NEWTON PLANNING BOARD
MINUTES OF PUBLIC HEARING AND WORKSESSION
JULY 14, 2009
1. Call to Order:
Chairperson Miles called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. In attendance were: Chairperson Ann Miles; Vice Chairman Jim Doggett; Planning Board member Barbara White; Ray Thayer, BOS ex officio; and Alternate Rick Milner. Minutes were transcribed by Administrative Assistant, Lisa Babcock.
Also in attendance: Circuit Rider Planner David West.
Miles appointed Milner to stand in for Pettit.
2. Town of Newton, NH public hearing for proposed amendments to the Subdivision Regulations, Site Plan Review Regulations and the Policies and Procedures Manual regarding the following: Fees and Fire Protection.
Miles opened the public hearing for Fees. She referred the Board to an e-mail from Charlie Perry dated July 10, 2009. Mr. Perry had applied for a conditional use permit for a home based business a few months ago but withdrew his application because of the high application and NPREA fees associated with conditional use permits.
White recommended a flat fee of $200.
Vaillant noted that at the last audit, the auditors had said that the Town was losing money on some applications, which is why the fees had been raised.
Doggett recommended an application fee of $150 for Lot Line Adjustments, Home Based Businesses and Accessory Apartments. He was also willing to go to $100. He further said that the application fee for large subdivisions (4 or more lots) should be $500 and $250 for smaller subdivisions (fewer than 4 lots).
Milner said the Town doesn't want to get into a situation where the fees do not cover expenses.
Doggett moved to set the application fees as follows: $500 for subdivisions of four or more lots, $250 for subdivisions of fewer than four lots, and $100 for home based businesses, accessory apartments and lot-line adjustments. Second by Vaillant. Discussion: The secretary asked about fees for major and minor site plans. The Board decided to discuss that further at the next work session. Motion carried unanimously.
Doggett moved to set the NPREA account deposit at $5,000 for subdivisions of four or more lots, $2,000 for subdivisions of fewer than four lots, and $250 for home based businesses, accessory apartments and lot-line adjustments. Vaillant amended the motion to reduce the fees for home based businesses, accessory apartments and lot-line adjustments to $200. Motion carried unanimously.
Planning Board member Frank Gibbs arrived at 7:34.
White moved to continue the public hearing for fees to the July 28, 2009 work session to discuss fees for commercial properties.
The Board decided to discuss changes pertaining to Fire Protection later in the meeting.
3. Robert White discussion regarding easement for lot 11-7-15-1. Robert White, Attorney Justin Nadeau and Attorney J.P. Nadeau were in attendance.
Mr. White was back before the Planning Board because the Board of Selectmen denied him access to his property via the Gale Library. Attorney Justin Nadeau had determined that no easement exists behind the Library or anywhere else. This is stated in his letter of June 17, 2009. Mr. White asked for an easement to his property via the Peanut Trail.
Miles stated that Mr. White needs to find out exactly how far down the Peanut Trail his property lies.
Vaillant said there are many land locked properties in town and those property owners have access by foot. She said the Board needs to take into consideration that the Peanut Trail is a conservation trail. She said there was confusion among the voters because there were two warrant articles dealing with access for Mr. White.
Milner reminded the Board that the voters voted down the citizen's petition article that would have given Mr. White access via the Peanut Trail. He suggested submitting another warrant article in 2010. White said the voters voted down the second article because they wanted the Planning Board to make the decision as to where to grant the easement.
Miles said the Planning Board wanted to offer options to the Board of Selectmen because the Planning Board does not have the authority to convey land.
Attorney Justin Nadeau said he believes the Planning Board does have the authority to grant the easement.
Vaillant pointed out that the property was land locked when Mr. White bought it. Mr. White said he was able to drive down the Peanut Trail at that time.
Vaillant asked if the Town is obligated to grant an easement. She said she is concerned about the safety of pedestrians on the trail.
Attorney JP Nadeau said the state Supreme Court has ruled that the town is required to carry out a warrant article however in-artfully it is worded.
Mr. Milner pointed out that the intent of the voters was expressed in the second article because the first one was in-artfully phrased.
Doggett said the voters denied access to the Peanut Trail by voting down article 39.
Miles said that since the Planning Board can't convey public lands, the issue should be brought back before the voters with a clearly worded article. She emphasized that Mr. White needs to determine how far down on the trail his property lies.
4. Public hearing for proposed amendments to the Subdivision Regulations, Site Plan Review Regulations and the Policies and Procedures Manual regarding the following: Fire Protection. (Discussion continued from earlier in the meeting.)
The subdivision and site plan regulations include a section labeled "selectmen's ordinances" under the heading Fire Protection. This section includes by reference the selectmen's ordinances on fire protection so that developers will be aware of the town's rules regarding sprinkler systems. In March 2009 a citizen's petition passed which could potentially change the wording of the selectmen's ordinances.
Thayer said the Board of Selectmen is dealing with the wording of the fire protection ordinance.
Doggett moved to recommend that the Board of Selectmen changes the selectmen's ordinance to read:
A certified sprinkler system shall be installed in all new commercial and industrial buildings and/or units thereof in accordance with the New Hampshire Fire Code and NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems.
Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
5. Plan NH
The Planning Board discussed possible dates for the Plan NH charrette: September 25 & 26 and October 16 & 17 will be submitted to Roger Hawk.
The Board discussed several ways to advertise the event: web page, banners, flyer in Carriage Towne News, flyer to hand out at dump, postcard mailing to all residents, small signs posted around town, school newsletters, letters to other departments and individuals.
A memo will be sent to the Board of Selectmen to get approval on items such as having the banner strung across the street.
6. RPC Commissioner:
Thayer moved to appoint Mary Allen as RPC Commissioner. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried 5-0-1 with Doggett abstaining.
Circuit Rider Planner David West announced that he is leaving RPC at the end of July. Miles thanked him for his work over the past year.
7. Acceptance of Minutes:
Doggett moved to accept the minutes of June 23, 2009 as written. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
8. Manifests:
Doggett moved to authorize the chair to sign the Operating Budget manifest dated 7/14/09 in the amount $7,029.25. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
Doggett moved to approve the encumbrance of $1,250.00 for the 2nd Targeted Block Grant payment. Second by Thayer. Motion carried unanimously.
Doggett moved to authorize the chair to sign the NPREA manifest dated 7/14/09 in the amount $1,081.99. Second by Thayer. Motion carried unanimously.
9. Incoming Correspondence:
- Letter from S. Kalman re: Patriot Drive 6/29/09. The Board asked the secretary to send a letter to Atty. Tateosian asking him to facilitate the completion of the deeds for the roadway. Parcel A should be deeded to the town.
- Letter to Selectmen from J. Enaire 6/25/09. Mr. Enaire had requested to use some of the $500 application fee for the accessory apartment application that he withdrew to go toward paying building permit fees for the garage he is building.
Doggett moved to send a memo to the Board of Selectmen stating that the Planning Board had no issues refunding Mr. Enaire's application fee. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
Vice Chair Doggett left the meeting at 8:59.
- Letters from S. Kalman and S. Doherty re Philip Way road deed. The Board received a letter from S. Doherty stating that money from the passbook savings for the road can be used to create the road deed. The road was already taken over by the town, but Mr. Doherty had not supplied the road deed. The Planning Board did not have any objection to using a portion of the passbook savings to create the road deed as long as there are no issues with the roadway.
10. Adjourn: Miles adjourned the meeting at 9:03 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Babcock
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning Board
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