Planning Board minutes Sept 8th
ATTENDING:
Planning Board Members - Ray Abbott, Bea Davis, Betsey Harding and David Treadwell Alternates – Mike Mallett and Larry Siebert
Scott Badger, Frank Benesh, and George Howard called to say they would not be present.
Ian Hayes has moved from town and will no longer be an alternate.
All members present will be voting.
Others present – Susan Chase, Bob Davis, Jerry Dougherty III, Christopher Matte, Penny Miller, and Burr Phillips. John Allen and Jerry Dougherty IV came in after the meeting started.
The minutes of the Aug 11th meeting were reviewed. Betsey Harding, who did not attend the last meeting, had a question about the sentence “Frank is concerned about the missing abandoned line.” There is no other mention of this line in the conditional approval. This will be addressed the next time this comes before the Board. It was shown on the previous drawings which were not present tonight.
She also pointed out a misspelling on page 4 under other matters. The word “police” should read “policy.”
Sarah Kimball made a motion to accept the minutes with these amendments noted; Ray Abbott seconded the motion and all voted favorably.
PUBLIC COMMENTS CONCERNING ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA:
Burr Phillips explained the work he was doing with Road Agent Jay Henry on Dundee Road. The road sustained severe damage from Tropical Storm Irene. The side ditches will have to be replaced and some trees may have to be cut. The road may also be narrower. He mentioned this because the Planning Board may get inquiries as this road is a designated scenic road.
Chris Matte is here at the request of the selectmen. He wants to purchase property on Dundee Road that is in the Rural-Residential District to be used for a landscaping business. This will be presented under New Business.
CONTINUATION OF SITE DISTURBANCE DISCUSSION:
Sarah Kimball explained the focus of discussion was Section 4.1.6 of the Zoning Ordinance, which was adopted in 2009. Originally the Planning Board had worked on Steep Slopes regulations in an effort to control damage caused by erosion as a result of development on steep slopes. Due to the need to develop regulations that apply town-wide, the focus shifted to developing Site Disturbance regulations. A committee working with Burr Phillips developed a detailed ordinance, which matched the degree of regulation to the extent of the site disturbance. Not wanting to put that amount of detail into the Zoning Ordinance, the Planning Board proposed the simpler language of Section 4.1.6 with the more detailed version of the ordinance becoming the guidelines referred to in Section 4.1.6.1.
The present discussion arose from the Selectmen questioning whether the phrase “to prevent increased run-off” meant increased quantity of run-off or increased rate of run-off. The consensus was that increased rate of run-off was meant. As Burr Phillips explained, when the development of buildings and roads occurs, more of the land surface becomes impermeable, thus increasing the amount of run-off. Engineering solutions such as divergence ponds need to be employed to prevent an increase in the rate of run-off.
One of the problems with the present ordinance is there is no requirement of notification of a planned site disturbance and no permitting process is in place. John Allen observed that the Selectmen are not aware of a problem until someone complains. Then it is necessary to repair damage. The purpose of the regulation should be to insure that site disturbance activities are designed and carried out in a way that prevents damage from occurring in the first place.
Betsey Harding questioned whether there were stricter State requirements, as the August meeting minutes indicated that Bob Tafuto had mentioned. Burr responded that the State requirements only affect site disturbance of 100,000 or more square feet (RSA 485A:17), except where the Shoreland Protection rules come into play.
Larry Siebert wondered how it could be determined whether an increase in run-off had occurred, if there were no measurements taken before and after to compare. Burr Phillips said that if you know what was there originally then it would be fairly easy to see whether or not an increase had occurred.
Jerry Dougherty III wanted to know when it would be appropriate for an application. Since that is not addressed in the present wording of the ordinance, Sarah Kimball asked if language should be added to cover that.
Were there other permits required that might alert the Selectmen that Site Disturbance might be occurring? Jerry III inquired if Jackson requires an excavation permit, to which Burr Phillips replied not to his knowledge. Jerry Dougherty IV asked if driveway permits are handled by the road agent or town engineer. Burr says that occasionally he is asked but usually the road agent handles them.
Susan Chase presented a flow report to the Board done by an engineering firm, concerning the run-off and sedimentation on her land from the development activities of her abutter. Burr Phillips remarked that this case was an example of the Selectmen being able to work with the developer to come up with an erosion–control plan even though it is not mandated by the Zoning Ordinance.
Betsey Harding referred to the proposal that George Howard had drawn up for discussion and emailed to Planning Board members in advance of the meeting. He proposed changing the definition of Site Disturbance from “any human activity that removes the Vegetative Cover from the land surface” to “removal of the Vegetated Cover from the land surface for the purpose of Land Development from the initial site preparation through final landscaping.” Sarah Kimball agreed with George Howard’s rational for limiting the Site Disturbance to that due to Land Development, but felt it could more effectively be accomplished by changing the wording of Section 4.1.6 from “Any Site Disturbance or Land Development” to “Any Site Disturbance associated with Land Development.”
Betsey suggested adding a statement that the Selectmen may require a site disturbance plan.
Even though the present division between the general statement in the Zoning Ordinance and the more detailed guidelines has been workable for the cases that the Selectmen have had to deal with to date, Jerry Dougherty IV would like to have the process clearly delineated. It needs to be clearly stated under what circumstances an individual needs to submit plans to the Selectmen, and which projects do not require a submittal.
Sarah Kimball suggested drawing up a check-list for land owners and developers asking about those factors that affect a site’s susceptibility to erosion, such as slope, size of the area to be disturbed, soil type, vegetative cover, proximity to a water course, proximity to the property line, drainage pattern relative to abutters and roads, etc. The answers to these questions could help determine whether or not a plan needed to be submitted.
Further discussion is needed to determine how much of the process needs to be delineated in the Zoning Ordinance, which the Selectmen would then be required to enforce, and what items should be in the form of guidelines, which would permit flexibility to address each case individually.
Betsey Harding asked if the selectmen could make a recommendation of the wording they would like to see and submit it to the Planning Board for approval.
Ray Abbott made a motion for the selectmen to review the minutes of this meeting and have them draft suggestions for us to consider; Betsey Harding seconded the motion. David Treadwell opposed and the rest voted in favor. David explained that he felt the selectmen have been elected and can make good decisions if necessary.
The Site Disturbance discussion will be continued after hearing from the selectmen.
NEW BUSINESS:
Bea Davis explained the selectmen’s request for Christopher Matte to come before the Planning Board. He would like to purchase property at 28 Dundee Road and use it for his landscaping and snowplowing home business. He has four trucks, five mowers, trailers and other equipment which would be stored at the rear of the property in a wooded area that would not be seen by abutters or from the road. He has three full-time employees and himself. Since he bought the business four years ago from Dean Davis, the equipment has been stored on the Davis property.
To be permitted in the Rural-Residential District this business property would have to be classified as a Farm or as a Customary Home Occupation, which is defined as “an industry or occupation carried on exclusively by a resident of the premises, entirely within the building and employing not more than three (3) people, providing such use is secondary to the use of the premises for dwelling purposes, and also providing that such use does not constitute a public hazard or nuisance.”
The ordinance is enforced by the Selectmen, who would determine whether the business met the terms of the definition.
Bea Davis read the minutes from the August 1, 2005, Selectmen’s meeting regarding Gary Speirs, who also runs a landscaping business. The Selectmen disallowed this as a home business and Gary Speirs moved his business out of town.
Chris Matte thanked the Board for their time and information.
OLD BUSINESS: None
Ray Abbott moved to dissolve the meeting; Betsey seconded the motion and all voted favorably. Vice-Chairman Sarah Kimball closed the meeting at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan G. Way, Secretary
September 11, 2011
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