Planning Board
Town of Greenfield
Meeting Minutes
Recorded by Janice Pack
June 13, 2016
Members Attending: Paul Renaud, Ken Paulsen, Jim Fletcher, Sherry Fox, Andre Wood, Angelique Moon
Public: Nicholas Hardy from the Ledger-Transcript, Jennifer McCourt from McCourt Engineering, Peter Davenport of Harvester Market
Meeting Opened: 7:01 PM
Minutes: Minutes were read by PRenaud. A few minor changes were made, and JFletcher motioned to accept the minutes as amended. It was seconded by AWood, and all were in favor.
Mail:
Town of Greenfield Planning Board Budget Report YTD dated 6/8/16
Certified Mail Return Receipt Cards (7 of 10 sent) (Harvester Market Public Hearing)
Annual Meeting Announcement Flyer from the Southwest Region Planning Commission addressed to PRenaud
Old Business: PRenaud did send out the letter of comment concerning the Paradise property to the Select Board and Planning Board in Bennington on June 6th, and has not had a response yet.
The Greenfield 225th Anniversary celebration will be a week from Saturday – is anyone willing to represent the Board in the dunk tank that day? AMoon, AWood, SFox, PRenaud and JFletcher were not available to do so. KPaulsen may be able to do that, as well as take pictures of the event.
7:30 PM - Public Hearing for Harvester Market Self Storage Facility to consider the application put in by Harvester Market to put in the 54 self-storage units. This is essentially an amendment of an already-approved site plan. For purpose of the completeness review, some if not most of the checklist items will be from the original approval. Some may be redundant, or not have any direct bearing on this application. AMoon asked for confirmation that there was no proposed change to the site, just change of use. The Board looked over the plans and began going through the items on the checklist one by one.
The Board did not find note of the flood plain or mention of it not being applicable on the plan. PRenaud consulted another drawing, and confirmed that it was not applicable.
Transformers – N/A
Circulation – the board discussed if there may be more parking out back if people were going to be unloading there, and whether or not they were comfortable with the information provided.
Items 8, 9 and 10 on the checklist were not submitted, and would be considered later (waiver requests)
Fire Safety and Control Provisions was a “No” on the checklist, and JMcCourt said it was “N/A”. PDavenport said the building complies at this point with everything the Fire Department requires, and so PRenaud put NO on the checklist for that item.
Net Lot Area was interpreted, and for purpose of Site Plan Review, was determined to be a Yes for this purpose.
AMoon made a motion to invoke jurisdiction, and it was seconded by AWood. All were in favor.
PRenaud asked if JMcCourt had submitted the $10 application fee; she said she had not.
Total fees were calculated: Application Fee of $10, Postage totalling $100 (10 letters at $10 each), Advertising fee of $92.95, and administrative fee of $50 = $252.95. PDavenport presented the Board with his check.
At 8:07 PM PRenaud moved forward to open the Public Hearing.
He asked if there were any questions from the Board to the Applicant. PDavenport confirmed that he had spoken to his neighbor and reassured him that the hours of operation would be the same for the storage area as it was for the store. KPaulsen asked about the construction company PDavenport would be using. PDavenport has used this company before; it is a national company out of Michigan and making storage units is their whole career. KPaulsen asked what materials they would be using. PDavenport said it would be mostly metal. AWood asked how wide the corridors between the storage units would be. PDavenport said the drawings reflected the conforming widths for ADA requirements. AWood said that carrying in stuff may be a challenge. KPaulsen asked if there was only one door, and that was
confirmed. No additional outside signage was planned at this time. KPaulsen asked for clarification on numbers of storage units; it was determined there were 54 proposed. JFletcher asked about the items that were currently being stored downstairs for the store, and JMcCourt pointed out that the Mechanical Room downstairs would still be used by the store. PRenaud went back to the question on the checklist regarding Fire Safety Provisions. AWood thought we would need to have comment by the Fire Department; JFletcher agreed. The Board did not see any value in doing a site walk at this time as the storage area does not yet exist. PRenaud said he would contact Mike Borden to make an assessment, and give us written comment. AWood asked if the power panels could be added to the plats, and the widths of the aisles.
Moving on to the waivers, JMcCourt pointed out a letter she had written addressing them.
AWood moved to grant the first waiver requested for VIII.A.14 Topographical data on the Plat, and AMoon seconded. All were in favor.
This discussion will be continued after the Fire Department’s comment is received. The Public hearing was adjourned, to be continued on June 27th at 7:30 PM.
8:30 PM - Allrose Farm Country Weddings Deliberation
KPaulsen recused himself.
Also attended by Michele Perron and Brian Giammarino.
PRenaud mentioned the letter received from the abutter regarding traffic safety. He said that there were also concerns about drinking. PRenaud asked BGiammarino if there were any cut offs which should be observed. He said not necessarily for a wedding, but if there were a concert or similar event, it might be a concern. He said his biggest concern was traffic. And secondly, parking was a concern. BGiammarino said he felt comfortable with the people who were doing the site work, and with MPerron’s assurance that there would be no cars parked on the road. PRenaud shared information from Mike Borden pertaining to the Fire Department and other Code Enforcement issues. BGiammarino said that every wedding is different, but he doesn’t foresee a problem. Feels it is low impact to the Police
Department at this time. Mentioned that there are events held at Greenfield State Park and Crotched Mountain, and no real problems have resulted. PRenaud stated that it might be the responsibility of MPerron to notify the police if something did get out of hand. MPerron said that she would be there at the event the whole time the event was being held. She acknowledged that it would be her responsibility, and perhaps that of her event coordinator, to be sure that nothing got out of hand. BGiammarino said that he was glad to know that MPerron was committed to being on her property the duration of each event. He said if she wants her business to be successful, she’s going to have to be very good at what she does. AMoon asked for confirmation that no events will run after 10 PM. She asked if the wedding party was allowed to bring alcohol on to the property. BGiammarino said that if the wedding party was serving alcohol themselves,
they need a liquor liability as opposed to a liquor license and alcohol being served by a bartender. AWood asked how this was different from the state park. BGiammarino says it brings up a few issues, including underage drinking. He said the State had given us a grant to have a uniformed officer at the state park to help prevent underage drinking. PRenaud asked how the noise ordinance would be enforced. BGiammarino stated we do not have a way to measure the noise, but it would be at the officer’s discretion. Said if it was loud, they would issue a warning. If they had to come back, it would be an arrest for Disorderly Conduct. BGiammarino said that 11:00 PM is the absolute cut off for the music festival, and the Board stated that in the event ordinance, 10:00 PM was the shut off. BGiammarino said that he liked that.
Directing the conversation back to the flow of traffic, MPerron said that would be an educational process that she would go through with the client. She would send out directions steering them in the direction of New Boston Road. If a parking attendant were present, they would be responsible for those directions. AWood said that the other route for leaving may not be as popular, and BGiammarino stated that it would be hard to enforce. PRenaud and JFletcher asked if the State could be on board to help with this. PRenaud said we could talk about the DOT and signage later on. MPerron said she was thinking of purchasing something like saw horses that say Caution – Slow with blinking lights. BGiammarino said both Antrim and Peterboro had those, and he felt they would let him borrow them if needed.
AWood said “in context of this deliberation, do we feel that traffic is something that is problematic”? BGiammarino said that he does not feel that this will become an issue. His greater concern is drinking and driving, and even that will depend on the type of event.
PRenaud said that we will work on a tracking and notification form for each event so that we can plan in advance. BGiammarino said he would require a lot of notice on a concert type event, like maybe a month. He did like the idea of MPerron putting up a sign saying “Event Ahead” or something like that.
AMoon asked to see the contract proposed to be used for the events, and look over the liabilities.
9:07 BGiammarino left the meeting.
PRenaud moved to address the other issues that had come up such as septic, lodging and fire safety, emergency vehicle access, and permits for tents. He told the board he had met with MBorden last week and learned that if there are at least 50 people assembled in a tent, you need to get a permit which would be filed with the State Fire Marshal and approved by the Town (perhaps MBorden) and if it is approved and accepted, it would be good for one year. The Permit to Operate Place of Assembly is found on the State Fire Marshal’s website. It mandates a semiannual inspection. MPerron would also need a certificate of flame proofing if 50 people were going to be under the tent. If she plans to have them inside a barn or structure, then the limit is 100.
Moving on to the septic, PRenaud mentioned the expired document and that the system would need to be installed as the current one is not suitable. MPerron said she would only be allowing up to 10 guests to stay over. PRenaud asked if any of the upgrades had been done, and said that MBorden would need to inspect them. He mentioned there must be 2 primary egresses off of every floor if there are up to 16 guests. Read a bulletin from the State Fire Marshal’s office regarding fire safety codes affecting a B & B. MPerron said that MBorden has been over to her house and directed MPerron on what was needed. PRenaud said that until MPerron has done her upgrades, she cannot lodge ANYONE. The other thing was the emergency vehicle access and vehicle turn around as found in NFPA 1-18.2. PRenaud read
the definition of Fire Department egress, and discussed Fire Department access. It was felt that a fire truck should be able to get there but this is not in writing. PRenaud will ask MBorden again to provide us with his written opinion on this. AWood felt there was an additional wrinkle: in order to position a fire truck in the circle, would that impact where the port a potties would be, just in case. MPerron said that another site visit had been scheduled, and PRenaud said that he would give MBorden a call to find out when. MPerron submitted a revised waiver request form for parking lot requirements.
Returning to the liquor and beverage selling aspect: PRenaud asked if MPerron was contracted with any caterers, and she is not. The individual clients will be contracting with the caterers, and it will be their responsibility to get the liquor licenses. At each different type of event, there is an offsite catering property owner’s form where MPerron states that she is giving the caterer permission to sell alcohol on her property. While this is not something that we have direct oversight for, it is something important for her to comply with. AWood gave a scenario where a small dinner party was held and guests brought their own alcohol – MPerron would still be liable as it is her property. Different scenarios were discussed, such as open bars, and wedding parties bringing in their own
alcohol. AMoon referred MPerron to the State’s website where the permits were available. MPerron submitted copies of Meals and Caterers Licenses, which Robert Marshall had previously requested.
Going back to the assembly permit, PRenaud said MPerron would also need to submit one to the Liquor Commission as well.
Moving on to the Dawn Tuomala letter on page 1, bottom under zoning ordinance, paragraphs 2 and 3 have already been addressed. The Board reviewed the letter further, and discussed whether the road agent may need to be contacted for his opinion. Consensus was that they did not need to contact the Road Agent. Regarding the waiver for drainage requirements on page 2, DTuomala felt it should be noted on the plan that if anything were to be changed, it would need to go back for a Site Plan Review.
The board wanted it to be clear that if MPerron wanted to come back and upgrade the septic or something similar that she would not need to go back to request a Site Plan Review.
Regarding the change of use being approved by the Road Agent, JFletcher felt it would be worth it for the Road Agent to take a look at it and approve it because of the sight distance. It also wouldn’t hurt to ask him his opinion on road wear and tear.
Discussion turned to delivery vehicles and turning radii; it was decided that had been taken care of.
PRenaud wondered if the site plan review would be recorded at the registry of deeds. Later in the letter it said that the Board should decide if impact exists. It was determined that we do not need a formal impact analysis as we were doing the best we can to get written comments from the different boards and officers.
The letter was looking for days and hours of operation on the plans. It was noted that these were on the application, and that was sufficient. The ordinance also specifies maximums. MPerron said that she would note those on the plan since she needed to redo it anyway.
Usage of the property was discussed, and whether or not marking the limits of the venue on the plat was necessary. It was agreed that it was not. The placement of the dumpster was discussed, and it was decided that we did not need to enforce that, nor regulate when it was emptied.
It would be left up to the business owner whether or not the parking spaces would be marked to separate guest parking from staff, etc. Designation of handicapped spaces would be left up to the code enforcement officer.
In summary, we will get written commentary from MBorden and Dave Hall. The Board needs to consider any other issues anyone may have, and go through Section 3 of the checklist. The function form also needs to be created. Definition of “invited guests” and tickets being sold was brought up. Because it was getting late, PRenaud went over the agenda for upcoming meetings, and it was decided to go through the Allrose waivers on June 23rd at 8:30 PM.
The deliberation was continued at 11:03 PM, and MPerron left the room.
KPaulsen was unrecused.
A motion to adjourn was made by PRenaud, and KPaulsen seconded. All were in favor.
The meeting ended at 11:04 PM.
These are the amended and Approved Meeting Minutes.
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