Thursday, August 9th, 2012 – Jackson Planning Board
Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm.
Members Present: Scott Badger, Chair, Dave Treadwell, Frank Benesh & John Allen, Selectman’s rep. Ray Abbott, Betsey Harding & Sarah Kimball let the Chairman know that they would not be able to make the meeting. Alternates Present: Larry Seibert, George Howard and Dick Bennett. Mike Mallett & Daren Leavitt let the Chairman know that they would not be able to make the meeting. It was determined that Larry Seibert, George Howard and Dick Bennett will be voting in place of regular members not present. Members of the public present: Hank Benesh.
The Minutes of July 12th were discussed and a motion was made by Dave Treadwell and seconded by Frank Benesh to accept the minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
Public Comment concerning items not on the agenda: There was no public comment
Public Hearing – Proposed Subdivision: Tax Map & Parcel Number: R17, Parcels 23 & 24 on Chesley Farm Road owned by James Porath.
No one appeared to represent the Porath subdivision.
George Howard made a motion to continue the Public Hearing for the proposed subdivision: Tax Map & Parcel Number: R17, Parcels 23 & 24 on Chesley Farm Road owned by James Porath. Dave Tredwell seconded the motion and the vote was unanimously in favor with Scott Badger abstaining. The hearing on this subdivision will be continued at the next Planning Board meeting.
Presentation of nominees by the Planning Board Chairman/Vice-Chairman Nominating Committee: George Howard made a motion that Scott Badger be elected Chair and Sarah Kimball be elected as Vice-Chair. Larry Seibert seconded the motion. Frank asked if there was anything more from the nominating committee. There wss nothing else. Dick Bennett moved the question. The vote was unanimously in favor with Scott Badger abstaining.
Continuation of State Building Code enforcement discussion: Copies of drafts worked on by George Howard and Sarah Kimball were distributed.
There was some discussion regarding HB137 which might eliminate any permit exemptions currently allowed in the State Building Code. It was the opinion of those present that Jackson should go ahead with listing the permit exemptions contained in Sarah’s draft. Scott will follow up with the LGC on this issue.
How much detail should go into the ordinance vs. referencing pertinent RSA’s was then discussed. George made the argument that the ordinance should contain as much detail as possible so that it would be clear to the voters as to what powers were being granted to the town. Others felt that referencing RSA’s where possible would make the ordinance less ponderous and more likely to be understood and passed by the voters. It was also pointed out that if Jackson doesn’t reference the RSA’s, the town would need to amend the ordinance whenever there was an amendment to the RSA’s. After further discussion, it was the general feeling of the board that it would be a good idea to list out the duties and resposibilities of the Building Inspector, as in George’s draft, rather than just reference the
RSA’s.
Several on the board feel the ordinance should clearly state that the Building inspector, not the Board of Selectmen, should be responsible for issuing and approving building permit applications.
Another item of discussion was the required time within which the Building Inspector must act on a building permit application. Sarah’s draft states 30 days, but George felt less time would be better. It was mentioned that, while applications should be handled expediantly, they might not be handled properly if rushed. Scott will talk with Andy Chalmers to see what he feels is an appropriate amount of time.
The next item was when a building inspector can enter a residence, and what can be inspected. The board agreed that the building inspector would need permission from the owner, and where applicable, the tenant, to enter a home and only the permitted work would be inspected.
It was suggested that the town maintain a list of qualified tradesmen, or even only allow BoS certified tradesmen to work in town, but the general feeling of the board was that this might put the town in a liable situation and a certification process is probably not something the town wants to take on.
All agreed that the building inspector should maintain proper records of all work done, including but not limited to: inspections performed, reasons for denied approvals, all fees charged and services used and a per permit log of time spent so that the BoS can properly manage the fee schedule. Frank and others felt that the fee schedule should be maintained by the BoS, and not in the ordinance, so that it can be amended without requring the town to vote on an amendmet to the ordinance.
It was then discussed whether a permit can be transferred to a new owner. It was noted that the new owner would need to at least file new paperwork under their own name. The general feeling of the board was that if there was no change in the work being done, or any other reason that additional costs would be incurred, the transfer could occur with no additional fees charged.
George felt that the Planning Board should be involved in developing procedures for the building inspector and that authority should be in the ordinance. Scott believes that is not something the Planning Board wants to be involved in and that it’s more appropriately handled by the BoS. After further discussion, it was determined that the building inspector should develop the procedures subject to review by the BoS.
George would like to offer the town two options; State Building Code inspections for all construction and inspections for only commercial and multi-family residences. Scott felt that the discussion at the last town meeting made it clear that a majority of the voters wanted inspections for all construction, and that a two option vote may be confusing. Scott suggested that if George still feels strongly about this, he should present a motion to be voted on when more board members are present.
Using Sarah’s draft as a basis, Scott will work with Sarah to make the changes discussed at the meeting such that the new draft will clearly show the changes made and the original language.
Old Business: Frank would like to change the PB bylaws to accommodate digital submissions.
New Business: There was no new business.
Adjournment: Frank Benesh, seconded by Selectmen’s Representative Allen, made a motion to dissolve the meeting at 9:07 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted by:
Martha D. Tobin
Acting Recording Secretary
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