Greenfield Planning Board
February 12, 2007
Minutes by Joe Trudeau
Members Present: Halper, Chairman Carrara, O’Connell, and alternate Steere sitting in for Fletcher.
Chairman Carrara welcomed the public to the meeting at 7:17 pm.
Mail
1) Power line easement and survey requirements from PSNH.
2) BOS minutes from February 1, 2007.
3) Major subdivision application from Belmore Heirs on Cornwell Road. The application was officially received by the Board.
4) Minor subdivision application from Douglas A. and Maryann Rupert on Gulf and Russell Station Roads. The application was officially received by the Board.
Agenda Item 1: Major subdivision application submitted by Mr. David Danforth
No members were disqualified from this agenda item. Chairman Carrara reviewed the rules of the meeting, reviewed the procedure to be followed, and asked the public to sign in. O’Connell properly notified the public of the hearing. Chairman Carrara asked Mr. Danforth to present the information, and Mr. Shea from Sandford Surveying presented on his behalf. The proposal is to create 3 new lots on a 29 acre parcel on the south side of S. Francestown Road. One house exists on 6.1 acres, and they propose to create lots of 8, 9.6, and 5.6 acres to the east and west of it. All proposed lots have sufficient frontage on S. Francestown Rd. There is some wetland but adequate dry land. Test pits have been dug on all lots, and witnessed by building inspector. The road agent reviewed proposed
driveway locations and asked for some shifts in driveway placement which were made by the surveyor. Chairman Carrara stated that major subdivision applications may be accepted, but cannot be approve at the same meeting. A resident asked what the differences between minor and major subdivisions are. Chairman Carrara responded that major is any subdivision over three lots. Halper described to the public the checklist that the Board must review to make sure the application is complete prior to acceptance, and Chairman Carrara described how every application is reviewed by a consultant, Carol Ogilvie. Chairman Carrara read aloud a letter from Carol Ogilvie dated January 24, 2007 in reference to Danforth Subdivision application. Ms. Ogilvie found that one lot was about 16 feet short on frontage, but Mr. Shea has addressed the issue. She also found that the plat does not reflect road surface and width conditions.
Chairman Carrara went through the application checklist
The subdivision application has the following deficiencies:
1) The Board needs 1 mylar and 4 additional paper copies of plats
2) Updated set of plats needs wetland stamp
3) Plat needs a signature block for Director of DPW
4) Book & Page numbers for abutters Seigars and Lanigan
5) Lot numbering needs to be verified with Catherine
6) Width of S. Francestown Rd. must be noted
7) Culvert must be labeled and diameter must be stated
8) Statement on setting of monuments is needed
9) Flow direction on southern wetlands. (This point was brought up by Mr. Patrick Piper, see below)
10) “No cut” should be “non-disturbance”
Halper questioned the adequacy of the upland area on proposed lot 7-2 which is in both Rural Agricultural and General Residential Districts. Steere replied that it is adequate. Halper moved to accept the major subdivision plan of David Danforth on Map R-5 Lot 7-1 as submitted. Seconded by member Steere. All Board members present were in favor.
Chairman Carrara opened the public hearing at 8:02. The following comments were made by the public:
?Abutter Loraine Lanigan asked the surveyor if he knew anything about missing survey markers. She said the lot was surveyed about ten years ago by Andy Bean. Mr. Shea responded that he did not pull any markers out and he noticed that some were still there, and that most of the property line is marked by a stone wall.
?Patrick Piper owns lots to the north and east. He noted that a stone wall would have to be destroyed to put in a driveway. He asked about building setbacks and noted that there are additional lines of flagging across the road and on his property. Mr. Shea responded that if the flagging is pink and black stripes it is wetland delineation that the wetland scientist may have hung. He then showed the Board that a “seasonal stream” with “rapids” flows through the southern side of the Danforth property and eventually enters a conservation property. Mr. Piper submitted two photos to document the nature of the “stream”. The photos were received by Chairman Carrara. Mr. Piper added that the previous owner of one of the
lots deemed the lot was non-buildable, for whatever it was worth.
?Carl Johnson, resident of S. Francestown Rd., prepared seven questions for the Board.
1) He saw for sale signs on that side of the road and wondered how the land could be for sale while subdivision is pending. Chairman Carrara replied that he did not know what the legal issues are regarding sale of said land. O’Connell replied that there are no laws stating that an owner cannot advertise the land for sale but realtors have a code of ethics they should follow about misrepresenting a property.
2) At what point can we address the developer about his expectations for structures and housing styles and values, and how that may affect his property value? Mr. Danforth replied that he did not know what sort of houses would be built on the lots.
3) We are putting in driveways but don’t know what the houses will be like? Chairman Carrara replied that the driveway plans are only to show that a driveway can safely be located.
4) What are the requirements for a designated scenic road? O’Connell replied that a public hearing and notification is required if the Town or utilities want to cut trees on scenic roads.
5) Is there any estimate of how much more traffic this will bring to the road? Mr. Shea responded that a single family home represents about ten trips per day, which will add about 30 trips per day for the additional three houses. Chairman Carrara added that due to home business opportunities there may be additional traffic.
6) Is there an opinion of the developer whether or not the road needs to be upgraded and paved? Steere replied that the state says that an additional 240 trips per day would cause the town to have to pursue upgrades. Mr. Johnson is in favor of keeping the road paved and narrow, and Chairman Carrara replied he may benefit from going before the BOS with that opinion.
7) There are big beautiful trees on the lot across the road and he thinks they are fantastic and should be retained to maintain property values. Chairman Carrara noted that most residents come before the Board to speak on behalf of keeping property values high. Mr. Johnson noted that small lots such as those proposed will negatively affect property values.
Mr. Johnson read correspondence from a resident who could not attend the meeting. He read the email aloud; a hard copy of the email will be delivered to the Board.
? Vicki Williams was concerned about the future of the road and the plans of Matt Harwood who owns the property across the road. She described the importance of the road for wildlife, scenery and general aesthetics. She was concerned about the full environmental impact of multiple developments. She asked: Is it possible to impose covenants to prevent double-wides from going in? She is against developing S. Francestown Road. Chairman Carrara responded by stating that the Board and the Town do not discriminate against those who choose to live in or can only afford a trailer, and noted that addressing the cumulative environmental impact is beyond the scope of the Board.
?Halper responded to the email read by Mr. Johnson that accused the Board of never denying subdivisions. He said the Board has turned down subdivision applications; that point was reiterated by O’Connell and Carrara. Chairman Carrara stated that the goal of the Board is to treat everyone fairly and consistently, and to protect the Town and the property owner equally.
?Williams again asked the Board if they felt it was important to know what the future plans are with the north side of the road (Harwood). Chairman Carrara responded that he cannot force anyone to provide plans for their land in the future.
?Mary Brooks, abutter to the west, said that she feels that they (Harwood and Danforth) are in the business of building and they plan on putting in a subdivision. She cannot afford to buy the 5 acre lot for $99,000, though she wishes she could protect the land.
?Chairman Carrara stated that the town is changing and many professionals live in Greenfield and do not farm anymore, there is demand on the land.
? Vicki Williams asked if a neighborhood consensus has any weight with the Board. Steere responded that the Board abides by the zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations which were approved by the Town. He added that at recent Board hearings many members of the public were opposed to restrictions proposed by the Board.
?Sue Vallaincourt asked if there is a saturation point where the Board decides there are enough buildings. Chairman Carrara responded that the Boards role is not to tell the people how to live but rather to make sure the rules and regulations are followed and they are applied fairly and consistently. He added that today there are many more regulations than in the past.
? Mr. Piper added that the general consensus of the residents present in the room is that the Board makes sure that everything is done properly with these developments.
? Steve Seigars, abutter to the south, said that he feels that due to private property rights the Board must allow Danforth to do whatever he wants with his land. He does not want his rights to be denied in the future so why should we deny peoples rights today? Seigars added that he plans to create two lots for his children in the future from his land on Pine Ridge Road.
?CEO Hopkins added that the residents concerns are reasonable and the master plan addresses many issues presented tonight. If people are concerned they must engage themselves further by going to town meeting and participating in the rule-making process.
?Halper suggest the Board do a site walk. Chairman Carrara thanked the residents for showing up and added that the town has an open space ordinance in effect currently and suggested the people look at that. Chairman Carrara then added that the public hearing will be kept open so that residents can add more thoughts in the future. Monday February 26th would be good to continue the public hearing. Sunday February 25 at 9 am was set for a site walk to address the wetland issues raised by Mr. Piper. The Board will meet at the Harwood Estate.
Steere moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Halper. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 9:45 pm.
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