PLANNING BOARD
TOWN OF GREENFIELD NH
MEETING MINUTES
RECORDED BY SHARON ROSSI
June 8, 2015
Amended:
Members attending: KO’Connell, RMarshall (sitting in for SFox), JFletcher, PRenaud, KPaulsen, SAtherton
7:00 P.M. Meeting Opened
PRenaud began reading the May 18, 2015 meeting minutes. Several spelling, punctuation and replacement of words were done. One substantive change was made. Line 61 changed to read: PRenaud moved to have a site walk with MBorden and to determine at that time how the question would be answered. JFletcher motioned to accept the May 18, 2015 minutes as amended. PRenaud seconded. Vote was unanimous in favor.
8:00 P.M. Public Hearing for EDAC Chapter for the Master Plan
KO’Connell opened the hearing for the acceptance of the EDAC chapter for the Master Plan. He read the rules and procedures for a public hearing. HMitchell the only audience member present. Discussion began with Planning Board members pointing out some deficiencies that have still not been addressed: pages aren’t numbered, correction of the alignment on the table of contents page, titles not listed above the tables or graphs, and minor spacing in the tables. KO’Connell will advise LMurphy to return the chapter in PDF form and that the Planning Board will not sign off on the invoice until the chapter is formatted as requested.
8:20 P.M. Heath Mitchell Common Driveway Question
KO’Connell informed the Board that HMitchell was here to get some questions answered concerning the driveway regulations. He asked HMitchell to proceed. HMitchell said he has a question about a common driveway. He explained there are three lots on Sawmill Rd owned by his father, GMitchell, and he and his wife are acquiring the lot nearest the town maintenance property for construction of a home. He read the driveway regulations and sees that the Planning Board needs to approve the location of where we want to place the driveway. RMarshall asked, “Is the lot you are acquiring have frontage on Route 31?” HMitchell said, “It appears to have a ¼ mile of frontage on Route 31.” RMarshall asked, “Is this an existing lot?” HMitchell said, “Yes.” JFletcher asked, “Is there any other access to the lot?” HMitchell responded, “Yes, near the DPW lot, but we will not be using it.”
RMarshall asked, “Do you want to access your lot in an easterly direction off of the current driveway?” HMitchell said, “We want to come straight off of the current driveway which will be east of the current driveway.” PRenaud said, “If this were approved, and the land was sold in the future, would a deeded easement be needed?” HMitchell said, “Yes, there is a deeded easement now and a change of owners would require a new deeded easement according to the driveway regulations.” KO’Connell said, “We have a conflict between the ZBA ordinance and the driveway regulation: i.e. the definition of “frontage” which requires the access to the lot be through the frontage of the lot. RMarshall said, “Tthis means for HMitchell is that he would have to get a
variance from the ZBA or obtain a lot line adjustment from the Planning Board.” KO’Connell said, “If he were to obtain a technical lot line adjustment and move the lot line to the middle of the driveway, which could be done in one meeting, it would allow you to access your lot off a Class V road.”
RMarshall asked, “How difficult and costly would it be to move the driveway to the lot that you are acquiring?” HMitchell said, “There are wetlands involved.” RMarshall said a ZBA variance would be less costly, but a lot line adjustment even less. After more discussion, a lot line adjustment would be the least costly and easiest solution for HMitchell.
HMitchell’s second concern is, “My father wants to build an equipment garage. Does he need to get a driveway permit for the garage? The proposed location of the garage will be right off the current driveway.” The board said it is not an issue at this time. HMitchell reiterated the board’s consensus as the best solution as far as the common driveway is to put the lot line down the middle of the driveway. The board said to remind MBorden when you meet with him that this is one lot and a lot line adjustment would be advisable.
8:55 P.M. Old Business:
KO’Connell advised the Board that he spoke to legal counsel about KPaulsen and SAtherton’s previous statements about speaking in favor of Allrose Farm Country Weddings. Legal counsel said both should recuse themselves from the upcoming public hearing. Legal counsel said because they spoke in a public venue, the Board should seek alternate members to sit on the upcoming hearing. If you can’t sit anyone, it could become an issue in the future.
One the issue of the previous public hearing for Allrose, he said if you didn’t open the public hearing and started taking testimony and didn’t know when you were going to finish the hearing, the new public hearing has to be re-noticed in the newspaper along with new certified notices mailed out.
9:05 P.M. Mail Received:
- Copy of letter from BCM Environmental Land Law, PLLC, re: cease and desist order for Michele Perron
- Copy of cash receipt from Eversource for a public hearing about tree cutting
- List of Town of Greenfield department heads
- NH DES brochure, “Supply Line to the Source.”
- Copy of cash receipt from Fieldstone Land Consultants for SPR R5-34-1
- NBI brochure on “Eminent Domain from Start to Finish” on 6-9-2015
RMarshall did some research on the definition of “hotel” and handed out the information to the board. This will be helpful in the upcoming public hearing. PRenaud said it would be beneficial to have a closed meeting with legal counsel about the definitions before the upcoming public hearing. His main question to counsel is: does the state’s definition supercede our definition of “hotel”? RMarshall asked KO’Connell to check on the excavation chapter that LMurphy is working on. KO’Connell said LMurphy hasn’t responded about it, so he will contact her again.
9:45 p.m. Adjournment
JFletcher motioned to adjourn. SAtherton seconded. Vote unanimous in favor.
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