Lyme Planning Board Minutes
November 23, 2004
Board Member & Staff: Present: Freda Swan, Jack Elliott, Pete Bleyler, Selectman; Alternates: Dan Karnes, Dan Brand; Victoria Davis, P&Z Administrator Absent: Dave Swanz, Jeanie McIntyre
Public: Rod Finley, Bob Kilmarx, Martha Smith, and Dave Roby
Freda Swan opened the meeting at 7:30 PM and appointed Dan Karnes and Dan Brand to sit as members replacing Dave Swanz and Jeanie McIntyre. The minutes of the November 11, 2004 meeting had not been distributed. The Board will vote on them at the next meeting. David Roby had requested by phone message to Freda Swan that his son’s property be reviewed by the Planning Board. Freda Swan told him he must make an appointment with the Board, and they are very busy right now with zoning ordinance amendments.
Item 1: Meeting and Zoning Amendment Hearing Dates: The Board set the zoning amendment hearing dates for January 13th and January 27th. The final amendment proposals must be completed by February 1st to go into the town report. This will give the Board one more meeting on December 9th to finish up the amendments before hearings. There will not be a second meeting in December.
Item 2: Lot Line Adjustment Hearing for Arthur Stout (M409 L45) and Thomas & Sarah Estes (M409, L52 & 84), Baker Hill Road: Rod Finley of Pathways Consulting and Agent for Arthur Stout and the Estes presented the lot line adjustment application. The Estes own Map 409 Lot 84 (approximately 82 acres) on the west side of Baker Hill Road along with Map 409 Lot 52 (0.61 acre) on the east side of Baker Hill Road. Since they are under the same ownership and contiguous (even though bi-sected by a road), the zoning ordinance considers the two parcels to be one legal lot. Arthur Stout owns Map 409 Lot 45 (approximately 208 acres) which has about 1,100’ of frontage on Dorchester Road and comes to a point just touching the Baker Hill Road. There is a Class VI road (Old Baker
Hill Road) separating lot 52 from lot 45. Rod Finley stated there is no documentation to show that this Class VI road has been discontinued by the Town.
Freda Swan said she was not sure the road frontage of lot 52 could be used by lot 45 even after annexation due to the Class VI road between the two lots. She felt the frontage only went with lot 52. She gave other examples where the frontage from one side of the road could not be used for the parcel on the other side. In addition, it was also noted that the zoning ordinance definition of “road” did not include a Class VI road. After much discussion, it was determined that since the Class VI road is not considered a “road” by zoning ordinance definition, then it is a parcel of land owned by the town and separates lot 52 and lot 45. The Board recommended that the applicants petition the Selectboard to discontinue the Old Baker Hill Road so the lots could be annexed. This
would go before the town meeting for a vote.
The hearing was continued until after town meeting on March 10, 2005 at 7:40 PM.
Item 3: Zoning Ordinance Amendments: The Board reviewed the attached proposed amendments dated 11/23/04. Minor changes were made to a few amendments including Amendment #1: exempting cisterns approved by the Fire Department from the definition of “structure,” adding “storage tank” as a structure and not addressing “dumpster;” Amendment # 2: the addition of the word “compact” when determining the 25% area of agricultural soils to be developed in section 4.64; Amendment #8: insuring that construction and maintenance of logging roads are subject to best management practices in section 4.50 and exempting logging roads from the special exception requirement of the conservation district sections in Article IV.
David Roby stated the sections related to logging roads should remain unchanged. Victoria Davis pointed out that David Roby had called a month or two ago with a complaint that Arthur Stout had built a logging access road without a permit and he felt the construction required a hearing to cross conservation districts. It had been the Selectboard’s policy to review intents to cut and allow them without review under the zoning ordinance. Town Counsel advised that this was not proper according to the zoning ordinance which seemed to include logging roads in its definition of access ways which are restricted in the conservation district sections. Victoria Davis stated that unless the Planning Board wished to have logging operations subject to ZBA hearings to cross conservation districts, they
needed to amend these sections.
Amendment #5 – the delineation and restructuring of the Ridgeline and Hillside Conservation District was tabled for next year to provide the Board with more time to define these sections. Amendment #16 – amend the Telecommunications Facilities Ordinance to allow facilities within the Ridgeline and Hillside Conservation District by conditional use permit was tabled until next year to work on this amendment in conjunction with the Ridgeline and Hillside Conservation District.
Amendments #6 & 7 were tabled until the next meeting so more work can be done on section 4.46 Conversions and 4.49 Planned Development. Freda Swan and Jack Elliott will work on these sections.
Dan Brand made a motion to take Amendments 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 to public hearing as amended. Pete Bleyler seconded the motion and unanimous agreement followed.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 pm.
Submitted by,
Victoria Davis
Planning & Zoning Administrator
Tentative Meeting Agenda for December 9, 2004:
7:30 Approve minutes of the November 11 and November 23, 2004 Meetings
7:40 Informal meeting with John Mudge
8:00 Zoning Amendment Proposal Review
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