NOTTINGHAM PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
AUGUST 2, 2006
PUBLIC SESSION
APPROVED BY THE BOARD AUGUST 9, 2006
PRESENT: ABSENT:
Mr. David Smith, Chair Ms. Gail Mills
Ms. Mary Bonser, Selectmen's Representative Mr. Mark Harding
Mr. Peter Gylfphe Ms. Sandra Jones
Mr. Skip Seaverns
Mr. Scott Curry, Alternate
OTHERS PRESENT:
Mr. David Wright, Economic Development Director
Ms. Michelle Beauchamp, Strafford Regional Planning Commission
Ms. Kelly Tivnan, Planning Board Secretary
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
The Chair asked Mr. Curry to sit for Ms. Jones.
Mr. Curry made a motion to approve the minutes of July 26, 2006. Ms. Bonser seconded the motion.
Mr. Curry asked if the Board wanted to have all their correspondence also forwarded to the Board of Selectmen and the Strafford Regional Planning Commission. Mr. Seaverns said yes. He said that Ms. Bonser had suggested it and no one from the Planning Board had objected to it. Mr. Curry asked if that should be a part of the Board Rules of Procedure. Mr. Seaverns noted that it could go there.
In response to comments that Mr. Shields had brought in a check for the Gerrior Drive escrow account but he had not paid his outstanding balance to Rockingham County Conservation District yet. Ms. Beauchamp said that all billing should come through the town. She said that the town should not be having money sent directly to Rockingham County Conservation District. Mr. Smith asked how the Planning Board would get estimates from Rockingham County Conservation District and Strafford Regional Planning Commission in order to set up escrow accounts. Mr. Seaverns said that he had gotten some information from the Rockingham County Conservation District and he was working on putting that together. He said that there were estimates available of how much certain things cost. Ms. Bonser asked what other towns did. Ms. Beauchamp said that some towns did get estimates and set up escrow accounts. Mr. Curry said that if it was not too much trouble than each application should have an escrow
account. Mr. Gylfphe asked if they could get one escrow account for all the Planning Board applications. Mr. Seaverns said that they did not want to start dealing with commingling funds. Mr. Curry said that it would be possible for them to come up with guesstimates of how much things cost. He said that the Planning Board should have some standard numbers and they should ask each applicant with an application for a lot line adjustment for the same escrow amount and he said they should do the same thing with applicants seeking minor and major subdivisions. Mr. Seaverns said that when an application was complete than the escrow account should be set up. He said that it did not make any sense for Strafford Regional Planning Commission or Rockingham County Conservation District to study applications which were not complete. He said that it was up for discussion though because Strafford Regional Planning Commission did have the capability to
review their plans. Ms. Bonser said that that the Planning Board had hired Ms. Beauchamp to have her review plans for completeness. Mr. Smith said that he was under the impression that every plan would go to the Strafford Regional Planning Commission for a completeness review and then it would come in front of the Planning Board. Ms. Bonser said that any amount of money in the escrow account which was not used should be refunded to the applicant. Mr. Seaverns asked when the Planning Board wanted to have plans go to the Rockingham County Conservation District, the Fire Department and other places for review. He asked whether those departments needed to look at a plan that was not complete. Ms. Beauchamp said that it made sense to wait to send the plan to other departments until after it had been accepted as complete by the Planning Board. Mr. Curry said that it would depend on the procedure. He asked whether the Planning Board wanted
to have one night for acceptance and one night for public hearings. Mr. Seaverns said that the capability existed where the application completeness review could become more than that. He said that a fundamental process existed for determining the completeness of applications. Ms. Bonser said that what came in front of the Planning Board should be substantive. She said that the Planning Board should try having separate hearings for acceptance and if that did not work than they could go back to design review and acceptance hearings. Ms. Bonser said that a lot line adjustment should go through the same analysis as everything else. Mr. Gylfphe said that the Planning Board should either accept a plan as complete and then schedule a design review or they should send the applicant away and tell them to come back with a complete plan. Ms. Beauchamp noted that the only people who would be very inconvenienced by that procedure would be any abutters
who wanted to speak about an application. Mr. Curry said that acceptance should be about more than looking at a checklist. He said that there should be a qualitative aspect to it. He said that the Planning Board should ask applicants to be more thorough. He said that he was also in favor of simplifying the process. He said that there should be differences in the process between lot line adjustments, small and large subdivisions. Mr. Seaverns noted that the capability would exist to do lot line adjustments in one night if time would permit. Mr. Smith said that the Planning Board would have to notice the acceptance hearing date and the public hearing date at the same time. He said that during the acceptance hearing the Planning Board should be able to ask questions but the applicant would not even be making a presentation. Mr. Curry said that if the Board separated lot line adjustments from small and large subdivisions than they
could possibly get through the entire process for some applications in one night.
The Board discussed what Ms. Mills had meant by a statement she had made in the previous minutes. Ms. Beauchamp suggested that the Board not approve the minutes until Ms. Mills were present to clarify her statement.
Ms. Bonser withdrew her second of the motion to approve the minutes of July 26, 2006.
Mr. Curry asked if Mr. Klutelis would be attending the meeting. He was told no. Mr. Seaverns asked if there was any impact on Nottingham from the Klutelis subdivision. Ms. Beauchamp said no.
The Board had a discussion about sidewalks.
Mr. Curry commented on the proposed impact assessment form. He said that the Planning Board should ask other entities such as the school what questions they might like to see added to the impact assessment form. He said that they should also add instructions stating that if an applicant is going to answer a question by stating 'No Impact' than they should explain why. He said that applicants should put some thought into their impact assessment forms when they fill them out. Mr. Curry and Mr. Gylfphe made some comments about the proposed checklist. Mr. Wright suggested that the Planning Board have an acceptance checklist and a final checklist. Mr. Smith agreed and noted that some of the stuff on the proposed checklist was not necessary for plan acceptance. Mr. Seaverns noted that everything in the
checklist was in the regulations and in that order.
Mr. Smith said that the Planning Board had approved a subdivision on Poor Farm Road. He said that he thought the lot had a flat area where the home would be built. Mr. Seaverns noted that the Planning Board did not control where a home was built on the property, they only determined that the lot was buildable and it contained the required amount of buildable area. Mr. Smith also made a couple of comments about building height.
Mr. Smith read out loud the letter Mr. Brown had written to the owner of Cool Cravings Ice Cream about their signs.
Mr. Curry asked how things in the office were going. Ms. Beauchamp said that it was very difficult. She said that she had been adding case numbers to the applications that had come in during 2006. She said that organizing had been frustrating. She said that the town should charge residents who wanted copies of the regulations. The Planning Board Secretary noted that people who did not live in Nottingham were already charged for regulations. Ms. Beauchamp said that Mr. Tim Roach would like to meet with the Planning Board. Mr. Seaverns asked her to check and make sure that Nottingham had not already done that because he said that he remembered going through a process with Mr. Roach a few years earlier.
Mr. Smith said that the Planning Board would meet for a workshop on August 9, 2006 at 7:00pm in the Town Office Building.
Ms. Beauchamp asked if the Planning Board wanted a memo sent to the Board of Selectmen regarding changing the fees. The Board said yes.
Ms. Bonser made a motion that the Planning Board send all their applications to the Strafford Regional Planning Commission and they set up a payment process for new applications. Mr. Smith seconded the motion. Ms. Bonser, Mr. Smith, Mr. Curry and Mr. Gylfphe voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Seaverns voted against the motion. The motion passed 4-1.
Mr. Gylfphe made a motion to adjourn at 9:30pm. Ms. Bonser seconded the motion. The present members of the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 5-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Tivnan
Planning Board Secretary
| 
