southwest for $1,500.00 and for Verizon hearing for $75.25.
The meeting adjourned at 11:05 P.M.
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