Newton Planning Board
Minutes of WORKSESSION and public MEETING
October 23, 2007
Page 1 of 2
Planning Board Minutes of October 23, 2007 Work Session
1. Call to Order / Attendance
Vice Chairman, Ann Miles called the meeting to order at 7:45pm. In attendance were: Vice Chairman, Ann Miles; Planning Board Members, Kim Vaillant and Frank Gibbs; Alternate, Gary Nelson; and Administrative Assistant, Lisa Babcock. Minutes were transcribed and typed by Lisa Babcock.
Also in attendance:
Fred Gundersen, developer of Nordic Woods Lane
Eric Steltzer of the Rockingham Planning Commission
Miles appointed Alternate Gary Nelson for the evening.
2. Gundersen/Nordic Woods Lane
Mr. Gundersen asked what steps needed to be taken in order to have the town take over Nordic Woods Lane. Miles stated that Mr. Gundersen had to complete the items from the Altus punch list letter dated May 31, 2007. When those items had been completed Mr. Gundersen should contact the Planning Board office and the secretary would have KV Partners inspect the road. Gibbs noted that the punch list items were minor in nature.
3. Master Plan
Eric Steltzer distributed updated drafts of the Land Use and CIP chapters of the Master Plan.
He indicated 4 areas of the LU chapter for which he still needs input from the Town, these are: note worthy changes (since 1998) in ordinances/regulations, (p. 2); paragraph on residential development (changes since 1998), (p. 9); paragraph on commercial/industrial development (changes since 1998), (p. 9); and expand paragraph on the history of zoning in Newton, (p. 11).
Vaillant noted that in the table on page 2, item # 6, “Town encouragement of current use lands to be placed in town conservation” the “action taken” could include the acquisition of the Bush Farms and Forrest Reynolds properties. Mr. Steltzer said he would check with Nancy Wrigley to determine if these properties had been in current use at the time of acquisition.
Miles suggested that the Master Plan incorporate a history of the town, keeping track of such things as when certain properties were acquired. Steltzer said that that type of tracking was usually done with a housing chapter but that he would try to incorporate a summary in the land use chapter.
Miles also said that the town should use the Master Plan to address the fact that Newton has limited services such as restaurants, barber shops, etc. Steltzer said that the development of a Town Center or Village District is an excellent recommendation that could come out of the Land Use chapter.
Miles asked the secretary to schedule a joint meeting with representatives of the Conservation Commission and Historical Society for the next Planning Board work session (Nov. 20) to discuss the portions of the Land Use chapter that still need work.
Steltzer then began discussion about the CIP (Capital Improvements Program) chapter. He pointed out several areas that need more work including page 16, section C, Proposed Capital Projects and page 13, Tax Rate.
Regarding the section on Proposed Capital Projects, Steltzer asked that the Board contact town departments and remind them to fill out the Capital Projects form and return it to him. Several departments had already responded but many more had not.
Regarding the Tax Rate section, Steltzer said he needed to include explanations as to why there had been a steady increase in the tax rate between 2000 and 2004 and why there had been a large decrease in 2005.
Nelson said the decrease was due to town-wide re-evaluations. He also noted that some of the reasons for the steady increase were: growth of the police department, the new high school and loss of state funding for schools.
Vaillant announced that she had to leave the meeting.
7. Adjourn - Miles moved to adjourn at 8:45pm since there would no longer be a quorum after Vaillant left. Motion carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Babcock
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning Board.
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