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Jackson Planning Board
MINUTES –January 8, 2015 – REGULAR MEETING & PUBLIC HEARINGS
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:02 pm by Dick Bennett, Chair. Attending were: Members Dick Bennett, Sarah Kimball, Larry Siebert, Daren Levitt, Scott Badger, John Allen, and Betsey Harding, and Alternates Kathleen Dougherty and Bea Davis. Dick stated that all seven members would vote on any proposals. In the audience were Robert Tafuto of Ammonoosuc Survey for the proposed Boundary Line Adjustment, Bob Davis, Rick Davis, Robbie White, Jerry Dougherty III, and videographer Hank Benesh, who was filming the proceedings.
Minutes of December 4: Kathleen inquired what changes had been made to the proposed amendments following the requested review by North Country Council’s Tara Bamford; Betsey replied that she had emailed them to all; a change was at proposed Amendment #2, 4.3.2.3, moving “that provides access to the lot” to immediately follow “Private Road right-of-way,” more understandable than following “Route 16A.” Scott moved, and Sarah seconded, acceptance of the minutes, and all approved.
Public comment: Jerry Dougherty questioned whether the proposals being put forward by the Board had been voted on yet. Dick responded that the Board had reviewed the wording and decided to bring it all forward for public review and discussion. Subsequently, Dick quoted from the RSAs, Section 675:3 that indicates “after the public hearing the planning board shall, by vote, determine the final form of the… amendments to be presented to the town.”
PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed Boundary Line Adjustment, Tax Map R24, Lot 1, Tracts 0000 and 00B01: While this proposal and the accompanying checklist had been reviewed at the Board’s November meeting, that meeting was not a public hearing and the proposal could not be approved; for this meeting, notice had been posted and placed in the newspapers, and abutters had been notified. Dick reviewed the checklist; it was determined that items previously not included or completed were now correct. There were no comments or questions from the audience. Betsey moved and Larry seconded acceptance of the application as complete; the Board affirmed. Then Larry moved and Betsey seconded approval of the completed application; members voted unanimously for approval. Bob Tafuto mentioned that the Board might consider not having a
signature box required on the plan, as Jackson may be the only town with that sometimes-difficult requirement.
PUBLIC HEARING: Proposed Amendments. The hearing began with Larry Siebert and Jerry Dougherty inquiring about, in Proposed Amendment #1, use of “except for” following the introductory statement that an ordinance should not contain both “permitted uses” and “not permitted uses” sections; discussion centered on the difference between 1) two different sections of permitted and not permitted, vs. 2) one section containing “permitted uses” and “except for.” A use might not fit into either a permitted or not permitted sphere, whereas the “except for” exclusions fall within the “permitted use” heading and would exclude only those items listed.
At Proposed Amendment #2, Robbie White inquired about the proposed change at Section 4.3.1.2 and 4.3.2.3, #3) in each. Sarah pointed out an error in the strikeout wording, which incorrectly included the word “not,” Betsey’s mistake in preparing the notice. Members agreed that, because the error is not part of any wording that would be voted in place, the correction can be made with no problem and no need for a re-hearing.
At Proposed Amendment #3, members considered Tara Bamford’s comment that the Minimum Lot Size requirements might serve town needs better as part of the Subdivision Regulations to avoid need to have the town vote on updating changes; Sarah commented that the “as amended” wording will serve the same end.
Proposed Amendment #4 generated considerable discussion about whether State septic requirements differ from Town requirements or is it just that our minimum lot size creates an apparent difference, about whether the Planning Board intended to propose the change as worded, about whether the proposed change would create more lenient conditions for creation of Accessory Apartments. The proposed amendment’s wording comes from Burr Phillips, the Town Engineer, since there may be conditions where creation of an accessory apartment would not require installation of a new septic system; Burr recommended that an appropriate septic design be required instead of a whole system, which might not be necessary. To clarify the Board’s intent, members decided to reword the introduction, after the words “Section 9 Accessory
Apartments,” as follows: “so that a new septic system need not be installed for construction to occur.”
Dick asked for a sense from the members on how to move forward. Because no changes are proposed in wording of the proposed amendments themselves, no additional hearing is needed. Scott moved that all four amendments be placed on the Warrant for a Town Meeting vote; Larry seconded the motion. The members unanimously approved.
There being no further business, it was moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Betsey Harding
(Note: an audio-visual record of the meeting may be found on Jacksonflicks.com)
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