Newton Planning Board
Minutes of public meeting
AUGUST 12, 2008
Page 1 of 12
Planning Board Minutes of August 12, 2008 Public Meeting
All minutes are in draft form until approved by the Planning Board. Please check subsequent minutes for approval of and/or amendments to these minutes.
1. Call to Order
Chairperson Miles called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. In attendance were: Chairperson, Ann Miles; Vice Chairman, Jim Doggett; Planning Board Members, Barbara White, Kim Vaillant, and Frank Gibbs. Minutes were transcribed and typed by Administrative Assistant, Lisa Babcock.
Also in attendance: Circuit Rider Planner, David West.
2. Rosewood Builders: request to discuss a potential change to driveway(s) at Georges Way. Terry Trudel of SE Cummings & Associates and Developer Leo LaRochelle were in attendance.
Mr. Trudel explained that Mr. LaRochelle seeks approval to extinguish a driveway easement over lot 14-27 and provide individual driveways for lots 14-26 & 14-27 instead of the previously approved shared driveway. An expedited wetlands permit was filed with NHDES for work within the conservation easement. A copy of the approved permit (#2008-00843), with conditions, was presented to the Board.
Mr. Trudel said that Mr. LaRochelle had met at the site with the Conservation Commission. The Conservation Commission approved the change with conditions as outlined in the document titled: "Draft Minutes from Site Walk on 06/21/08". The conditions include: limiting cutting of trees over 15" in circumference at a 4.5' high level, limiting the cutting to the left side of the old woods road (when facing old woods road from the cul-de-sac). In addition, the conservation easement will be flagged and re-directed and recorded and shown on all affected deeds.
Trisha McCarthy was in attendance and spoke on behalf of the Conservation Commission. She confirmed that Conservation approved the change with the conditions noted above.
Doggett reminded the Board that during the original subdivision review the Board had been persuaded to accept the plans with a shared driveway and was now being asked to rescind that decision.
White noted that page 1 of the plans distributed by Mr. Trudel did not show all of the subdivision's lot lines. Gibbs said the driveway locations should be shown on a page that will be recorded. McCarthy said the easement will be relocated, marked and must be noted on the plans.
Miles summarized the discussion as follows:
· The proposed change would result in two separate driveways to two separate lots.
· The regulations now prohibit shared driveways so the change brings the lots into compliance.
· The Conservation Commission approves the change.
Miles also stated that the Town requires a deed for the road (George's Way) and the 50' trail easement through lot 14-5.
Vaillant moved to approve the change from one shared driveway to two separate driveways for parcels 7/3/14-26 and 7/3/14-27 subject to the following conditions:
· Show driveway locations on recorded page.
· Show the conservation easement on recorded page.
· Show property lines on all pages.
· Provide a deed for George's Way indicating the trail easement through lot 7/3/14-5 as shown on Subdivision Plan for Esther's Estates (Phase III).
· Comply with all conditions noted on the NHDES Wetlands and Non-Site Specific Permit 2008-00843.
· Comply with all conditions noted in Conservation Commission "Minutes from Site Walk on 06/21/08".
Second by White. Motion carried 3-1-1 with Doggett opposed and Gibbs recused.
3. Continental Biomass Industries: Public Hearing for a non-residential site plan at 22 Whittier Street for a warehouse addition, wood boiler shed and bathrooms. The property is referenced as Tax Map 6, Block 13, Lot 2.
Miles opened the public hearing for a non-residential site plan at 22 Whittier Street.
George Fredette of SFC Engineering and CBI owner, Anders Ragnarsson were in attendance.
Mr. Fredette distributed updated plans addressing the comments from David West (letter dated 8/7/08 re: CBI Site Plan Review) and KV Partners (letter dated 8/7/08 re: CBI Site Plan Review Building Addition and Wood Chip Enclosure).
Mr. Fredette explained that CBI's previously approved and recorded plans which included a 15,000 sf office building have been put on hold due to increased construction costs. Both the approved plan and the new plan are separate, stand-alone projects.
Mr. Fredette said that the new plan proposes 3 additional buildings: a 15,400 sf addition to the existing warehouse, a 1,300 sf wood boiler enclosure and a 420 sf addition for bathrooms. A new subsurface disposal system has already been installed.
He gave the following details regarding the property: the parcel is bordered by Mill Brook on the southwest, there is an aquifer protection district along the front, there is an unlined parking area to the east and a CMP stormwater pipe runs along the back of the property. The zone is light industrial/commercial.
The proposed warehouse addition is 15,400 sf and 19' tall with an overhead door on the east end and loading docks on the west. There will be no new water utilities but the addition will have heat and electricity.
The plan requires some minor re-grading to the north and east. A grass swale will be installed to the north to pick up runoff. The west end loading dock will require a depression in the yard. Two catch basins and an oil/water separator will be installed. This will tie into the existing CMP which will be upgraded from 12" to 18" to accommodate any increase in runoff. The pipe will terminate in rip rap.
An existing 1,300 sf cement pad will be used as the foundation for the wood boiler and wood chip shelter.
Alternate, Mary Sousa arrived at 7:35 pm and stepped in for Pettit.
The Stormwater Management Plan indicates that there will be no change in the direction of water flow. There will be a slight increase in volume. There is a 4 acre area in the northwest portion of the site that acts as a detention area.
Mr. Fredette stated that no state permits are required for the project. He also said that SFC has no opposition to any of the comments received from West and KV Partners and plans to address each of them.
He also informed the Board that Mr. Ragnarsson will be appearing before the ZBA to ask for a waiver from having to add a sprinkler system to the warehouse addition.
Planner, David West, said he met with SFC to discuss his comment letter and that CBI had addressed all of the comments with the revised plan set. He said the Board could request a Grading, Sediment and Erosion control plan since the area of disturbance is greater than 20,000 sf. Mr. Fredette noted that sheets 5 & 6 cover grading and erosion.
West noted that a HISS waiver request had also been submitted.
Miles asked if any of the abutters had comments. Abutter Nancy Slombo asked if there was any type of filtration system to mitigate the smoke from the wood boiler.
Mr. Ragnarsson said there was a filtration system and there would be less smoke with the new system than there is currently.
Ms. Slombo asked if the warehouse addition was in compliance with the 200' set back requirement. Mr. Fredette confirmed that the addition would remain about 350' from the property line.
Ms. Slombo noted that CBI owns a back-lot accessible by the current, existing driveway and that the original, approved plan had called for a new entrance way across from Chongor Drive. Ms. Slombo asked if CBI could be required to construct the new entrance way before building anything on the back-lot. She was concerned about increased traffic on the existing driveway.
Miles stated that the original plan and the new plan would both be recorded and CBI still intends to do all of the proposed construction.
Doggett asked if the new septic system was designed to handle the newly proposed bathrooms as well as the bathrooms in the proposed office building. Mr. Fedette stated that the new septic system was designed to accommodate 100 people. There are currently only 80 employees.
White asked if the abutters would be shielded from the proposed lighting. Mr. Fredette said the illumination would be focused downward and should not affect abutters.
Vaillant asked Mr. Fredette to address KV Partners' comment # 9 "Clarify the need for a gas vent in an oil/water separator that has an open catch basin grate." Mr. Fredette said he agreed that the gas vent was unnecessary and the plan had been revised accordingly.
Miles noted that one of the two proposed snow storage areas was within the aquifer protection district. She was concerned about salt and/or other chemical treatments.
West read section XVII 4.c.3 of the zoning ordinance which prohibits the dumping of snow carried from off-site and the storage of snow and ice removal chemicals or salts in the aquifer protection district.
It was noted that CBI does not dump snow from off-site, nor were there plans to store snow and ice removal chemicals.
West recommended that snow be stored in areas of the site that are not within the aquifer protection district. Mr. Fredette suggested that CBI only store snow that has not been chemically treated on the aquifer side of the site.
Doggett moved to accept jurisdiction of the non-residential site plan at 22 Whittier Street. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
The Board reviewed the HISS waiver request. Vaillant noted that the HISS survey had been waived in the previous application. Miles noted that both West and KV Partners indicated that the request was reasonable.
Doggett moved to grant a waiver from Section 7.1.4.K of the Newton Subdivision Regulations to complete a High Intensity Soil Survey to CBI for the non-residential site plan for 22 Whittier Street. Second by Vaillant. Motion carried unanimously.
Doggett moved to grant conditional approval for the non-residential site plan for CBI at 22 Whittier Street subject to the following: Planning Board receipt of a clean letter from the Town Engineer with all comments addressed. Second by Sousa. Motion carried unanimously.
Miles closed the public hearing for CBI's non-residential site plan at 22 Whittier Street.
4. Steve Ciambelli, Katherine Drive Subdivision (formerly Marley Builders): Public Hearing to request a change to the recorded plans for above ground utilities at the Katherine Drive Subdivision. The property is referenced as Tax Map 6 – Block 9 – Lot 9.
Steve Ciambelli was in attendance. He addressed the Board stating that he wanted to install above ground utilities in the subdivision rather than underground utilities. Mr. Ciambelli stated that Marley Builders had to walk away from the project leaving him on his own to finance everything.
Mr. Ciambelli stated that the change to above ground utilities is critical to his being able to complete the road due to the cost of underground utilities ($30,000 for 4 lots).
Mr. Ciambelli said that the power company, Unitil, told him that they would prefer to install above ground utilities because it can be difficult to locate and fix problems with underground utilities.
Mr. Ciambelli said that if the Board allowed him to change to above ground utilities he could complete the road this year, clean-up the subdivision and beautify the area. He said the $30,000 cost would be the breaking point for him.
Miles asked how long the cul-de-sac will be and what the longest expanse of wire might be. Mr. Ciambelli said the road will be about 450' to the center of the cul-de-sac. The longest expanse of wire that Unitil will install is 200'. Mr. Ciambelli said there would be 4 or 5 poles and they would blend in nicely with the existing trees.
He also stated that prospective buyers are looking for affordability more than underground utilities.
Vaillant pointed out that Mr. Ciambelli had already cut down a number of trees and begun clearing for the road. Mr. Ciambelli said that he had begun clearing because he only had a certain amount of time to get started. He reiterated that this is an economically difficult time and the cost of the underground utilities was too high.
Doggett stated that other developers in town had been required to install underground utilities.
Mr. Ciambelli said that Unitil had suggested putting in above ground utilities with underground tie-ins to the homes.
Vaillant said that Walnut Farms had been told to install underground utilities and that the Board was trying to be fair and consistent. Gibbs added that Felicia Drive, also a 5-lot subdivision, did underground utilities. Miles pointed out that Patriot Drive was above ground.
Vaillant moved to require that the plan stays as it was presented to the Board. Second by Doggett. Motion carried 5-1-0 with Miles opposed.
Miles closed the public hearing for Katherine Drive subdivision – request for above ground utilities.
5. Timothy Hajjar/T&M Property Maintenance: Public Hearing for a Conditional Use Permit to operate a Home Based Business at 17 North Main Street.
Mr. Hajjar was present.
The secretary informed the Board that an error in noticing had occurred (abutter notices had been sent with the wrong date) therefore the hearing would have to be continued.
White said she would like to ask Mr. Hajjar a few questions in preparation for the continued hearing. She asked what the days of operation are, Mr. Hajjar said Monday through Friday. White asked how many off-street parking spaces there are; Mr. Hajjar replied 3. White asked why the GVW was listed as 10,000 – 14,000 on the Home Based Business form. Mr. Hajjar said he has several trucks with various GVWs. White pointed out that the ordinance restricts vehicles at residences to a GVW of 12,000.
Doggett moved to continue the public hearing for T&M Property Maintenance to August 26th. Second by Vaillant. Motion carried unanimously.
6. Town of Newton: Public Hearing to discuss a non-residential site plan for a Sand/Salt Storage Building to be located at 2 Dugway Road. The property is referenced as Tax Map 16, Block 1, Lot 3.
In attendance were: Dennis Quintal of Civil Construction Management Inc.; abutters: Al and Sue Mears and Nancy LeMaire; Conservation Commission members: Peter Mears, Nancy Slombo and Patricia Wonson; Selectmen Trisha McCarthy and Road Agent Mike Pivero.
Miles opened the public hearing for the Town of Newton, Sand/Salt Storage Building.
Mr. Quintal addressed the Board on behalf of the Town. He stated that the proposed building will be located on Dugway Road adjacent to the transfer station near a former stump dump against an embankment. Mr. Quintal explained that he had done the foundation plan for the Town and that the Board of Selectmen is in the process of reviewing the bids.
The plan is to build an enclosure for sand and salt. There will be no water, lights, sewer or parking associated with the plan. All sand and salt will be stored inside the building. Mr. Quintal said there is a dire need to complete the project as the towns needs a site to store sand and salt.
Miles asked for abutter comments. Ms. LeMaire asked if any more trees would be removed. Mr. Quintal said the existing embankment would remain; some brush on the slope may need to be removed. He said the town would work with residents to plant trees if necessary. He added that the building will be set back on the site and many of the existing trees will be left.
Mr. A. Mears asked if the salt would affect his well. Mr. Quintal replied that it would be similar to that of a well near a road that was salted in the winter. The building will be designed to contain the sand and salt there shouldn't be any salt leaching into the ground.
Mr. A. Mears asked what the height of the building would be. Mr. Quintal said approximately 30'. The concrete walls will be 12' high and there will be a roof, the design of which is still to be determined.
Ms. Mears asked if the trucks will be loaded inside the building. Mr. Quintal stated that there is an asphalt pad in front of the building. That is where the loading will primarily take place.
Ms. Mears asked if there is runoff – will it wash away sand and salt and where will the water go. Vaillant said that it is reasonable to assume that there will be some sand and salt dropping onto the pad as trucks are loaded and asked what will happen to the salt from there. Will it wash into the wells and aquifer? She also asked if there was any other suitable location in town for this facility. Mr. Quintal said he was not involved in the site selection process.
Mr. A. Mears added that the site is very wet. He said that there is also a pond that drains into a nearby brook which contains trout.
Mr. Quintal said that those operating the facility will have to be careful about spills and cleanup any sand/salt that is spilled. That would be required regardless of the location of the building.
Mr. A. Mears asked about lighting. Mr. Quintal said there would be no additional lighting. The trucks would load using their own lights. This is a common practice.
Conservation Chairman, Peter Mears stated that the proposed site is in an aquifer zone. He said that in his opinion, the plan violates Zoning Ordinance 17.4.c.3 which prohibits salt/sand storage on an aquifer. He asked if there is another site that can be used. Miles suggested that Mr. P. Mears bring his concerns to the attention of the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. A. Mears said he believes that there is trash buried under the proposed site.
Ms. McCarthy validated the abutters' questions and concerns. She said the meeting was intended as informational and that the plans are not yet complete. She said that the Board of Selectmen is working on getting bids for the building specifications so they could then take the plan to an engineer to show setbacks, wetlands and aquifer delineations, etc.
No decisions have been made; the selectmen are still gathering information. She said the site was proposed because of the existing monitoring wells which will be necessary for testing the water.
She also said that the Board of Selectmen was working under time constraints to get a place to store sand and salt in a somewhat portable structure so that if necessary the building could be moved and the foundation could be reused for another purpose.
Miles asked why this is suddenly such a critical need. McCarthy said the former storage location can no longer be used and that although it was known in March that a new site would be needed, the Board of Selectmen has been working with the Department of Revenue on obtaining funding.
Vaillant said the site seemed like a very poor choice given that it is very wet. She was concerned that the building could sink.
Mr. Quintal said the area for the building has a good gravel base. The wet areas are to the rear of the proposed facility. If a better location is found in the future, the foundation can be framed over and used for equipment storage.
Vaillant suggested having a resident donate a section of land and offer some sort of tax rebate. Mr. Pivero stated that it is not a good idea to use private property, it is a liability. He added that if the building is built and managed properly, there should be no problems. He said he spent 6 weeks reviewing sites. This is a manageable site – it can be monitored using the monitoring wells.
Miles said the Planning Board has concerns about the site; she thanked the abutters who were present and urged them to discuss their concerns with their neighbors and voice their concerns to the Board of Selectmen.
Doggett said he was concerned that the drawing shows a pad and foundation with 12' walls at the base of a steep slope. Retention was not addressed in the plans.
He was concerned that the stump fill area is under where the building will be built. He said that no test borings had been done to indicate the stability of the property.
Doggett questioned whether 4" of concrete could support the load. There is not enough information to a make recommendation about the plan. He suggested having the Town Engineer review the plans.
Vaillant pointed out that Mr. Quintal said this was just a preliminary plan. Doggett said the plans should come before the Board again when they are more complete.
Miles said that the Planning Board offered to have the Town Engineer review the plans. She added that the Planning Board has a mandate to protect the aquifers and that the town will not always be able to rely on wells. The Board cannot allow abuse of the aquifers and she said she hoped that the Selectmen would take up the offer to have the Town Engineer review the plans.
McCarthy said that the Board of Selectmen discussed the possibility of the Town Engineer getting involved once a design is chosen.
Mr. Quintal said time and cost are both factors for this project. He said there is a note on the plan indicating that the stability of the site will be evaluated during the excavation process. He also added that some parts of the plans had not been distributed yet; he did not think they would be needed for the purpose of this meeting.
Doggett moved to send a letter to the Board of Selectmen stating that the Planning Board has grave concerns about the proposal and humbly suggests that the town use the Town Engineer to review plans and bids for stability, serviceability and protection of the aquifer area, to listen to the concerns of the abutters and give them the weight that is due, and include a copy of Ordinance 17.4.c.3. Second by Vaillant. Motion carried unanimously.
McCarthy added that the Board of Selectmen has been evaluating sites and working on funding and specifications which took time. The bid has not yet been awarded; the Selectmen are also reviewing structural issues, warranties and roofing this week.
Miles suggested that this be a temporary solution to the problem.
Miles closed the public hearing for the Town of Newton, sand/salt storage building.
7. Town of Newton, NH: Public Hearing for proposed amendments to the Subdivision Regulations and the Site Plan Review Regulations.
Miles opened the public hearing for proposed amendments to the Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations regarding waivers.
Vaillant moved to approve the amendments to Section X – Waivers of the Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations as presented. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
Miles closed the public hearing regarding waivers.
Miles opened the public hearing for proposed amendments to the Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations regarding electronic plans requirement.
McCarthy asked if the Town had adequate computer storage for the new requirement. The secretary explained that the regulation requires electronic plans to be provided on a CD or DVD.
Doggett moved to approve the amendment to "Items Required for Final Approval" (Section 7.3.1 of the Site Plan Regulations and Section 8.5.1 of the Subdivision Regulations) to add the requirement for plans in PDF format as presented. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
Miles closed the public hearing regarding electronic plans.
Miles opened the public hearing regarding the correction to Section 7.2.18 of the Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations regarding Noise.
Doggett moved to amend Section 7.2.18 of the Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations by striking the words "Section XIII of" from paragraph 1 of the regulation. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
Miles closed the public hearing regarding the correction to Section 7.2.18.
Miles opened the public hearing for proposed amendments to the Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations regarding Road Acceptance Procedures.
Miles informed the Board that the Board of Selectmen has asked the Planning Board members to attend a meeting on August 18th to discuss road acceptance procedures. Miles said she planned to attend.
Miles then suggested amending the regulations to require that a road deed be held in escrow up-front with the bond.
McCarthy asked what the procedures should be with roads on which not all of the homes have been built. Doggett suggested that the Town plow the road if it is deemed a health/safety hazard and put a lean on the property to cover the costs.
He also stated that the Town should not accept roads until all of the homes are constructed unless there is a sizable bond in place.
Miles pointed out that if the Town takes over a road before the homes are built, it would be difficult to determine who had damaged the road. Gibbs stated that the damage would probably occur in front of the home being constructed, but as far as other sections of the road, it would be difficult to determine who damaged it.
Doggett moved to continue discussion of road acceptance regulations to the August 26th work session. Second by Vaillant. Motion carried unanimously.
8. Acceptance of Minutes.
White recommended the following changes to the minutes of 7/22/08:
Section 4, paragraph 1 to read: "Resident Russ LaPierre, 2 Sarah's Way was in attendance to discuss this issue, and to offer some suggestions to the Planning Board of what other requirements they might want to consider addition to the ordinances."
Section 4, paragraph 8 to read: "Vaillant said that this is not a Planning Board issue, and pointed out that various state laws already exist addressing all the issues Mr. LaPierre had brought up. Doggett agreed."
Doggett moved to accept the minutes of the July 22, 2008 work session as amended. Second by Sousa. Motion carried unanimously.
9. Manifests.
Doggett moved to authorize the Chair to sign the NPREA manifest, dated 8/12/08, in the amount $1,871.60. Second by Vaillant. Motion carried unanimously.
Doggett moved to authorize the Chair to sign the Operating Budget manifest, dated 8/12/08, in the amount $415.66. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
10. NFIP Application: The Board reviewed the finalized NFIP application which will be forwarded to the Office of Energy and Planning.
11. S&R Intent to Excavate: The Board reviewed a letter from KV Partners, dated July 28, 2008 re: Intent to Excavate (Map 14, Block 1, Lot 24) – Site Visit.
The letter indicated that nothing unusual had been observed, although no tests or field measurements were taken. The Board decided to request that S&R put approximately $500 in the NPREA account so the Town Engineer can periodically monitor the site.
12. Correspondence:
a. The Board reviewed a letter from resident Gayle Burke dated July 28, 2008 re: trees cut on Heath Street which is a scenic road.
Gibbs said that construction on a scenic road requires a tree plan. McCarthy suggested that the Conservation Commission inform developers up-front that they are developing on a scenic road and make them aware of the applicable ordinances.
b. The Board reviewed a letter from KV Partners dated July 31, 2008 re: Walnut Farm Subdivision Site Visit. The Board decided to discuss comment # 5 regarding the entrance sign at the 8/26/08 work session.
13. Ordinances re: Livestock: Vaillant said she had contacted the SPCA concerning proposed ordinances regarding livestock. She said the SPCA representative said livestock ordinances would be ineffective in protecting animals.
14. Adjourn: Doggett moved to adjourn at 10:12 pm. Motion carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Babcock
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning Board
| 
