Planning Board
January 4, 2011
Approved March 15, 2011
Members Present: Tom Vannatta, Chair; Barbara Freeman, Vice-Chair; Bill Weiler, Bruce Healey, Members; Ron Williams, Alison Kinsman, Russell Smith, Alternates; Jim Powell, ex-officio member; Rachel Ruppel, Advisor.
Mr. Vannatta called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING - 2011 Zoning Amendments
Mr. Weiler raised a point of order and referred to the Rules of Procedure governing public hearing on proposed amendment changes – Article X Hearings, 10.1 Hearings Related to the Adoption of Regulations or Zoning Ordinance Amendments, Item l.: In the event that no member of the public is present when the hearing is opened, the Chair may suspend the proceeding until one appears, or until one half hour has passed. If no one appears within that time, the Chair shall declare the hearing closed, and Board shall deliberate and vote.
Mr. Vannatta opened the public hearing and read the Public Notice:
Notice is hereby given that the Newbury Planning Board will conduct a public hearing on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. in the Newbury Town Office Building, Route 103, Newbury, N.H. to receive public input on amendments the Newbury Zoning Ordinance proposed by the Planning Board. The proposed amendments to be discussed at this public hearing are summarized below. [See Attachment A] Copies of the full text of the amendments proposed by the Planning Board are available in the Town Office Building, Route 103, Newbury, NH. The amendments to the Newbury Zoning Ordinance proposed by the Newbury Planning Board to be discussed at the January 4, 2011 public hearing are outlined below. [See Attachment A]
There being no member of the public present, Mr. Vannatta suspended the public hearing for one half hour (until 7:40 p.m.) and moved to other administrative business.
Mr. Vannatta appointed Mr. Williams and Mr. Smith as voting members for this meeting.
ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS
Minutes
The Board reviewed the minutes of December 7, 2010 and made corrections. Mr. Williams made a motion to approve the minutes as corrected. Mr. Weiler seconded the motion. All in favor.
Circuit Rider/Planning Consultant Contract
Mr. Vannatta said he is reviewing the 2011 contract from the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Planning Commission (UVLSRPC) for the services of Rachel Ruppel, circuit rider/planning consultant. He said the contract covers standard items such as anticipated number of hours per month, hourly rate, etc., but Ms. Ruppel’s scope of work for the Board needs to be defined in a separate attachment to the contract. Mr. Vannatta said the attachment will be circulated to the Board via email for their input. He said following Board approval of the attachment containing Ms. Ruppel’s scope of work, the contract will be forwarded to the Town Administrator and the Board of Selectmen for their approval. Mr. Powell noted that the contract is not fully “official” until the Town budget is approved at the Town Meeting on
March 9, 2011.
LSPA Watershed Project Grant Presentation
Ms. Freeman reviewed the upcoming Lake Sunapee Protective Association (LSPA) Watershed Project Grant presentation. She said she has recently been appointed to be on the review committee. The project involved a grant to study all of the culverts in all the surrounding towns of the watershed to determine culvert size, adequacy, and condition.
She said LSPA has requested a meeting with not only the Newbury Planning Board, but also the boards in New London and Sunapee and possibly other groups. The purpose of the meeting is to report on the findings from the study with eventual recommendations made concerning the appropriate next steps.
General discussion followed.
Mr. Powell noted that towns now bear more of the expense regarding culvert maintenance, repair, and upgrade due to recent changes in the DES requirements.
General discussion followed.
Mr. Vannatta said he suggested to Robert Wood, assistant executive director of LSPA, that the LSPA’s presentation meeting include members from other Newbury boards, namely the BOS, the Conservation Commission and the Road Department. Ms. Freeman suggested making the meeting a public meeting. The Board agreed.
Various dates for the presentation meeting were discussed. February 1, 2011 was suggested as a meeting date for the LSPA presentation. The Board agreed and Mr. Vannatta said he will confirm the date and report same to the Board.
CAP/Newbury Elderly Housing Project (CAP Project) Update
Mr. Vannatta said the CAP Project went before the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) for variances on frontage and density on December 13, 2010. That hearing was continued to December 29, 2010 pending consultation with counsel. The meeting on December 29, 2010 was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum. The CAP Project is rescheduled to appear before the ZBA for variances on frontage and density at a fully noticed public hearing on January 10, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.
Planning Board Member Re-election
Ms. Freeman noted that the Board members whose term expires in 2011 must file with the Town Clerk to be placed on the ballot for Town Meeting. The Recording Secretary said she will notify the Board via email who needs to register and by what date.
Wild Goose Boat Ramp Appeal Update
Mr. Vannatta said Justin Richardson, counsel for the DES Wetlands Council, informed him that final appeal arguments are being submitted and that there is a two week period for rebuttals. Following that, a final decision on the appeal will be forthcoming within 30 days. It is anticipated that a final decision on the appeal may arrive by March 1, 2010.
General discussion followed.
Mr. Powell noted that the Town’s legal fees concerning this appeal have been costly and Ms. Freeman agreed, adding that the LSPA’s legal fees have been costly as well.
Sign Ordinance Procedure
Mr. Powell said he distributed copies of the proposed Amendment No. 1 Article XIV (Signs) to several business owners in Town and told them about the Public Hearing tonight and encouraged them to attend if they had any questions or comments. He asked about the procedure involved if written input was received from the business owners after this evening’s meeting. He said that one business owner mentioned that internally lit signs were not addressed in the proposed amendment.
General discussion followed.
The Board agreed that if written comments were received following this meeting’s vote the Board could consider the comments for next year’s proposed amendment changes.
There was discussion about sign content and whether current Town regulations covered changes made to sign content. The Board agreed that sign content is not covered in the Town’s ordinance and therefore cannot be regulated.
PUBLIC HEARING - 2011 Zoning Amendments - Resumed
At 7:40 p.m. Mr. Vannatta reopened the Public Hearing.
Mr. Vannatta called for discussion from the Board.
There being no discussion from the Board, Mr. Vannatta opened the hearing to the public for comment.
There being no member of the public present, Mr. Vannatta closed the public portion of the hearing and went into deliberations.
There being no deliberations from the Board, Mr. Vannatta called for a vote.
Mr. Weiler made a motion to move all of the proposed 2011 amendments to the Newbury Zoning Ordinance to the ballot for the Town Meeting on March 9, 2011. Mr. Williams seconded the motion.
Mr. Vannatta called for a roll call vote.
In Favor: Mr. Weiler, Mr. Smith, Mr. Healey, Mr. Powell, Mr. Williams, Ms. Freeman, Mr. Vannatta
Opposed: None
Ms. Freeman made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Williams seconded the motion. All in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Meg Whittemore
Recording Secretary
Attachment A
2011 AMENDMENTS TO THE NEWBURY ZONING ORDINANCE
PROPOSED BY THE NEWBURY PLANNING BOARD
The amendments to the Newbury Zoning Ordinance proposed by the Newbury Planning Board to be discussed at the January 4, 2011 public hearing are outlined below.
PLANNING BOARD PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 1:
The Planning Board’s Amendment No. 1 to the Zoning Ordinance proposes to repeal and readopt ARTICLE XIV (Signs) and to add sign related definitions to ARTICLE II (Definitions).
PLANNING BOARD PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 2:
The Planning Board’s Amendment No. 2 to the Zoning Ordinance proposes to amend ARTICLE II (Definitions) to add a definition of “Forest Management Plan”.
PLANNING BOARD PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 3:
The Planning Board’s Amendment No. 3 to the Zoning Ordinance proposes to amend ARTICLE 18.4 Forestry to distinguish between a cutting plan and a forest management plan.
PLANNING BOARD PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 4:
The Planning Board’s Amendment No. 4 to the Zoning Ordinance proposes to amend ARTICLE 16.7 to rewrite the section on the criteria for a variance.
PLANNING BOARD PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 5:
The Planning Board’s Amendment No. 5 to the Zoning Ordinance proposes to amend ARTICLE 21.2.1 to change “construction” to “development”.
PLANNING BOARD PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 6:
The Planning Board’s Amendment No. 6 to the Zoning Ordinance proposes to amend ARTICLE 21.6.4 to delete “that are from sediment” from the end of the sentence.
PLANNING BOARD PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 7:
The Planning Board’s Amendment No. 7 to the Zoning Ordinance proposes to amend ARTICLE II Definitions to add a definition of Lot of Record.
PLANNING BOARD PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 8:
The Planning Board’s Amendment No. 8 to the Zoning Ordinance proposes to amend ARTICLE 3.9.5.1 to delete the clause referring to building codes, and change the RSA reference from RSA 676:12, III to IV.
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