Lyme Planning Board Minutes
December 14, 2006
Board Members & Staff: Present: Jack Elliott, Vice-Chair; Dick Jones, Selectboard Representative; John Billings, Member; Dan Brand, Member; Simon Carr, Alternate; Stephanie Clark, Alternate; Ben Kilham, Alternate; and Victoria Davis, Planning & Zoning Administrator Absent: Freda Swan, Chair and Don Dwight, Alternate
Public: John Sanders (Lyme Communications Committee), Frank Bowles (Lyme Communications Committee & ZBA Alternate), Jim Ploog (ZBA Member), Ross McIntyre (ZBA Member), and David Roby
Jack Elliott called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM at the Fire Station and appointed Stephanie Clark to sit as a member in place of Freda Swan.
Item 1: Approval of Minutes: John Billings made a motion to approve the minutes of November 30, 2006. Dan Brand seconded the motion, and unanimous agreement followed.
Item 2: Zoning Ordinance Amendments Public Hearing: The Board reviewed the proposed zoning amendments which are attached. The following is the discussion by amendment:
#1 Flood Zone Ordinance: There was no public comment. Dick Jones made a motion to take the amendment to town meeting. Stephanie Clark seconded the motion and unanimous agreement followed.
#3 Ridgeline & Hillside District: Frank Bowles expressed concern that there are no judgment criteria to guide the ZBA for determining visual impact. He also stated that he did not agree with creating an environment visually devoid of human habitation. Members of the public and the Planning Board responded that Lyme’s attitude surveys have indicated that there is a proclivity to maintaining a rural character with natural looking hillsides. David Roby pointed out that a house near the Dartmouth Skiway is visually objectionable and it is not included in the current mapping of the district which is an illustration that the district delineation is flawed. Dick Jones made a motion to enter into deliberations. Dan Brand seconded the motion. Dan Brand made a motion to take the amendment to town meeting. Stephanie Clark seconded the motion, and unanimous agreement followed.
#4 Telecommunications Facilities: Frank Bowles discussed the changes to the Telecommunications Ordinance which is an addendum to the zoning ordinance. John Sanders stated it now opens up potential to place facilities where they will work and give the Town full overview of the process. Frank Bowles added that Verizon will not be providing copper wire in the future and the residents need another method to access communication. He added that otherwise, Lyme will be in an “economic dead zone.” The Board reviewed the proposed changes developed primarily by Frank Bowles for the Communications Committee with assistance from Jae Whitelaw, Town Counsel. Some changes were made to the proposed amendment and it was determined that the
Ridgeline and Hillside Conservation District should allow telecommunication facilities by special exception. Dick Jones made a motion to take the revised amendment to a public hearing as substantive changes had been made. John Billings seconded the motion, and unanimous agreement followed.
#5 Definition of Switchback: There was no public comment. Dick Jones made a motion to enter into deliberations. John Billings seconded the motion. Dick Jones made a motion to take the amendment to town meeting. John Billings seconded the motion, and unanimous agreement followed.
#7 Sewage Disposal System Setbacks: There was no public comment. Dick Jones made a motion to enter into deliberations. Dan Brand seconded the motion. Dick Jones made a motion to take the amendment to town meeting. Dan Brand seconded the motion, and unanimous agreement followed.
Item 3: Discussion of Additional Potential Zoning Ordinance Amendments: Stephanie Clark reported that she had met with John Billings and David Roby to review the current definition of “lot” which “automatically” merges contiguous parcels in the same ownership. She had also e-mailed back and forth with Jae Whitelaw who had advised the town that the current definition should be changed and a method should be developed to “un-merge” existing lots which had not been voluntarily merged by the owners. Stephanie Clark felt the two issues should be handled separately. She suggested changing the zoning ordinance to deal with the future lots, but also to continue discussion on how to deal with past mergers under the current definition of
“lot.” David Roby submitted lengthy comments on the “lot” definition changes. He expressed concern that several nonconforming lots could be created by a change. He submitted a proposed change which would not allow the un-merging of existing lots which had been merged due to the zoning ordinance, but would prevent the automatic merging of future lots after town meeting in March. The Board determined they would amend the zoning ordinance to prevent future mergings after March 31, 2007 and they would continue discussion of how they should deal with past mergings which Town Counsel felt violated property rights by redefining lot boundaries. Stephanie Clark drafted language. John Billings made a motion to take the amendment to public hearing on January 11th. Dick Jones seconded the motion, and unanimous agreement followed.
Victoria Davis presented a map of agricultural soils in Lyme displaying the locally important soils proposed to be excluded and included within the Agricultural Soils District. A majority of these soils would be excluded. Many of the soils were “C slope” which is 8 – 15% slope and/or they were “very stony” according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). There was some discussion about revising the list to include fewer soils in the district. David Roby pointed out that one of the benefits of having so many soils in the district is to preserve the visual rural quality of the area. Simon Carr added that many respondents to the recent community attitude survey agreed. Dick Jones made a motion not to take the amendment to public hearing.
Dan Brand seconded the motion, and unanimous agreement followed.
Item 4: Other Business: Simon Carr provided copies of the narrative responses to the community attitude survey. He suggested the Board members review the material for offensive personal comments which they may determine to be edited out of the public version.
Dick Jones made a motion to adjourn at 10:00 pm. Stephanie Clark seconded the motion, and unanimous agreement followed.
Submitted by,
Victoria Davis
Planning & Zoning Administrator
Tentative Meeting Agenda for January 11, 2007 at FIRE STATION:
7:00 Informal Meeting with Bob Coyle
7:30 Public Hearing for Zoning Ordinance Amendments
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