NEWTON PLANNING BOARD
MINUTES OF PUBLIC HEARING AND WORK SESSION
SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
1. Call to Order: Chairman Barbara White called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. In attendance were: Chairman Barbara White; Vice Chairman Jim Doggett; Planning Board member Frank Gibbs; BOS ex-officio Charles Melvin; and Circuit Rider Planner Brian Groth. Minutes were transcribed by Administrative Assistant Rick Milner.
2. Joshua Manning of Atkinson, NH on behalf of Lewis Builders Development, Inc. requests a public hearing for a minor site plan review (amended site plan for structure and driveway reconfigurations) at the Sargent Woods condominium community located on Bootland Farm Road off of Smith Corner Road. The property is referenced as Tax Map 8, Block 3, Lot 11.
White opened the public hearing.
Joshua Manning was present to represent Lewis Builders Development, Inc.
Mr. Manning explained that the procedures section of the Town of Newton site plan regulations states that no more than one minor application review is permissible per lot or parcel every three years. Since the Sargent Woods project has completed a minor site plan review within the last year, he is requesting that the Planning Board approve a waiver to this requirement.
Gibbs asked for clarification regarding this regulation.
Groth explained that, given the history of this project and the Board’s request that site changes be approved by the Board in advance, the request meets the standards for a waiver. He recommended approval of the waiver.
Doggett moved that the Planning Board approve the waiver to the requirements of Section 9.B. of the Planning Board Policies and Procedures with regards to the minor site plan review for the Sargent Woods condominium community. Second by Melvin. Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Manning presented the amended site plan for structure and driveway reconfigurations at the Sargent Woods condominium community. He explained that:
- two buildings would move to different street locations
- two buildings would move further down a street
- many buildings would change style or left/right orientation
- the RV storage area would move closer to the units and away from its previous remote location.
Mr. Manning explained that the changes were needed to:
- provide better privacy for the eventual occupants of the relocated buildings
- provide better topography for some buildings
- enhance the style of some buildings
- prevent possible vandalism to RV’s in a remote location.
Milner asked if the new buildings will conform to the square footage and building styles previously approved by the Board.
Mr. Manning stated that the square footage and building styles would conform to requirements previously approved by the Board.
Doggett moved to accept jurisdiction of the application for a minor site plan review (amended site plan for structure and driveway reconfigurations) at the Sargent Woods condominium community. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Manning noted that address changes approved by the Town Administrator for the moved buildings and a grading and drainage plan approved by the Town Engineer will be added to the plan.
Doggett moved to accept the amended site plan for structure and driveway reconfigurations at the Sargent Woods condominium community for recording with the following conditions:
- Applicant adds the new addresses of the relocated units to the pages of the plan recorded at the registry.
- Applicant adds a page detailing the grading and drainage plan for the relocated RV storage area to the pages of the plan recorded at the registry.
Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
White closed the public hearing.
3. Town of Newton, NH review of bonding recommendation for future construction phases within the Sargent Woods condominium community.
Milner presented the bonding recommendation developed by the Town Engineer for construction of future Phases 2B and 3A within the Sargent Woods condominium community. The Town Engineer’s report indicates that the amount of bonding required to guarantee construction of Phases 2B and 3A would be $56,097.00. The report also states that the amount of disturbed land created by this new construction would not increase the amount of disturbed land within the entire project over the 5 acre limit imposed by the erosion control restrictions established by the Board.
Mr. Manning explained that the construction for the future phases would include units on Pinecrest Circle, Chestnut Circle, Holly Way, and Dogwood Lane.
Doggett moved to require a performance guarantee for construction of Phases 2B and 3A at the Sargent Woods condominium community in the amount of $56,097.00. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
White presented a request from Lewis Builders for a reduction in the performance guarantees connected to Phase 1 and Phase 2A of the Sargent Woods condominium community. White also presented a report from the Town Engineer recommending the reductions.
Doggett moved that the Planning Board reduce the performance guarantee connected to Phase 1 of the Sargent Woods condominium community by an amount of $8,396.00. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
Doggett moved that the Planning Board reduce the performance guarantee connected to Phase 2A of the Sargent Woods condominium community by an amount of $8,413.00. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
4. Town of Newton, NH review of request by Francis Hebb to release guarantee connected to Twombly Drive.
Mr. Hebb asked the Board for a release of the entire amount of the performance guarantee held by the Town of Newton for Twombly Drive. Mr. Hebb stated that the road has been paved since October of 2008. At that time, the road was approved by the Town Engineer. The Board of Selectmen recently accepted the road as a Town road. There was a four year delay in the road acceptance due to delays with the legal documentation connected to the road acceptance. The current Town Engineer recently approved of the condition of the road as part of the acceptance process.
Milner noted that the Town of Newton subdivision regulations state that a maintenance guarantee must be held for two years after a road has been accepted. Twombly Drive was accepted on September 18, 2012. The Town Engineer, Circuit Rider Planner, and Town Counsel all recommend that the Board adhere to the regulations and require a maintenance guarantee in the amount of ten percent of the original performance guarantee be held.
Doggett moved to send a memo to the Board of Selectmen recommending that the amount of the road performance guarantee for Twombly Drive be reduced to $7,496.00 and held as the maintenance guarantee. Second by Gibbs. Motion passed unanimously.
5. Town of Newton, NH review of proposed revisions to subdivision regulations, site plan regulations, and procedures manual.
Milner presented a summary of the proposed revisions to the subdivision regulations, site plan regulations, and procedures manual prepared by Groth and Milner. Major revisions to the regulations include the following:
- revisions to regulations regarding driveways in order to conform to the Access Management section of the zoning ordinance
- move procedures regarding conditional use permits from the site plan regulations to the procedures manual
- fee schedule chart and language re-ordered to make easier to follow
- term ‘Non-Residential’ removed from site plan regulations because it is not an accurate description of all that the site plan regulations entail
Groth explained that the revisions do not change the intent of any regulation, policy, or procedure. The revisions make the documents easier to follow and eliminate contradictions.
Doggett moved that the Planning Board hold a public hearing on October 23, 2012 to discuss revisions to the Town of Newton Subdivision Regulations, Site Plan Regulations, and Policies and Procedures manual. Second by Melvin. Motion carried unanimously.
6. Other Board business.
a. Acceptance of minutes.
Doggett moved to accept the minutes of the August 28 meeting. Second by Melvin. Motion carried unanimously.
b. Manifests.
White presented an operating budget manifest to the Board. The invoice reflected payment of a legal advertisement.
Gibbs moved to pay the operating budget manifest in the amount of $64.62. Second by Doggett. Motion carried unanimously.
White presented a NPREA manifest to the Board. The invoices reflected payment to the Town Engineer for review of construction projects.
Doggett moved to pay the NPREA manifest in the amount of $1373.68. Second by Gibbs. Motion carried unanimously.
c. Puzzle Lane NPREA account.
Milner informed the Board that the balance connected to the NPREA account for the Puzzle Lane project had fallen to $113.55.
Doggett moved that the Planning Board send a letter to 125 Development NH Corp. requesting that the NPREA account connected to the Puzzle Lane project be brought to a balance of $1000.00.
d. Correspondence.
Groth informed the Board that he has accepted a position with a new company. The Planning Board meeting on October 9 will be his last meeting as the Circuit Rider Planner. White and Milner thanked Groth for his dedicated service and assistance. Groth has made several positive contributions to the Board over the last three years.
7. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rick Milner
Administrative Assistant
Newton Planning Board
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