Greenfield Planning Board
March 26, 2007
Minutes taken by Joe Trudeau
Members Present: Chairman Carrara, Halper, O’Connell, and Morris.
Meeting opened at 7:05 pm
Chairman Carrara read aloud the minutes from March 12, 2007. Morris moved to accept, all were in favor. The minutes were accepted with no changes.
Chairman Carrara reviewed the agenda. He asked Morris and O’Connell if they have been sworn in, and they had. Member Borden has not yet and was not present.
Chairman Carrara asked resident Jim Fletcher if Board Member Marilyn Fletcher was planning on resigning and according to him she will at some point. The Board discussed what steps to take regarding alternate seats. Bob Jennings and Gene Mitchell are apparently interested, but they were not present. Jim Fletcher has an interest in the seat, and he was present, but Chairman Carrara decided to wait until all three were present. Jennings, Mitchell, and Fletcher were officially invited to the next meeting.
Halper spoke in favor of Chairman Carrara retaining his role as Chairman, and he (Halper) suggested that he not be considered to maintain the Vice-Chair seat as he has held. Morris commended Chairman Carrara for his year of service and seconded his nomination to keep the Chair position. Halper moved to make Carrara Chair, Borden Vice-Chair, and O’Connell as Corresponding Secretary. Morris seconded the motion. All members voted in favor of the motion; passed at 7:25.
Mail
State approval for subdivision for Joyce and Thomas Dumaine
Trudeau pay-stub
Select Board minutes for March 1, 8, and 15, 2007
Major Subdivision application for Belmore Heirs
Chairman Carrara asked the Board if anyone had to be disqualified; none felt they needed to. Chairman Carrara reviewed the rules of the meeting and the procedure to be followed during the application presentation. O’Connell stated that abutter notifications were sent out and the public notice was posted in the Ledger and on the town web site. O’Connell handed a signup sheet to the public. Robert Todd, land surveyor from New Boston, NH, spoke on behalf of the Belmore Heirs. Mr. Todd wanted to clarify that the Board had indeed received the application, and Chairman Carrara responded that the Board does have the application, but the presentation acts as the formal submission of the application to the Board.
The property lies on the eastern side of Cornwell Road and is about 27 acres. He explained the map layout and colors and how they should be interpreted as wetlands, forest, driveway, and building placement. He had cleared the driveway placement with director of DPW and received a special exception from the ZBA regarding wetlands impact. Two homes would share a common drive. The lots are all around 5 acres, and one is 6.4. All lots have the required frontages. Some lots have odd shapes but the layout accommodates the wetland system and minimizes impact, resulting in a fairly dense cluster at the southwestern corner of the lot. The northernmost driveway is very close to the property line and would need approval for its placement. A check was received from Adel
Hale.
The Board then reviewed the application. Chairman Carrara read aloud consultant Carol Ogilvie’s summary of the application. The letter states that Mr. Todd had received a copy of the letter. Mr. Todd responded that he had not and Chairman Carrara said he would check into that and get him a copy. Chairman Carrara reviewed the checklist. The application has the following deficiencies:
1 Mylar and 6 paper copies
Lot numbers need dashes not dots to conform to town requirements; check with Catherine
Test pits and percolation pits were not on the plat because they had yet to be completed
Water flow direction arrows
Statement of compliance with the Zoning Ordinance
Easement information for septic and common driveway easements
Statement as to the setting of monuments
Chairman Carrara felt the plan was gerrymandered, specifically the lot configurations. The Board was concerned that there has yet to be any pits dug. Morris was concerned about the woods access road that ran through the septic area on lot 25-5. Todd responded that the road was a historic timber trespass. Chairman Carrara was concerned about the unnumbered abutting lot. Adel Hale responded that they had located persons in Bennington whom they felt were heirs to the lot, but the town does not yet recognize those persons as the owners of said lot. Mr. Todd stated that he had found all the abutters that the town listed. Ms. Hale stated that Halper and Rainier had told her in the past that test pits are not needed for an application. Chairman Carrara trusted that to be true. Halper moved to accept the subdivision application of the Belmore Heirs on Map R6 lot 25-1. Morris seconded. All were in favor, including Chairman Carrara who could not abstain due to the lack of members
present. Chairman Carrara opened the public hearing at 8:33. Resident comments included:
An abutter suggested that the wetlands were such a significant portion of the lot that the lots are too small. He asked what the Conservation Commission had to say about the subdivision proposal. Chairman Carrara responded that the application has met all the setback requirements. Furthermore, he reminded the public that the Board does not regularly consult with the Conservation Commission regarding their opinions of subdivision applications. The citizen also asked what soil type 3 was. Mr. Todd explained the state system of stratifying soils into different series based on depth to bedrock or restrictive layers, substrate consistency and size, and water table. The higher the number, the less suitable for building on. Type 3 is a mid-range soil.
Todd Smith, abutter, was unclear of where on Cornwell Road the lot is on. He was also unclear how the law and the Board function and how they could “abolish” the law that requires certain distances and buffers, specifically in regards to how special exceptions are granted. Chairman Carrara, O’Connell, and Halper each offered answers to various aspects of his question.
Conrad Dumas wanted Chairman Carrara to clarify if he required the test pits need to be done for subdivision approval. Chairman Carrara responded that they would need to be done. He was also curious if the town would grant the easement for the off-lot septic system required by the lots that share a driveway. Chairman Carrara was unsure if the town would.
Chairman Carrara decided to leave the public hearing open since there were unanswered questions and issues that were not settled yet. Chairman Carrara thanked the public for coming to the hearing. Chairman Carrara scheduled the next meeting for April 23rd at 7:30 pm.
5 minute break
Lot line adjustment application for Joyce and Thomas Dumaine
Chairman Carrara began the agenda item at 9:03 for a lot line adjustment on Old Lyndeborough Mountain Road. Chairman Carrara reviewed the hearing rules and distributed a signup sheet. Do member was disqualified. O’Connell notified the public in the Ledger and on the town website. Dawn Tuomala from Monadnock Survey, Inc. explained the proposal to adjust the lot line to increase Domain’s lot (R9-36-5) to 22.942 acres and decrease their child’s lot (R9-36-4) to 4.000 acres. A check was received from Dawn Tuomala. Chairman Carrara read aloud consultant Carol Ogilvie’s summary of the proposal which she felt was “a simple proposal”. Chairman Carrara then reviewed the checklist. The application has the following deficiencies:
statement of compliance to zoning ordinances
Morris moved to accept the proposal for lot line adjustment of the Dumaine property, Map R9 Lot 36-4 and 36-5. The motion was seconded by Halper. All members were in favor. Application was accepted. Public Hearing opened at 9:20. No questions or comments, hearing closed at 9:21. The Board felt the statement of compliance on the plat was sufficient. Morris moved to approve the lot line adjustment on Old Lyndeborough Mountain Road, Map R9 Lot 36-4 and 36-5, for Thomas L. and Joyce M. Dumaine. All were in favor, no discussion. The lot line adjustment was approved at 9:23 pm.
Subdivision application for Danforth property on Francestown Road
This is the conditionally approved subdivision proposal. The purpose of this presentation is to check that the deficiencies had been corrected. The deficiencies had been corrected and the Board signed the plats.
Other Business
-Office of Energy and Planning annual meeting: O’Connell wants to go.
-Carbee’s downtown property: Something needs to be done soon regarding the Carbee’s request to split the two properties apart for assessing purposes. Karen Day (BOS member) thinks it will be on the BOS agenda very soon.
-Minute taker Trudeau informed the Board he would be absent April 15 through May 15, the later half of July, and most of August, but exact dates on the latter two are unknown at this point. He also asked for a raise if that is possible. He will get a detailed schedule at the next meeting.
-Chairman Carrara mentioned he believes that the fees for subdivisions and other applications should be raised to cover the hidden costs born by the Town for what is essentially a business transaction.
Halper moved to adjourn meeting, seconded by Morris. All in favor, meeting adjourned at 10:05.
| 
