TOWN OF NEWTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Newton Planning Board
Public Meeting
January 24, 2006
1. CALL TO ORDER
The Vice-Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM, declaring a quorum of four members present. The meeting was posted in four town locations: Newton Post Office, Newton Junction Post Office, Rowe’s Corner Variety and Newton Town Hall. There was no challenge to the legality of the meeting.
2. ATTENDANCE
The following members were present:
Kim Pettit – Vice-Chairman Norm Harding – BOS ex-officio member
Rich LeClaire Ann Miles
Kim Vaillant
Also present:
Reuben Hull – RPC Circuit rider/planner
Sharon Cuddy Somers – Board Counsel
3. APPROVAL OF PAST MEETING MINUTES
The Board reviewed the minutes of January 10, 2006. Ms. Pettit asked for clarification as to what was decided with regards to the Ferrandi road bond reduction request. Mr. Harding recapped what his concerns had been at the public hearing including the detention pond, paving, and sight distance. He said that the Board of Selectmen should ask the Planning Board for the acceptance of the road if all of the conditions were met. Ms. Miles said that protocol should be followed and there should be an inspection prior to any reduction.
Motion made by Mr. LeClaire with a second by Ms. Miles to approve the minutes of January 10, 2006 as written. The motion passed unanimously.
4. FITZGERALD CONDITIONAL APPROVAL
The Board and Attorney Somers reviewed the proposed conditional approval. Attorney Somers said that it was important that this document be clear and final approval would be issued once all of the conditions had been met. Mr. Harding explained how the calculations were done for the number of units permitted for elderly housing.
Attorney Somers said that the Fair Share agreement for the Smith Corner and Peaslee Crossing Road improvements would need to be revised by Mr. Weinreib.
Mr. Fitzgerald said that his attorney was drawing up the condominium documents and would be delivered to Attorney Somers for review and comments. Mr. Hull’s comments from January 10 were reviewed.
Ms. Miles said that she was concerned about the Board being perceived as showing favoritism, with regards of the total number of units proposed for the project versus the number of units that were actually approved. Mr. Hull said that the policy should be crafted to exclude negative numbers and then the board should work on clarifying the actual numbers. Mr. Harding said that the Board of Selectmen might not have the information in April and that April 1 was just a suggested date. Attorney Somers said that everyone needed to be mindful that all funds for the Smith Corner and Peaslee Crossing Road improvements had been received by Mr. Storey and the bond had been reduced and there was currently $195,000.00 in place. She said that it was critical that Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Nichols post their share of this.
Motion made by Ms. Miles with a second by Mr. LeClaire to approve the conditional approval as clarified by the Board with assistance by Town Counsel. The motion passed unanimously.
5. REGULATION AMENDMENTS
Mr. Hull presented proposed changes for Home Occupation, Conditional Use Permits
and other regulations. He said that the milestones for changes should happen at three-month intervals (3, 6, 9, and 12) to be ready for Town Meeting. Ms. Miles asked what types of new ordinances or regulations were needed. Mr. Hull said that Access Management would be an important step forward. Attorney Somers also suggested Innovative Zoning and Village Zoning could be added to the ordinances.
6. KOLIAS BOND REDUCTION
Ms. Pettit explained that the Board had actually approved this bond reduction in August 2005 but that this was a separate issue than the Road Bond and it was tied into Certificates of Occupancy that had long ago been issued. Part of the language of the Restoration Bond Agreement stated, “The bond shall be released in a timely fashion as follows: One Third of the total bond amount of $6,950.21 shall be released upon the issuance of each occupancy permit of the three aforementioned lots (4-5-14, 4-5-14-17 and 4-5-15).”
Motion made by Mr. Harding with a second by Mr. LeClaire to approve the bond release for Kolias. The motion passed unanimously.
7. SCHEDULE CHANGES AND ELECTIONS
There was some discussion about the schedule for February and March. It was decided that because of upcoming holidays and a slow schedule that there would be one meeting in February on the 28th, which would be a combination public hearing and work session. In March, the regular public hearing falls on voting day so the Board decided that there would be one meeting in March, on the 28th, which would also be a combination of public hearing and work session.
Motion made by Mr. LeClaire with a second by Ms. Vaillant to hold a public hearing/work session on February 28 and March 28 only. The motion passed unanimously.
There was some discussion about openings on the board and the filing dates. Mr. Harding said that he would not be running for re-election. Other openings were briefly discussed.
8. CONTINUATION OF REGULATION DISCUSSION
There was extensive discussion concerning Non-Residential Site Plan Review and it was suggested that changes be proposed with regards to the title, vesting, and community housing. Mr. Hull said that he would pull together examples from other towns for what was included under Site Plan Review. There was further discussion about setbacks for accessory buildings and the square footage of those accessory buildings based on a note from the Building Inspector that there was a typo in the ordinances and the maximum size for an accessory building located five feet from the property line should read 120 square feet and not 1200 square feet. Ms. Vaillant said that she would research this particular issue and report her findings back to the board. There was discussion about the maximum size of accessory apartments. The
Board consensus was that 500 square feet was too small. Mr. Hull will provide examples from other towns. The suggestion was made that for accessory apartments, the minimum size could be 600 square feet with a maximum not to exceed one-third of the total square footage (house and apartment). The Board seemed interested in that type of allowance and verbiage will be provided for review. Board members were also pleased with the productivity of this type of work session.
9. LOVECCHIO DRIVEWAY
It was stated that in June 2004, the LoVecchio’s were granted a two-lot subdivision that had a shared driveway due to the extensive jurisdictional wetlands on-site. Some of the members had noticed that there was now a separate driveway to the abutting lot and asked how this change came about. Ms. Pettit had discussed this issue with Ms. Allen, who said that it was her understanding that the State Wetlands Board had requested a separate driveway. The Board agreed that the LoVecchios needed to return to the Board with an amended subdivision plan because of the driveway change issue. A letter will be sent notifying the LoVecchios that they were currently in violation of the recorded plan and they would need to come before the Board.
Motion made by Mr. Harding with a second by Ms. Miles to adjourn at 10 PM. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Sally E. Cockerline
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning Board
| 
