NEWTON PLANNING BOARD
MINUTES OF PUBLIC HEARING
OCTOBER 13, 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 members Barbara White, Kim Vaillant and Frank Gibbs; and Alternates Chuck Whitman, Mary Sousa and Rick Milner. Minutes were transcribed by Administrative Assistant, Lisa Babcock.
Also in attendance: Brian Groth, Circuit Rider and Bill Ingalls, Fire Chief.
Sousa was appointed to stand in for Pettit.
2. Theodore Brown of Newton, NH: public hearing for review of a Lot Line Adjustment at 20 and 16 Thornell Rd, Newton. The property is referenced as Tax Map 12, Block 2, Lots 22 and 22-1
Miles opened the public hearing for a lot line adjustment at Tax Map 12, Block 2, Lots 22 and 22-1 for Theodore Brown.
Groth said he reviewed the plan and he determined that the proposed lot-line adjustments make the lot a more regular shape which is encouraged by the regulations.
Miles asked about the burial plot noted on the plans. Doggett said it is a family plot.
Groth added that the lot-line adjustment on the left puts the driveway entirely within lot 22-1; currently it crosses into lot 22. This is also desirable.
Doggett moved to approve the lot-line adjustment at Tax Map 12, Block 2, Lots 22 and 22-1 as depicted on plans drawn for Theodore W. Brown and dated August, 2009 (no revisions). Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
Miles closed the public hearing for Theodore Brown.
2. Joanna Markham: request to address the board concerning a proposed commercial business at 2 West Main Street.
Ms. Markham addressed the board. She is planning to open a retail/consignment shop at 2 West Main Street in the end unit. She explained that the space includes two floors. She intends to open the retail shop on the bottom floor and use the 2nd floor for an office or stock room but was not entirely sure of her plans for the 2nd floor.
She plans to sell clothing, furniture and gifts.
Vaillant asked if the space is handicapped accessible. Ms. Markham said the first floor is but the second floor is not.
Whitman asked if there is adequate parking. Gibbs said there is. Doggett said there are ongoing issues with people parking in the front of the building even though it is marked as a "No Parking" zone.
Miles said the original site plan had taken into consideration that there would be other businesses in the building besides Acios.
Doggett asked if there is a second egress for the second floor area. Ms. Markham said no but she was told that the windows pop out for emergency exit. Fire Chief Bill Ingalls was present and he said that he has been discussing the property with Ms. Markham.
Miles advised Ms. Markham to work out a parking arrangement with the owner of the building. The board did not have any issues with the proposed business.
3. Joe Ferrandi – request for town acceptance of Patriot Drive and release of bond: Mr. Ferrandi and Attorney John Tateosian were present.
Attorney Tateosian addressed the board. He referred to a letter from Attorney Charlton Swasey dated October 8, 2002 in which Mr. Ferrandi was advised that he needed to provide an easement for the cistern located on Parcel A. That is what he did (see Book 4115, Page 2194). Later Mr. Ferrandi was told he needed a deed for that parcel instead of an easement.
Mr. Ferrandi had conveyed the lot to his brother, and the Planning Board allowed building permits to be issues. Mr. Ferrandi's brother took out a mortgage on the property which included Parcel A. The deed is subject to an easement for the cistern. At this point, Mr. Ferrandi cannot provide a deed for Parcel A as it is under a mortgage.
Attorney Tateosian pointed out that all of the other cisterns in town are accessed via easements; they are not deeded to the town.
Selectman Ray Thayer arrived at 7:28 pm.
Chief Ingalls said an easement gives the fire department access to maintain the cistern. He said the issue the town is having is with insuring cisterns – the insurance company won't insure the cisterns because they are not on town owned property.
Road Agent Mike Pivero was present, he addressed the Board. He stated that the road is in good shape – the pavement has been down for a year and is in fine condition. He pointed out that most cisterns in town are covered under easements and therefore the board would not be doing anything different by accepting the easement and not requiring a deed. Mr. Pivero recommended that the board accept the road and return the bond money to Mr. Ferrandi.
It was noted that the board had received a letter from the town engineer also stating that the road was ready for acceptance.
Mr. Pivero noted that half of the two year waiting period for release of the bond had already passed. He also noted that an exception had been made for Nordic Woods Road and a partial bond release had been authorized.
Vaillant said the board needs to move forward with this. It was noted that there are outstanding NPREA fees of $1,697.05 and a maintenance bond of $17,226 is required.
Dogged moved to recommend that the Board of Selectmen accept Patriot Drive as a town road and reimburse NPREA in the amount of $1,697.05 for outstanding fees from the bond money. Second by Thayer. Motion carried unanimously.
White moved that the Board send a letter to the Selectmen recommending that they reduce the maintenance bond for Patriot Drive by 50%. Second by Sousa. Motion carried 5-2-0 with Gibbs and Doggett opposed.
4. Ann McKillop Araki of Boise, ID: continuation of a public hearing for a 4-lot Subdivision and Roadway at 9 Sarah's Way, Newton. The property is referenced as Tax Map 10, Block 2, Lot 10-7.
Miles recused herself and left the table to take a seat in the audience. Vice Chairman Doggett appointed Sousa to stand in for Miles and Whitman to stand in for Pettit.
Engineer Dennis Quintal was in attendance to represent the applicant. Ms. Araki was not present.
Mr. Quintal gave a brief review of the plan to extend Sarah's Way off the cul-de-sac and create 4 house lots. When developing the plans he was trying to minimize impact to the environment, minimize maintenance for the town and create safe access to the new lots.
The original plan which included a cul-de-sac at the end of the proposed extension was modified. In the new plan, the new section roadway extends off the existing cul-de-sac and ends in a "T" or "hammer head" design.
Mr. Quintal also presented some new waivers – because the design was modified the original waivers also needed to be modified. The new waiver requests are:
1) Waiver from Subdivision Regulation Appendix B:1.7 "…the grade within 100' of the intersection does not exceed 1%", instead requesting the board allow a slope of 3% for the first 15', transitioning to a 7% slope at 65' from the intersection.
2) Waiver from Subdivision Regulation Appendix B:2.4 "Local service road minimum pavement width of 24 feet", instead requesting the board allow a pavement width of 18'.
3) Waiver from Subdivision Regulation Appendix B:2.8 "The turn-around of a dead end street shall have … a minimum radius of 62' to the outside edge of the pavement.", instead requesting the "T" turn as proposed on plans dated August 2009 and revised on 10/6/09.
Vaillant asked what this land had been intended for when the original Sarah's Way subdivision was created. Mr. Quintal explained that, at that time, the property that comprises lots 10-9, 10-11 and 10-12 was owned by an abutter who lived on Heath Street. After the subdivision went in, a lot-line adjustment was done and the abutter sold the land to the current owner.
Mr. Quintal also noted that the original subdivision plans included a right of way extension off of the cul-de-sac.
Thayer asked if there would be a through way constructed. Mr. Quintal said there would be no advantage to that; there is not enough land to warrant it.
Abutter Andrew Bufano of 11 Meadowview Drive was present. He asked if 18' of pavement was an adequate width for the roadway.
Chief Ingalls said the regulation states that there must be 20' of "suitable surface". He recommended 20' of pavement, but noted that the law doesn't specify what constitutes a "suitable surface". Mr. Quintal said the plan includes 18' of pavement and 2' of gravel on either side.
Road Agent Mike Pivero said that the revised plan is better than the first plan showing 2 cul-de-sacs but that the extension is more like a common driveway than a roadway. He said that he understands that the design was intended to minimize environmental impact. Mr. Pivero said he would rather see the extension treated as a private way. Doggett said the board can't force the developer to make it a private way.
Mr. Pivero said there are winter maintenance issues associated with the design. Because of the layout, it will be like plowing a driveway. There is time and expense involved.
Groth said he agrees that the extension is like a common driveway, but the right of way was designed to give the correct amount of frontage for each lot. The right of way is shown as a circle encompassing the "T".
Mr. Pivero said he was not concerned that the right of way covers an area greater than just the road.
Groth said the ROW is designed to provide enough frontage for the 3 end lots – not to accommodate the road. Mr. Quintal disagreed, stating that he could have designed a longer road with a traditional cul-de-sac and would have had plenty of frontage. This design minimizes the impact both in terms of the environment and the maintenance.
Doggett said he was concerned about the width of the split driveway that falls in the right of way; this is a large area for the town to maintain. He said that people will assume they own the property right out to the road when in fact they only own up to the start of the right of way. He said it creates an inordinate amount of town-paid maintenance compared to other areas in town.
Vaillant said this is subdivision within a subdivision. The people who bought homes on the end of the existing cul-de-sac expected it to stay that way and now the road is being extended further. The developer is changing the character of the neighborhood.
Groth asked Mr. Quintal for his interpretation of lot-width. Mr. Quintal said he measured lot widths from side line to side line, tangent to the curve of the right of way.
Whitman said that the fire chief expressed a preference for 20' of pavement. Mr. Quintal said it can be done, but it would mean more paving and more plowing.
Milner asked about the width of the road at the more northern culvert. Mr. Quintal said the width is 14' with the guard rails at 16'.
Gibbs moved to take jurisdiction of the plan for a roadway extension and 4-lot subdivision at Sarah's Way. Second by White. Motion carried 4-3-0 with White, Gibbs, Sousa and Whitman in favor and Thayer, Doggett and Vaillant opposed.
Vaillant moved to deny the request for a waiver to reduce the pavement width from 24' to 18' recommending that the developer pave at least 20'. Second by Whitman. Motion carried 6-1-0 with Gibbs opposed.
Mr. Quintal provided a new waiver requesting 20' of pavement instead of 24'. This waiver request replaces the on requesting 18' of pavement made earlier in the evening.
The board continued discussion about the maintenance of the "T" portion of the road. Mr. Pivero said in order to minimize the maintenance he would recommend that the first cul-de-sac be removed, and put a regular cul-de-sac at the end of the new extension. White said the town engineer also recommended this, however the abutters had stated that they wanted the original cul-de-sac to remain in place.
Vaillant asked if the lot shapes would be a concern. This did not seem to be an issue.
Abutter, Mr. Bufano, asked if the test pits had been filled in – he had requested that they be filled in at the last meeting and had contacted the health officer. He said that there are "No Trespassing" signs up now so he cannot check to see if they are filled in.
Miles addressed the Board. She said the test pits have all been filled in and the "No Trespassing" signs were put up to mark the edges of the property.
Milner asked Chief Ingalls if the 14' wide section of the road (over the culvert – northerly portion of "T") will be wide enough. Chief Ingalls said one vehicle would be able to get in and out. He added that two vehicles could not pass each other on that section of road but the ability to pass on that section of road was probably not necessary.
Gibbs noted that culverts that travel under driveways are in the town right of way on all projects and the driveways are typically 10' wide.
Mr. Pivero said he would probably plow up to the culvert, but if the homeowners complained he might be required to plow into the split – all the way to the edge of the right of way.
Gibbs moved to have a note added to the plans indicating that winter maintenance will be the responsibility of the homeowners from the culvert on. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously, with Miles recused.
White moved to continue the public hearing to October 27th, 2009. Second by Thayer. Motion carried unanimously, with Miles recused.
Miles came back to the table.
5. Town of Newton, NH continuation of a Public Hearing for proposed amendments to the Subdivision Regulations, Site Plan Review Regulations and the Policies and Procedures Manual regarding excavation.
The board reviewed an updated draft of the excavation regulations prepared by Groth. The following changes had been made:
Section III.P. Minor topographical adjustment is defined at 100 cubic yards (typically 10 truckloads). Anything above that should be considered commercial.
Section XV.A.3 – Groth added a line to encourage developers to attend a Technical Review Meeting prior to submission of the application.
Section XV.B.3 – Minutes will be given if requested rather than automatically.
Section XV.C.2 – Notices will be posted 24 hours in advance of the meeting rather than 10 days in advance.
Section XV.D – Fees are now outlined in Appendix I.
Section XVI – Applicant must supply 3 copies of abutter labels and 10 copies of plans.
Groth indicated required items under Section XVI: Application Submission Items with an asterisk. These items cannot be waived by the Planning Board.
The items listed under XVI.B can be waived, but the board did not wish to stress that in the regulations.
Section XVII.A.5 – Groth changed "the Board will establish a schedule for inspections" to "the Board may establish a schedule for inspections".
The fee schedule was added - $100 application fee and $500 NPREA. Also included is a statement that says the board can increase fees if necessary. Groth will clean up the fine print underneath that indicates how to make the checks out.
Doggett moved to accept the amendments to the Regulations Governing Earth Excavations as noted above. Second by Vaillant. Motion carried unanimously.
Miles closed the public hearing for amendments to the regulations concerning earth excavation.
6. Maplevale Builders / Katherine Drive Bond Reduction:
Doggett moved to reduce the bond for Katherine Drive in the amount $17,812, leaving an amount of $43,105. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
7. Acceptance of Minutes:
Doggett moved to accept the minutes of September 22, 2009 as written. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
8. Manifests:
Doggett moved to authorize the chair to sign the NPREA manifest dated 10/13/09 in the amount $57.20. Second by Thayer. Motion carried unanimously.
Doggett moved to authorize the chair to sign the Operating Budget manifest dated 10/13/09 in the amount $2,809.47. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
9. Plan NH: The Board discussed the recent Plan NH event and the need to build on its success. They discussed setting up study circles as suggested by Robin LeBlanc of Plan NH.
Vaillant suggested submitting a warrant article to start a fund to purchase more conservation land.
Miles suggested that the Board members think of ideas to build on Plan NH and discuss them at the next meeting.
10. Other Board Business:
- Subdivision within a Subdivision: The Board decided to discuss this at the next work session.
- Workforce Housing: Vaillant suggested that the Board discuss Workforce Housing at the next work session.
- 2010 Budget: The Board reviewed the budget for 2010. No net change was proposed, however the board decided to increase or decrease a number of line items and to change the line item "Recording Fees" to "Copy Fees".
- ID Badge Policy: Board members received copies of the ID Badge Policy.
- Letter from Attorney S. Kalman 9/29/09: Attorney Kalman asked for authorization to review the deeds for Walnut Farm Road. The Board decided to have Attorney Kalman proceed with his review.
- Hen House Restaurant, 85 South Main Street: The secretary informed the Board that Todd Fitzgerald, owner of the property, said that the Hen House will resume using the second floor of the restaurant after having brought the area up to code. He needs a letter from the Planning Board stating that there is no issue with this. Miles suggested that the board review the site plan at the next work session and inform Mr. Fitzgerald so that he may attend the meeting.
- Questions from Walnut Farm Residents: Thayer presented an e-mail and a list of questions from the residents of Walnut Farm Road. He asked the secretary to look into the questions.
11. Adjourn: Miles adjourned the meeting at 10:15 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Babcock
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning Board
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