Planning Board
Tuesday/October 19, 2004
Members Present: Barbara Freeman (Chair), William Weiler (Vice Chair), Al Bachelder, Ron Williams, Peter Fichter (Alternate Ex-Officio), Lacy Cluff (Alternate) and Ken McWilliams (UVLSRPC).
Mrs. Freeman opened the meeting at 7:10 p.m.
Mrs. Freeman noted that Elizabeth Ashworth and Deane Geddes, both potential Alternates, were attending tonight’s meeting.
The Board reviewed the minutes from 09/21/04 and made corrections. A motion was made to accept the minutes as corrected. It was seconded. All were in favor.
Southview
Mrs. Freeman said that there had been an ongoing debate between the Developer of Southview and the Highway Administrator on the materials that are being used for the roads in the Southview subdivision. The developer made a request that the Board do a site visit.
The Board decided to do the site visit on Sunday, October 31, 2004 at 8:00 a.m. The Board will meet at the Town Office building. The Board asked Mrs. Cluff to confirm that date with Bob Bell, Developer and Cal Prussman, Highway Administrator. The Board also asked that she request that the Developer bring any testing information and background on the materials. They would also like a representative from the company to attend if possible.
Mr. McWilliams commented that the subdivision regulations had a standard.
Mr. Weiler said that the materials that were being questioned were the base materials.
Mrs. Freeman asked Mrs. Cluff to pull the file to see what was approved.
Case 2004-016: Final Hearing - Eric Unger - Minor Subdivision/Annexation - Tax Map 025 Lot # 174-501 and Tax Map 025 Lot # 292-511
Notice is hereby given that the Planning Board will receive submission of an application from Eric Unger for a final hearing for a Minor Subdivision and Annexation on Mountain Road, Tax Map 025 Lot # 174-501 and Tax Map 025 Lot # 292-511, on Tuesday, October 19, 2004 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Office Building at 937 Route 103 in Newbury, N.H. If the application is accepted as complete, a public hearing on the accepted application will commence at the same meeting.
Copies of the plan are available for public review at the Town Office Building during regular business hours.
Clayton Platt introduced himself as Eric Unger’s authorized agent. Mr. Unger was also present.
The Board reviewed the application for completeness. A motion was made to accept the application as complete. It was seconded. All were in favor.
Mr. Platt said that Mr. Unger would like to subdivide off 15.5 acres, leaving 26.4 acres remaining. He would then like to annex 1.3 acres to the 15.5 acres parcel, leaving 25.1 acres remaining.
Mr. Williams asked if it would be possible for him to annex 2 acres instead of 1.3 acres since the lot was on the other side of the road.
Mr. Unger said that he intentionally left it under the two acre minimum so that it could not be sold separately in the future.
Mr. Williams asked why he did not make the rock wall the lot line.
Mr. Unger said that he only wanted to subdivide that amount off because he was going to sell off the lot with the farm house on it.
With no public comment, a motion was made to approve the application. It was seconded. All were in favor.
The Board reviewed and approved a letter to the Commissioner regarding the Mt. Sunapee expansion (See attached).
Case: 2004-006: Continuation of Final Hearing - Angel Hawk - Major Subdivision - Sutton & Nelson Hill Road - Map 48 Lot 599-442.
Notice is hereby given that the Planning Board will receive submission of an application from Angel Hawk, LLC for a final hearing for a Major Subdivision off Sutton Road and Nelson Hill Road, Tax Map 48 Lot # 599-442, on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Office Building at 937 Route 103 in Newbury, N.H. If the application is accepted as complete, a public hearing on the accepted application will commence at the same meeting.
Copies of the plan are available for public review at the Town Office Building during regular business hours.
Mrs. Freeman read the above public notice.
Mrs. Freeman said that the Board had been in the process of receiving changes to the plans. At the last meeting, the Board requested that they submit any changes at least 15 days prior to the next hearing. However, the Board received these changes just last Thursday. She said that the consulting engineer sent comments. She asked the Board if they wanted to continue the hearing or discuss it as it stands now.
Mr. Weiler asked if the new plans took last meetings comments into consideration.
Mrs. Freeman said that they only addressed Mr. Caron’s comments.
Mr. Weiler asked if he addressed the steep slope in the cul-de-sac.
Mr. Stewart said that the engineer reviewed it and it was in compliance. He said that the engineer had all of the information to go over at the next public hearing. He also said that he did not want to discuss Mr. Caron’s comments tonight because he would like his engineer to be present for that. He said that he did not want to go over any of the new information without his professionals present.
Mrs. Freeman said that the Board had expressed a concern about the density of the development. She said that they had repeatedly asked for less density, but had not seen any changes to the plans. She also said that she felt that the hearing had been continued too long and felt that the applicant should re-apply with new plans and have the hearing re-noticed.
Mr. Bachelder commented that the subdivision was too dense for the layout of the land.
Mr. Williams read his letter that he submitted at the last public hearing (Please see file).
Mrs. Freeman said that Mr. Williams’ letter expressed how the Board felt over all.
Mr. Weiler said that he could not see how they would be able to accomplish what they were looking to do without a lot of fill.
Mrs. Freeman said that the Board had a general concern about the number of lots on questionable roads at the furthest end of Town.
Mrs. Freeman asked the Board if they would like to make a decision on this application tonight.
Mr. Stewart said that he would like to respectfully ask the Board to delay that decision until he could get the opinion of the Fire Chief, Police Chief and Highway Administrator, the one who would be servicing the subdivision.
Mrs. Freeman said that the Board would like a major reduction in the number of lots and that would take considerable re-design. These would not be minor changes. Therefore, the Board would require that the applicant re-submit.
Mr. Stewart said at the last meeting he offered for the Board to choose two lots that they felt were the most restrictive and he would do a site plan for those sites, but no one stepped up to the plate. He said that he had made every effort to address the Board’s concerns fully and honestly.
Mrs. Freeman said that this was a very sensitive site and that the Board was well within its rights to ask for additional information. She said that the Board had increasing concerns.
Mr. Weiler said that simply meeting the regulations was not all that was required and that the Planning Board could approve or deny the application at their discretion. He said that perhaps if density was an issue, the Board should disapprove this application and let the applicant reapply with plans that were less dense.
Mr. Stewart said that he did not have his team of experts here to defend the plans and would like the Board to delay their decision until the next public hearing. He said that he would also like to wait to hear the consulting engineer’s comments.
Mrs. Freeman said that the consulting engineer only commented on the technical aspects of the project. She said that there have been two meetings now where Mr. Stewart’s team had not been prepared and that the Board had been hearing this application since May 18, 2004.
Mr. Fichter said that the Board felt that the density was greater than it should be for that area. Should the Board believe that if they were to grant an extension, that they would make changes to the density?
Mr. Stewart said that he would discuss it with the developer, but he could not tell the Board what decision would be made.
Mr. Bachelder said that lowering the density would completely change the plans and therefore would require a new application. He said that this was the final hearing. If it were still in the preliminary phase, it would be okay to make such drastic changes. However, they were in the wrong part of the process to make these types of changes.
Mr. Williams said that since Mr. Stewart’s team of experts was not here tonight, he proposed that the Board hold off until the next hearing to make a decision.
Mrs. Freeman asked how the rest of the Board felt about that.
Mr. Bachelder said that he did not feel that it made a lot of sense to do that, but if that was what the rest of the Board wanted to do, he would go along with that.
Mr. Thayer agreed with Mr. Williams.
Mr. Weiler said that the Board would still require a new application if they were going to make major changes.
Mrs. Freeman said that as a courtesy, the Board would postpone making a decision until the next hearing.
Mrs. Freeman opened the hearing to public comment.
With no public comment, a motion was made to continue the hearing on November 16, 2004 at 8:00 p.m. It was seconded. All were in favor.
Sign-off Sheet & Fee Schedule
The Board reviewed the Department Sign-off Sheet that Mr. Weiler drafted and commented and made changes.
The Board reviewed the information the Mr. Weiler handed out regarding fee structures. He passed out the surrounding towns’ fee schedules, as well as a detailed list what it cost the Town of Newbury per hearing.
Mrs. Freeman said that she felt that there should be additional fees for hearings that were continued.
The Board agreed.
Mrs. Freeman said that she would like Mr. Weiler to take the information that he had and make a proposal.
Deer Pines
Mrs. Freeman said that the Board had not heard from the applicant on the Deer Pines subdivision. They had submitted a letter requesting that the hearing be continued indefinitely.
Mr. McWilliams said that they could not do that, the applicant either needed to withdraw the application or the Board needed to notice the hearing and make a decision.
Mrs. Freeman said that she would contact the applicant.
A motion was made to adjourn. It was seconded. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lacy L. Cluff
Land Use Board Coordinator
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