Newton Planning Board
Minutes of WORKSESSION and public MEETING
September 25, 2007
Page 1 of 4
Planning Board Minutes of September 25, 2007 Work Session and Public Meeting
1. Call to Order
Chairman, Kim Pettit called the meeting to order at 7:10pm. In attendance were: Chairman, Kim Pettit; Vice Chairman, Ann Miles; Planning Board Members, Jim Doggett, Kim Vaillant, and Frank Gibbs; Circuit Rider Planner, Reuben Hull; and Administrative Assistant, Lisa Babcock. Minutes were transcribed and typed by Lisa Babcock.
Pettit stated that, since all parties were present for the CPF&G public meeting, that issue would be discussed first, taking the agenda out of order.
2. Country Pond Fish & Game: Continuation of a Public Meeting to review sound mitigation compliance with respect to the original Site Plan approval conditions. In attendance for this issue were: Ronald Pica, owner, Whispering Pines Campground, Herbert Singleton, Jr., PE, Sound Engineer representing Mr. Pica, Atty. John J. Ryan, representing Mr. Pica, John DeYoung of CPF&G, Lois DeYoung, CPF&G secretary, Atty. Thea Valvanis and Atty. Sumner Kalman representing CPF&G, and John Cull of CPF&G.
A site walk had been conducted at CPF&G on 9/15/07. Frank Kuhn of Air & Noise Compliance had been present and summarized his findings in a letter dated September 17, 2007 and titled Revised Mitigation Assessment – Country Pond Fish & Game Club, Newton, NH. The report had been received in the Planning Board office on 9/25/07 so could not be distributed prior to the meeting. All parties present were provided with a copy of the letter.
Mr. Singleton explained that he had been hired by Mr. Pica to do a sound study at Whispering Pines Campground in April, 2007. Mr. Singleton stated that he used both a hand held meter and an 8 hour recording in his sound analysis. He found sound levels exceeding 65 dB to around 80 dB during gunfire. The recording showed levels of 40 dB or lower during periods when there was no gunfire. He took measurements using a variety of settings and summarized his findings in a report dated May 19, 2007 (Cross Spectrum Labs). Pettit suggested that Mr. Kuhn review Mr. Singleton’s report. Mr. Singleton gave an analogy of the increase in sound stating that it was like being in a quiet room with someone suddenly turning the TV on full volume.
Vaillant asked for clarification on the Board’s purpose in this meeting. Pettit stated that sound mitigation was a condition of the Planning Board’s June 2003 approval of CPF&G’s Excavation Permit Application. The Board’s directive was to determine if the condition relating to sound mitigation had been met or not.
Atty. Ryan said that the increase in sound was causing the campground to lose business.
Pettit stated that Kuhn’s report did not address what the sound levels had been before the excavation project. She suggested that he might be able to model the previous conditions which included more trees and a berm.
Miles asked if there was a plan that showed topography or an as-built plan. She also asked to hear what CPF&G’s representatives thought about Kuhn’s conclusions.
Atty. Kalman spoke on behalf of CPF&G. He stated that Mr. Pica had sued the gun club over the sound issue. He then quoted the 6/10/03 Excavation Plan condition of approval # 3, “Noise mitigation (as described by plan and discussed by the Board) be completed within 6 months of the end of the 18 month excavation timetable (for a total of 24 months or 2 years)”. He said that the question before the Board was whether or not the conditions of approval had been met by the club. Atty. Kalman stated that CPF&G wanted to work with the Town and its neighbors. He also stated that CPF&G felt that it had met the conditions satisfactorily.
Miles asked about the number of members the gun club has. Are there a maximum number of members allowed? Atty. Kalman stated that the number of members was not a condition of approval, the Board should only be considering the conditions put forth on 6/10/03.
Ryan quoted the minutes from 6/10/03, citing the discussion before the approval, “The Board had a discussion about having CPF&GC work with the Board to the final resolution to mitigate as much noise as possible.” Ryan said that the pre-existing vegetation reduced the sound by 20 dBs and the pre-existing terrain had reduced the sound by 25 dBs. He said that Singleton’s report had found the noise to be very obtrusive.
Mr. Pica stated that Mr. Kuhn’s letter of 6/9/03 indicated that the mitigation was not effective. Mr. Pica further stated that there had been no work since the time the letter had been submitted.
Pettit disputed Mr. Pica’s interpretation of the letter and said that measures to mitigate sound had been implemented at the gun club. She also said that Mr. Kuhn’s 9/17/07 report said that there were a few things the club could still do to improve the rifle range enclosure.
Motion by Vaillant to declare that the sound mitigation condition has been met pending Frank Kuhn’s review of Herbert Singleton’s 5/19/07 Noise Study report and providing that this review does not materially alter his professional opinion as outlined in his 9/17/07 letter to the Planning Board. Second by Doggett.
Pettit suggested that, before voting on the issue, the Board continue the meeting to October 9th and ask Mr. Kuhn to review Singleton’s report and also to enumerate the tasks he feels have been completed by CPF&G to date. She further added that, if 2 weeks is not enough time for Mr. Kuhn to do the review, the Board will notify the parties involved and the meeting would be moved to another date. Doggett tabled the initial motion.
Motion by Miles to continue to October 9, 2007 pending Kuhn’s review. Second by Pettit. Motion carried unanimously.
3. Review of proposed amendments to the Subdivision Regulations and the Site Plan Review Regulations regarding the following: application fees and procedures. Mr. Hull provided an updated version of the Regulations for the Board’s review as well as proposed amendments (entitled 2007 Proposed Amendments Non-Residential Site Plan Regulations and 2007 Proposed Amendments Subdivision Regulations, both dated September 11, 2007).
The Board discussed the section requiring “Copies of all applications for all required state and federal permits.” There was discussion about state driveway permits. Mr. Hull recommended that the Board send a letter asking the state to refrain from issuing a driveway permit until the Town has had the opportunity to review the Permit application. This would be done for each DOT driveway permit application notice received by the Board.
Pettit requested that the Board members review the proposed amendments in preparation for the continued public hearing scheduled for October. Mr. Hull said that he would send the documents to the Planning Board in Word for editing.
4. Acceptance of minutes: Motion by Doggett to accept the minutes of 9/11/07. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
5. Manifests: There were no manifests presented. Gibbs noted that the bill from Air and Noise Compliance dated September 18, 2007 and totaling $777 included a charge of $27 for 60 miles of travel. Gibbs stated that since the Air & Noise Compliance office is located in Plaistow, the Board should not be charged for Mr. Kuhn’s travel from his home. (The bill was for Kuhn’s time relating to the Saturday site walk at CPF&G and had been included in the meeting packets.) The Board decided to request that this charge be reduced.
6. Other Board Business / Correspondence.
a) TRC – 2 West Main St. Miles and Hull gave a brief review of the TRC meeting for Scott Alexander of 2 West Main Street. Mr. Alexander is working on a minor non-residential site plan in order to move Acios Pizza into the building. Miles stated that at TRC the developer was advised to: strive to maintain the historical integrity of the building front, use porous material for the parking lot (rather than pave it – Gibbs suggested crushed gravel), prepare a site plan showing the drainage, and get an updated septic design. He was also informed that the State may require proof that the well is adequate for the intended use. Hull stated that the number of parking spaces appeared to exceed Town requirements. Doggett added that a State driveway permit would be required if the applicant wanted to add a second
driveway.
Miles suggested that board waive the re-application fees for this applicant. Doggett suggested that the applicant be required to make a deposit for engineering services. Pettit asked the secretary to contact the engineer for an estimate and then notify the applicant of the amount.
b) Grebenstein Drive. The Board received an e-mail from TA Nancy Wrigley dated 9/25/07 stating that the road had been paved. She asked the Board to ensure that all work had been done so that Bell & Flynn could be paid for the work. Gibbs stated that he didn’t get a chance to check all the monumentation but that the signs and shoulder gravel were in place. Pettit forwarded the e-mail to Altus to sign off on the work.
c) Board of Appeals Minutes for 9/18/07. Pettit noted that the BoA hearing for Whispering Pines had been continued to November and stated that she would attend.
d) Developers Seeking Town Acceptance of Roadways. Pettit stated that there are currently 3 developers seeking acceptance of roadways.
i. Patriot Drive / Joe Ferrandi. Gibbs stated that he had been out to inspect Patriot Drive with Town engineer, Mike Vignale. He expressed concerns about the driveway that opens onto Maple Ave. Pettit asked the secretary to checks the recorded plans to see what was required regarding the driveway.
ii. Felicia Drive / Al Bailey. Gibbs stated that he spoke to the developer and recommended that a paving company specializing in roadways do the top coat as the current surface is very rough. Mr. Bailey has been in touch with KV Partners.
iii. Philip Way / DC Development. The easement agreement has been received.
e) Letter from NHDES dated 9/19/07 re: Sargent Woods, LLC. The site specific permit was amended to reflect a name change from White Fences Development Corp. to Sargent Woods, LLC. The secretary will get a list of the officers of the LLC. It was also noted that the construction entrance area may become problematic in the coming days. Inspection reports received from Altus to date had not mentioned the construction entrance. The Board discussed having KV Partners take over the project but a final decision was not made at this time.
7. Adjourn - Miles moved to adjourn at 9:15pm. Motion carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Babcock
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning Board.
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