Jackson Planning Board
MINUTES – March 20, 2014 – REGULAR MEETING
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:08 pm by Dick Bennett, Chair. Attending were: Members John Allen, Dave Treadwell, Sarah Kimball, Scott Badger, Betsey Harding and Dick Bennett, and Alternates Bea Davis and Kathleen Dougherty. Dick determined that, in the event of a vote on the Reardon application before the Board, Bea Davis would be the seventh voting member. In the audience were Burke York, for the Applicant, Town Engineer Burr Phillips, and videographer Hank Benesh, who was filming the proceedings.
Dick mentioned that several members’ terms expire at this time; this listing in the Town Report was not correct. Dick will check to determine whose terms are expiring; those wishing to remain on the Planning Board would need to submit a letter to the Selectmen.
In a review of the minutes of the February meeting, Kathleen asked about the fact that the Evans property’s frontage does not meet the standards of the Zoning Ordinance. Because the lot was grandfathered and only needed a Lot Line Adjustment, Zoning requirements did not have to be met; in fact, approval of the application made a non-conforming lot a little less non-conforming. Sarah moved approval of the minutes, and Scott seconded; all approved.
Burr Phillips attended the meeting to clarify questions about the floodplain lines, several of which were changed on the new floodplain maps; one significant difference is that more of the Village core is shown as floodplain lands. To dispute a floodplain boundary, or inclusion within the floodplain can be an expensive process. It is possible to accurately plot topos of the lot and show where the property lies outside the floodplain. In addition, if the Town wants to permit additional development at properties affected by a floodplain, regulations could be written to allow counting of the soils within a floodplain in the calculations of allowable density.
Burr also addressed a concern that the wording of Zoning Ordinance Section 9.8 could be improved; he recommended the following:
9.8 One or more current State approved septic system design(s) sufficient to serve both the principal Dwelling Unit and the Accessory Apartment shall be provided before any construction or renovation is begun to add an Accessory Apartment.
Preliminary Review on Proposed Minor Subdivision, Ian & Katherine Reardon, 28 Dundee Road: The Applicant’s Surveyor, Burke York, read the checklist to ensure that all our requirements are met; no omissions were found. Burke passed checks to Dick Bennett for 1) mailings to abutters, 2) Town of Jackson Subdivision Application fees, 3) L-CHIP fee. Betsey moved acceptance of the application as a Complete Application; Dave seconded it, and all approved. The application will be presented at a Public Hearing at the April 10th Planning Board meeting. At that time, the final mylar and 5 paper copies will be needed for recording.
Old Business: Review of Draft Report: BUILD-OUT ANALYSIS – Betsey proposed adding, at the top of page 2: “or subdivision approvals” following “…willing landowners obtain lot line adjustments”. Board members did not feel that that change was needed. It was decided to propose two changes: First, #5 on page 3 could be better worded; for example: “For purposes of the Build-Out study, it was assumed that 1) land currently used and classified as commercial/industrial for tax purposes (shown in yellow on the map) will continue as commercial/industrial - even if currently non-conforming - and eventually expand to the fullest extent enabled by the soils on the lot, as allowed by Section 2.2.4 of the Zoning Ordinance; 2) Residential land was will remain residential,
and eventually be subdivided for new residential lots to the fullest extent enabled by the soils; and 3) presently undeveloped land will become fully developed for residential use.”~ And Second, on page 4, a #10 could be added, as follows:~“Land-Locked Parcels~ - Land-locked parcels not presently developable are counted in the analysis because access to those parcels may be obtained in the future.” Betsey agreed to submit those two changes to Tara tomorrow, as agreed.
We wondered whether Tara could easily add indications of which lots already have buildings on them; perhaps that can be provided by Jason Call, or even by the office.
We discussed the April 10th Regular Meeting, scheduled at the Whitney Community Center, intended to increase understanding of the Build-out Analysis and what it means for Jackson. We agreed that we do not want it to start late, and decided to hold the Public Hearing on the Reardon lot at 6 PM at the Whitney Center’s Conference Room, and then move into the Meeting Room for a 6:30 PM meeting with Tara Bamford presenting the Build-Out Study. We agreed that there will be dessert offerings (Betsey will order these) and coffee (Dick will arrange) and tea, paid for through the Planning Board’s budget. We agreed that we will seek ways to publicize the meeting.
There being no further business, it was moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Betsey Harding
(Note: an audio-visual record of the meeting may be found on Jacksonflicks.com)
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