Planning Board
Town of Greenfield
AMENDED APPROVED MEETING MINUTES
Recorded by Janice Pack
April 25, 2016
Members Attending: Paul Renaud, Ken Paulsen, Angelique Moon, Andre Wood, Robert Marshall
7:04 PM Meeting Opened
Minutes from the last meeting held on April 11th were read by PRenaud. A few corrections were noted. KPaulsen motioned to accept the minutes as amended. AMoon seconded, and all were in favor.
Mail:
11 copies of Site Plan Review Regulations
Tax maps & Zoning Map Updates 2015-2016
Invoice to Vestige Properties, in the amount of $64.25
Invoice to David Crane, Eversource, in the amount of $82
Cash Receipt from Northeast Utilities in the amount of $82
Modified Site Plan Review Checklist
A/P Folder containing:
Invoice from State of NH Office of Energy & Planning for Spring Planning & Zoning Conference in the amount of $55 for KPaulsen.
Announcements made by PRenaud
Zoning map has been changed; tax maps don’t need to be changed.
Reminder of Spring Planning & Zoning Conference coming up
Review/Amend Rules of Procedure
PRenaud went over the minor changes that he had made. One big topic of discussion was the titles and responsibilities listed under Officers of “Secretary” and “Corresponding Secretary”. The Board decided to change the title “Secretary” to “Clerk” and add “who shall be hired by the Town.” The “Corresponding Secretary” title was changed to “Secretary” and some of the duties were amended, as those will be handled by the Chair or his designate.
Under Meetings, Paragraph #3, the Board discussed whether or not we should allow someone from the public to ask a member of the board to recuse themselves. It was agreed to leave it as it was written.
Under #4 Voting d. regarding a tie vote constituting a failure of the motion, the Board discussed whether or not this should stand, and it was decided that it should. It was suggested by AMoon that #4 Voting a. should be amended to say that Anyone can choose whether to abstain or not.
Under #5 The order of business, it was determined that the list was slightly out of order, so the Board put f. Communications and miscellaneous after b. Minutes of the previous meeting. Language was also added
regarding when meetings/hearings with the public would be scheduled.
Under Procedures for Processing Subdivision Applications, PRenaud wondered when we would determine if there was regional impact. If the Secretary felt that the application did not have regional impact, the application could be noticed. But if it was deemed that it WOULD have regional impact, then where in the process do we do this? It was determined that Section 2 would need to be rewritten. PRenaud will draft it out and the Board will review it at another meeting.
9:05 PCC for Mr. John Paradise’s driveway
RMarshall recused himself
PRenaud mentioned that he had visited the site, going in from Dodge Road in Bennington – a Class 5 road – to Muzzey Hill Road, a Class 6 road. JParadise plans to have the driveway come in from Muzzey Hill Road.
PRenaud mentioned the deed discrepancy. The town deed shows that this is a 7 acre lot but in reality, the lot is 2.1 acres. This would make it a non-conforming lot, as the minimum lot size is 4 acres in the Rural Ag District. Also, the minimum frontage requirement is 350’, but that may not exist on Muzzey Hill Road. Our definition of frontage requires that you have a Class 5 road or better, so it would not meet our requirement for frontage either.
PRenaud clarified that this was not really a PCC. The Select Board requires the case to be heard by the PB before proceeding. AWood asked “are we trying to come up with a recommendation to the Select Board?” and it was decided we were.
There were additional questions on lot size and minimum frontage requirements, and whether or not this lot is grandfathered. Section II Definition M Frontage says that you cannot have frontage on a Class 6 road. JParadise produced a document showing the access was originally from Dodge Road in Bennington. PRenaud can look into the grandfathering, but what about the missing land? JParadise said that when he bought the land there was 135 acres about 36 years ago, and the lot in question was not part of it. He originally purchased land from various people; and as a whole, it made up the 135 acres. The copy of the deed for the lot in question does show 7 acres, as does the official notarized deed. PRenaud feels that it could be a misreporting or error, and in fact, he isn’t even sure if the deed includes the
lot in question.
Whether this lot is grandfathered or not, and whether the lot is even part of the deed, can be researched, but whether the driveway can even be on this road is the problem. PRenaud stated that if the driveway was to be on Muzzey Hill Road, it would not meet our requirements. AWood declared that even with the Class 5 road in Bennington; the lot still doesn’t have the frontage.
PRenaud said “at this point, we are not ready to comment. We will need to gather more information.” KPaulsen mentioned that he had gone into the Deeds Records to search, but didn’t know exactly what he was looking for. There is still an issue of frontage; JParadise should go to the Town of Bennington for that, to see what their ordinances are, and possibly get an easement.
The Board reached a consensus that they were not ready to give a formal statement to the Select Board at this time, but encouraged RMarshall to give an update to the Select Board, letting them know that more research was needed. We will plan to discuss our findings at our May 23rd meeting. PRenaud will let JParadise know if he needs to be there or not.
10:11 PM JParadise left the meeting.
PRenaud asked if there was anything else to discuss.
RMarshall was unrecused.
New Business
AWood asked if we had an email address for correspondence relating to town business, did it need to be controlled by the Town? RMarshall said it wasn’t a question of control, but of protection for the individual members. It was mentioned that perhaps we need to develop an email policy somewhere down the road.
RMarshall asked for more communication between the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission, and the other boards and committees, on a regular basis. He feels that we need to collaborate together more as a team. He reminded the PB that it is the Applicant’s responsibility to get his ducks in a row, not the Board’s to do the work for him.
AMoon moved to adjourn. AWood seconded the motion, and all were in favor.
10:22 PM Meeting adjourned
THESE MINUTES WERE APPROVED AS AMENDED ON MAY 9, 2016.
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