NEWTON PLANNING BOARD
MINUTES OF PUBLIC HEARING AND MEETING
AUGUST 24, 2010
1. Call to Order: Chairman Jim Doggett called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. In attendance were: Chairman Jim Doggett; Vice Chairman Barbara White; Planning Board members Kim Vaillant, Ann Miles and Frank Gibbs; Trisha McCarthy, BOS ex officio, and Alternates Rick Milner and Mary Allen. Minutes were transcribed by Administrative Assistant Lisa Babcock.
Also in attendance: Brian Groth, Circuit Rider Planner. Doggett appointed Milner to stand in for Kim Pettit.
2. Charles and Kathleen Marden of Groveland, FL continuation of a public hearing for an 8 lot subdivision on Heath Street. The property is referenced as Tax Map 4, Block 6, Lot 3.
Dennis Quintal and Charles Marden were in attendance. Mr. Quintal handed out copies of an alternate design for the subdivision which showed 2 cul-de-sacs and a total of 14 house lots.
Mr. Quintal said that as a result of the site walk, he will be moving the driveway for the single-family lot to preserve a stand of trees. He will also try to accommodate the request by Kip Kaiser of 58 Heath Street to move the driveway that is directly across from his property.
The few trees that are within the right of way will be kept.
Mr. Quintal also discussed subdivision regulation 8.3.2 regarding lot shape. He said the lots do comply with the regulation except that they are not strictly rectangular. Vaillant said she understood that the lots are designed to minimize impact to the wetlands.
Doggett asked for abutter comments. The abutters were concerned about the zoning. Vaillant said that although the property is zoned for two-family houses, that does not mean that a person purchasing the lot has to put a two-family house there. Single family homes could also be built.
McCarthy said she would like to see a stormwater management plan and a bond for Heath Street. The road is scheduled to be worked on.
Miles said she would like to see a comprehensive plan for the whole area rather than the way it has been presented.
Mr. Quintal reviewed the waiver requests.
Regulation 8.2.4 A.2 e ii – "Where a common driveway serves four or more houses…" Mr. Quintal said he was not sure if this waiver is needed because he wasn't sure if he should consider each unit a house or each building a house.
Miles asked him to describe the well and septic requirements for the duplexes. Mr. Quintal said there is 1 well and 1 leach field per building as well as 2 septic tanks.
Vaillant said she considers each building to count as one house, but that the board needs to consider the number of cars on each driveway.
Regulation 8.2.3 A – Stormwater management plan. Several members of the board said they wanted to see a stormwater management plan.
Regulation 8.2.10 B 2 – Well Radius Placement. Groth said the overlapping radii do not put any additional restrictions on each property owner. Gibbs disagreed saying that it does restrict the property owner if one well is moved to a different location.
Regulation 8.1.1 – Scope of review. Mr. Quintal said he can show the calculations for the remaining land if the board wants to see the data. Miles said she wants to see a comprehensive plan. The development on Heath Street should be held to the same standards as a larger development like Walnut Farm Road.
Vaillant asked what the board could have done to better protect the area during the previous development – what control does the board have over how the houses are built. Doggett said the building department must verify that the houses are built according to the plans. It is the planning board's responsibility to approve the plan and the building department, heath officer and code enforcement officer ensure that it is built according to the plans.
Vaillant said the board may be interested in a traffic study and a road bond.
White said that a no-cut zone was mentioned during the technical review committee meeting.
Miles moved to accept jurisdiction of the plan for an 8-lot subdivision on Heath Street. Second by Vaillant. Motion carried 6-1-0 with Milner opposed.
Doggett said that he likes the way the current design shows the houses staggered in the lots rather than just lined up at the road. He said he would also like to see a no-cut zone.
Vaillant moved to accept the basic layout of the lots on the plans dated July 2010. Second by White. Motion carried 6-0-1 with Miles abstaining.
Milner moved to continue the public hearing until September 28th. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
3. Town of Newton, NH continuation of a public hearing to review a proposed addition to the Newton Zoning Ordinance pertaining to Village District Zoning at Newton Junction and portions of South Main Street.
Groth addressed the residents present. He explained that traditionally towns in NH had mixed use zones with small businesses interspersed with residences. Then there was a move toward strict single use zoning which resulted in changing the character of rural towns. The village district zone is designed to preserve the village feel in certain areas of the town.
He said the proposed ordinance allows for small businesses in the village districts to provide services but maintain the rural quality of the town. The owner of the property must occupy it in order to have a business there.
The secretary will submit the ordinance for the web site and make some hard copies that will be available at the town hall.
Gibbs moved to continue the public hearing for village district zoning to September 28th. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
4. Other Board Business:
Milner moved to accept the minutes of August 10, 2010 as written. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
Gibbs moved to authorize the Chair to sign the NPREA manifest dated 8/24/10 in the amount $2,840.24. Second by Vaillant. Motion carried unanimously.
- Conceptual Review: Non-binding conceptual pre-application review is required by the Policy and Procedures manual for subdivisions. Groth suggested that the board either change the wording to make this review optional or enforce the procedure.
Milner moved to keep the language as is (requiring pre-conceptual review for all subdivisions) and to enforce the policy. Second by Miles. Motion carried unanimously.
- Agricultural Committee Meeting: The board set the date for the agricultural committee meeting. The meeting will be held on Thursday, October 14th. The board discussed holding the meeting at the Horace Williams building because of the better parking accommodations.
The meeting will be advertised in the Carriage Town News, on the cable channel and on the town website.
- Discussion Regarding Water Regulations: Miles said that Newton has limited water, many of the wells are very deep and they don't have much flow (1-2 gallons/min). She suggested adding a regulation that requires developers to dig a well and show proof of adequate water on a site before obtaining approval for buildable lots.
Doggett pointed out that dug wells are allowed by NH law. McCarthy said the board could require a certain flow rate regardless of the type of well. Doggett said he thought it might be something that would have to go into the zoning ordinance rather than the regulations.
Miles said it should be part of the initial review of a development to remind the developers that they must show proof of water in defining a subdivision. It’s a wonderful way to control growth in the town of Newton. It's a simple straightforward management of growth issue.
Doggett said the board can't ask developers to drill a well for each proposed lot before the board will even look at the plans. McCarthy said developers would just have to prove that there is water on the property.
Groth will research other towns that have a similar regulation.
Groth departed at 9:46 pm.
- A. Araki request for extension of approval for Sarah's Way: Miles recused herself. In the letter the applicant indicates that she is waiting for state approvals.
McCarthy moved to grant a 1 year extension of the approval for the 4-lot subdivision on Sarah's Way (Tax Map 10, Block 2, Lot 10-7) to expire on October 8, 2011. Second by Milner. Motion carried 6-0-0 with Miles recused.
- Memo from Conservation Commission re: Sarah's Way Extension (7/25/10): The Commission is requesting a 15-foot no but buffer zone between Greenie Park and the Sarah's Way property. Miles recused herself.
Motion by Vaillant to forward the letter to the developer and ask her to consider complying with the request. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried 7-0-0 with Allen in for Miles and Miles recused.
- Driveway Application at 63 Peaslee Crossing Road: The board reviewed correspondence regarding the proposed driveway at 63 Peaslee Crossing. The permit was denied by the road agent because it does not comply with zoning as indicated by KV Partners in correspondence dated 8/6/10. The applicant will appear before the zoning board in September to request a variance.
Motion by Vaillant to send a copy of the KV Partners letter to the NH DOT and the ZBA along with a letter from the Planning Board stating that the proposed driveway does not conform to the town's zoning ordinances. Second by White. Motion carried unanimously.
Milner will attend the ZBA meeting in September to represent the Planning Board.
- Letter from S. Kalman re: Sargent Woods/First Tennessee Bond: The Board reviewed the letter which indicates that First Tennessee is willing to pay the outstanding NPREA fees from the draw down on the bond. The Board has already recommended that the Board of Selectmen reimburse the NPREA account from the bond money.
- New Administrative Assistant: The board will meet on Thursday, September 9th at 7:00 pm to review the applications and choose the candidates they want to interview.
Board members will receive a packet of resumes before the meeting.
- Forrest Reynolds: Miles asked the board to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Forrest Reynolds and the great contributions he had made to the community.
She suggested that the trails committee consider naming a trail in his memory.
5. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 10:14 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Babcock
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning Board
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