NOTTINGHAM PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 21, 2005
PUBLIC SESSION
APPROVED BY THE BOARD JANUARY 4, 2006
PRESENT: ABSENT:
Mr. Dave Smith, Chair Ms. Sandra Jones
Ms. Mary Bonser, Selectmen's Representative
Mr. Peter Gylfphe
Mr. Jon Caron
Mr. Scott Curry
Mr. Bill Booth
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
Mr. Curry made a motion to approve the Planning Board minutes of August 24, 2005. Mr. Gylfphe seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Curry made a motion to approve the Planning Board minutes from September 7, 2005. Ms. Bonser seconded the motion. Mr. Curry, Ms. Bonser, Mr. Smith, Mr. Gylfphe and Mr. Caron voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Booth abstained from the motion. The motion passed 5-0 with one abstention.
PUBLIC HEARING-BLUE FIN:
OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Richard Ladd
Mr. Ladd said that his client requested a recess and was looking for a 35 day extension.
Mr. Caron made a motion to recess the Blue Fin application until November 9, 2005 at 7:15pm. Ms. Bonser seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
OTHER COMMENTS:
Ms. Copeland said that the consultants had met regarding the USA Springs application. She said that the applicant had made clear that they wanted October 5, 2005 to be the final workshop on the application.
PUBLIC HEARING- JAMES FERNALD:
OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Richard Ladd
The Chair opened the public hearing at 7:25pm.
Mr. Ladd said that he had made the minor changes to the plan which had been suggested by Ms. Copeland.
Mr. Curry made a motion to approve the subdivision application from James Fernald. Mr. Caron seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
DAN TATEM:
OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Ken Berry
The Chair opened the discussion with Dan Tatem at 7:45pm.
Mr. Berry said that he needed a bond draw down for Brooks Crossing. He said that the bond expired in June of 2007.
Mr. Gylfphe made a motion to draw down the bond to $262,530.35. Mr. Curry seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Berry said that Berry Road Realty wanted the Planning Board to set a bond for the amount of $67,433.50 so that certificates of occupancy could be obtained. Mr. Curry said that prior phases of Dunbarton had monument issues and he noted that there were no homeowners at the moment in the area which would be affected so they would not know about the problems. Mr. Berry said that there was still money in the budget to fix the problems.
Mr. Caron made a motion to set the bond amount as recommended. Ms. Bonser seconded the motion. Mr. Caron, Ms. Bonser, Mr. Smith, Mr. Gylfphe and Mr. Booth voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Curry abstained from the motion. The motion passed 5-0 with one abstention.
BUDGET DISCUSSION:
The Chair opened the budget discussion at 7:55pm.
Mr. Caron said that the town needed a part time planner to put together the office for planning purposes. He said that they needed someone with a background in planning. Mr. Curry said that the planner needed to deal with black and white issues so that the Planning Board could look at the broader picture. He asked what other towns did. Ms. Copeland said that there were 6 communities in the area which were looking to have a full or part time planner on staff. She said that there was a shortage of planners and the Strafford Regional Planning Commission was working to educate more. Mr. Curry asked how towns were paying for that. Ms. Copeland said that 5 communities were looking at how to pay for something like that. She said that the leap for towns was going from the black and white review which
was paid for by the applicant to having planning services paid for by the town. She said that there was a huge need for planners in the state. She said that the town could get a planner through her office but that she would need a commitment of at least 2 years. She pointed out that the voters and the Budget Committee had to approve an expense like this and they did not always. Mr. Curry suggested that they could raise fees to help pay for this. Mr. Caron pointed out that planning helped protect what people owned. Mr. Curry asked if other towns raised fees for this type of thing. Ms. Copeland said yes. She said that she had been looking at different towns and the effect of growth. She said that she thought Nottingham was ready for further planning services. Mr. Curry said that in the future Nottingham might have large industrial businesses where enforcement or other review beyond what the Planning Board normally did would
be necessary. Mr. Gylfphe said that the Board needed to think about how much power they would give this person. Mr. Curry said that the Board should look at how much time they would need this person. Mr. Gylfphe asked how much a person would cost. Ms. Copeland said that full time planners started at $50,000 a year. Ms. Bonser said that meant the Planning Board should budget between $55,000 and $60,000 for the position. Mr. Gylfphe said that it would be half of that for a part time person. Mr. Curry said that they should consider raising the building permit fees. Ms. Bonser noted that those fees had been raised recently. Mr. Caron said that for a part time planner the Planning Board should be budgeting $25,000 to $30,000. He asked if they should go through the Strafford Regional Planning Commission. He also asked if they should think about using a warrant article or the municipal funding clause. Mr. Gylfphe said
that he thought a part time person would be a quiet approach and he thought that would be better. Ms. Copeland said that she could match towns with part time planners so that planners would have full time jobs but towns would have part time planners. She said that she taught planners that they needed to be "apolitical in a political environment." Mr. Caron said that the Strafford Regional Planning Commission had resources and kept people neutral. Ms. Bonser noted that a problem with volunteer boards was a high level of frustration and burnout. Mr. Curry asked what could be done for large industrial plans as far as monitoring and seeing that the plans were being used like the Planning Board wanted. Mr. Caron said that a planner would need to look at how the ordinances affected what was on the land. Ms. Copeland said that a planner could look at what worked and what didn't. Mr. Smith said that he was unsure exactly what this
person would do. Ms. Copeland said that the Strafford Regional Planning Commission was meeting with the Rockingham County Conservation District about the possibility of the two groups working more closely together. She said that a planner would not necessarily have to be an engineer. Mr. Smith asked if the Board could get some more information about what a part time planner would do.. He noted that the Planning Board needed someone who could represent them in communication with other town boards. He said that it would be good to have someone who would go to meetings of other boards and committees in town. Ms. Copeland said that a full time person could be a real part of the community. She noted that the residential building market was softening. Ms. Bonser said that she would suggest putting a full time person on a warrant article but she said that a part time person could be a test. Ms. Copeland noted that the city of Dover
made money on their Planning Department. Mr. Caron suggested that the Planning Board was looking for a part time person who spent 75% of their time dealing with fixing the regulations. He said that anything which would be above the 25% of the planner's time could be sent to Strafford Regional Planning Commission. He said that they wanted to make sure they got what the Planning Board needed and what the people in town wanted.
Ms. Bonser made a motion to recommend the hiring of a part time planner who would spend 75% of their time on implementation of policy and the Master Plan. Mr. Caron seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Caron suggested lowering the amount of money in the Planning Board budget spent on Strafford Regional Planning Commission by $12,000 to a total of $25,000.
Mr. Gylfphe made a motion to lower the amount of money in the Planning Board budget spent on Strafford Regional Planning Commission by $12,000. Ms. Bonser seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
OTHER DISCUSSION:
Mr. Caron said that the Planning Board should talk to Mr. Teague about the Strafford Regional Planning escrow account. He said that they should also make sure that the Rockingham County Conservation Commission had the USA Springs plans to review.
Mr. Garnett said that he would submit written comments about USA Springs.
Mr. Smith read a memo the Planning Board had received about a gravel pit business. Mr. Caron said that part of it was an enforcement issue but the person involved needed to come in front of the Planning Board to get their bond extended.
The Planning Board looked at the map brought by the Conservation Commission.
Mr. Gylfphe made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:20pm. Ms. Bonser seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Tivnan
Planning Board Secretary
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