Newton Planning Board
Minutes of Public Meeting
May 22, 2007
1. Call to Order
Vice Chairman Ann Miles called the meeting to order at 7:10pm. In attendance were Vice Chairman Ann Miles; Planning Board Members: Jim Doggett, Frank Gibbs, and Rich LeClaire; Circuit Rider Planner Reuben Hull; Attorney John J. Ratigan; and Administrative Assistant Lisa Babcock. Minutes were transcribed and typed by Lisa Babcock.
7:15 pm: Selectman Bob Donovan arrived.
2. Non-Public Session
Vice Chairman Miles motioned to go into non-public session at 7:10pm under RSA 91-A:3 II (b) - Hiring; (e) - Litigation. Second by Doggett. Roll Call Vote: Miles – yes, Doggett – yes, Gibbs – yes, LeClaire – yes. Vote: Unanimous.
Vice Chairman Miles motioned to exit the non-public session at 8:00 pm. Second by Doggett. Per unanimous roll call vote, the minutes of this non-public session are to remain confidential until in the opinion of the majority of the members the circumstances no long apply.
Chairman Miles called the public meeting back to order at 8:01 pm.
3. Other Board Business
a) Manifests
Doggett motioned to approve the manifests dated 5/8/07. Second by LeClaire. Passed unanimously.
b) Review Fees and Engineering Deposits
1) The board was asked by Chairman Pettit via e-mail, dated 5/22/07, to consider whether the $5,000 engineering fee is excessive for 2- or 3-lot subdivisions and small conditional uses.
Hull said that this is a “case by case” thing and that off-site improvements add to the engineering costs. Miles asked if there was a way to estimate the engineering fees during technical review. Applicants could put a request for waiver in with their applications. This would encourage more applicants to attend technical review.
Doggett motioned to have the Circuit Rider Planner draft language for engineering fees for applications. Second by LeClaire. Passed unanimously.
2) The board was asked by Chairman Pettit via e-mail, dated 5/22/07, to consider whether legal ad fees should be increased to $100 as the ads usually run over $100 unless there are two or more applicants to share the cost.
Doggett motioned to increase the legal add fee to $200. Second by Gibbs. Passed unanimously.
3) The board was asked by Chairman Pettit via e-mail, dated 5/22/07, to consider whether a fee for home occupations should be charged. $100 had been discussed, plus notice and legal ad fees.
Doggett suggested charging an application fee in addition to notice and legal ad fees to cover clerical costs associated with processing applications. He also said that a public hearing would be required to add an application fee.
Miles suggested preparing a package of information that would be helpful for the small business owner as an incentive to pay the fees.
Doggett moved to have the Circuit Rider Planner draft language for a notice for a public hearing to amend the regulations to add a $100 application fee in addition to notice and legal ad fees for home occupations. Second by LeClaire. Passed unanimously.
4) The board was asked by Chairman Pettit via e-mail, dated 5/22/07, to discuss conditional use permits.
Hull checked the regulations and found a table showing a $500 application fee and an additional fee based on square footage. There was consensus among board members that $500 was excessive for small conditional uses. They discussed breaking the fees down by category.
LeClaire motioned to set the conditional use fee at $100. Second by Gibbs.
Doggett said that the higher fee was necessary in some instances, for example for aquifer protection. Hull said there could be several different categories not shown in the table but listed elsewhere in the regulations.
LeClaire withdrew his motion.
Doggett motioned to have the Circuit Rider Planner review the documentation for all the different conditional use categories, and prepare language to differentiate between fee generating areas. Second by Gibbs. Passed unanimously.
c) Acceptance of minutes form 5/8/07 Public Hearing.
Doggett motioned to accept the minutes from 5/8/07 with correction to Atty. Ryan’s statement noted under item 7, paragraph 8: “…500 feet from abutting residential properties”. Second by LeClaire. Passed unanimously.
Babcock checked the DVD of the meeting, Ryan’s statement was “…500 feet from the nearest abutting property that is occupied as a residence…”
d) Schedule Hearings for Review and Adoption of Master Plan and Shared Driveway Regulation
Doggett suggested hearings be scheduled for June 12 Public Hearing. There was no disagreement.
e) Correspondence
1) Letter from Building Inspector, Michael DiBartolomeo; to Ned Nichols, dated May 10, 2007; re: Building Plans for MBL 8-3-11; number of pages – 1.
2) Letter from Ned Nichols, Sargent Woods LLC; to Building Inspector, Michael DiBartolomeo; dated May 13, 2007; subject: Sargent Woods Building Plans, number of pages – 2.
Miles and LeClaire recused themselves.
Doggett said that Waiver # 5 was granted to Mr. Nichols because the smallest manufactured home that could be built was 1800 square feet. So, if Mr. Nichols is going to build the homes, he should be held to the 1500 square feet required by the ordinances.
LeClaire spoke on behalf of Mr. Nichols and said that the waiver was granted because the town was requiring Nichols to build a 1400 square foot recreational building on the property and 1800 square foot homes would make this economically viable. The approved plans were not for modular homes.
Miles, speaking on behalf of herself, said she was held to the 1500 square feet requirement when building Jacob’s Village. Nichols’ plans are for 1800 square feet and include walkout basements that could be finished giving even more living space. In addition, Mr. Nichols is advertising the units as 1900 square feet.
LeClaire said that that must be a typing error and that he would look into it. He also stated that the units could not be offered with finished basements.
Doggett said that this requires further research and directed the administrative assistant to located all the pertinent plans and documents. He recessed discussion of this matter until documents could be located.
3) Letter from Altus Engineering; to Kim Pettit, NPB; dated May 15, 2007; re: 125 Development NH Corp. Commercial Site Plan Map 14, Block 1, Lot 21-1, Engineering Review # 3; number of pages: 7.
LeClaire recused himself.
Gibbs began discussion by saying that the parking lot for the building must be set back 65 feet from the center line of the road.
Doggett commented that the mylars, dated 7/18/05 and revised 5/4/07, do not match the approved plans. The board requested that the administrative assistant find the set of plans that were conditionally approved and send a letter to Mr. McDonough explaining the differences.
4. Adjourn
Miles motion to adjourn at 9:45. Passed unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Babcock
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning board.
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