PLANNING BOARD
Newbury, NH 03255
December 1, 2004
Members Present: Barbara Freeman (Chair), William Weiler (Vice Chair), David Thayer, Ron Williams, Lacy Cluff (Alternate), Ken McWilliams (UVLSRPC)
Barbara Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m.
Mrs. Freeman said that Richard Reeves, one of the owner’s of Angle Hawk, LLC, was here to talk about the subdivision.
Mr. Reeves said that he had not been at any of the hearings for the Angel Hawk subdivision, except for the last one. He said that he was surprised that it was disapproved. He said that they met all of the technical aspects, but failed to see the vision of the Board and he apologized for that. He said that he was here tonight because he wanted to clear the slate and move forward. He said that he understood, now, that density was the real issue along with some environmental and other concerns. He asked the Board what level of density they were looking for. He said that they had spent a lot of money on this project and would like to move forward with the direction of the Board.
Mrs. Freeman said that density was a symptom, but not the actual issue. She said that the site was designed without paying attention to the natural topography of the land. She said that each lot barely met the regulations and that the design did not pay attention to the wild life, stone walls or historical aspects of the site. She said that they would need a plan that would work with these conditions and the result would likely be a less dense site.
Mr. Reeves said that they had applied for this subdivision under the old regulations. He said that he understood that the new regulations had now gone into effect, but had not yet been voted on. He said that he did not want to spend more time and money applying under the new regulations if there was a chance that they may not get voted in. He said that they were willing to work with the environmental concerns and would really like to work with the Board so that they had a project that both they and the Board could be proud of.
Mrs. Freeman said that they would like that too, but was not sure that there was anything that they could do at this point. She said that they were still taking public input on the new regulations and gave him a copy of the latest revision.
Mr. Weiler said that the regulations were in effect until they were voted on. He said that they had no leeway unless they were not passed.
Mr. Reeves said that under the new regulations, they were only able to get five lots. He said that it would not be a logical project. He asked if the Board had the authority to grant some type of waiver.
Mr. McWilliams said that they did not.
Mr. Reeves asked if the Board could re-visit it under the old application.
Mr. McWilliams said that they could not because a decision was already made.
Mrs. Freeman said that at the October meeting, Peter Fichter asked Bob Stewart if the Board were to allow him to continue the hearing, would he come back with a less dense subdivision. Mr. Stewart said that he would look into it. She said that that would really have been their only opportunity.
Mr. Reeves said that he did not know anything about that until the last meeting. He said that he intentionally did not bring an attorney tonight because he really wanted to talk to the Board and see if there was some way that they could open this hearing again under the old regulations. He said that he had spoken to the other owner’s of Angel Hawk and they all agreed that they could do this subdivision with only 14 lots.
Mrs. Freeman said that she would talk to the Town’s attorney to see if there was anything that they could do.
Mr. Weiler said that he thought the best thing to do, would be to wait until the issue was resolved in March at Town Meeting and then re-apply.
Mr. Reeves said that he could not do that because he only had so much time to appeal the decision, but did not want to have to do that. He said that he would like to come up with some way to re-visit the old application and come up with a plan that would please everyone.
Mr. Weiler said that he agreed with the concept, but that the Board was locked in by the statute and did not see any room for negotiation.
Mrs. Freeman said that she would talk to the Town attorney and get back to him.
Mr. McWilliams passed out some materials on the Board requiring Preliminary hearings.
The Board had a discussion about Lou Caron, consulting engineer, and felt that he was not looking out for the best interest of the Town. The Board agreed that they would like to look for a new consulting engineer.
A motion was made to adjourn. It was seconded. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lacy L. Cluff
Land Use Board Coordinator
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