NOTTINGHAM PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MAY 9, 2007
DOCUMENTATION WORKSHOP
PRESENT: ABSENT:
Mr. Dave Smith, Chair Mr. Bob Davidson
Mr. Peter Gylfphe, Vice-Chair Ms. Gail Mills
Mr. Peter Bock
Ms. Sandra Jones
Mr. Mark Harding
Mr. Scott Curry, Alternate
OTHERS PRESENT:
Ms. Mary Bonser
Mr. Peter Landry
Mr. Skip Seaverns
Ms. Michelle Beauchamp, Strafford County Regional Planning Commission
Ms. Traci Chauvey, Planning Board Secretary
Chair Smith called the meeting to order at 7:13 PM. He asked Mr. Curry to sit in Ms. Mills’s absence.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Mr. Curry made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 25, 2007 meeting as written. Mr. Gylfphe seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion passed 5-0.
Mr. Bock requested that the board not approve the minutes of May 2, 2007, tonight so that members could have a chance to digest the information.
PLANNING BOARD DOCUMENTATION WORKSHOP:
Chair Smith opened the Documentation Workshop at 7:30 PM.
By-Laws
Ms. Beauchamp turned the members’ attention to Article I Section 8, noting she felt this sentence should be changed to mention and reflect RSA 42:8. She also felt it should say “…and keep on file the oath and expiration date of Planning Board Members.” Mr. Bock asked Ms. Beauchamp to also add that a record will be kept in the Planning Board Office. Mr. Seaverns asked her to include a line for Alternates and an additional line at the end of each signature line for the signer’s expiration date.
There was confusion around the meaning of Article II Section 5. Mr. Bock voiced concern around his role as a Selectman vs. his role as a Planning Board Member when discussing issues the applicant may bring up. Ms. Bonser and Mr. Seaverns informed him he would need to be conscious of which role he was in and inform the applicant accordingly. Chair Smith stated it was the Planning Board’s intent to clarify that individual members were not to go out on an applicant’s property on their own. Ms. Beauchamp voiced her opinion that a site walk is a meeting under RSA 91-A:2 and therefore should be posted. Ms. Bonser agreed. Mr. Seaverns suggested the board seek legal advice on this issue. Mr. Gylfphe read RSA 674:1 IV, for the record. Chair Smith read RSA 91-A:2 II, for
the record. Ms. Bonser read an article from the Local Government Center regarding the notification of site visits, for the record. Mr. Seaverns stated the board should always vote to have a site walk and they should never have a quorum. Ms. Bonser agreed. Ms. Beauchamp disagreed. Chair Smith stated the vote, no quorum, and no notice would be the board’s process moving forward. Mr. Seaverns suggested the following wording be added, “A site walk shall consist of 2 – 3 members.” Chair Smith asked Ms. Beauchamp to move the highlighted sentence to Article 10 and include in the same article the sentence from Mr. Seaverns.
Ms. Beauchamp noted the areas where the Office of Secretary and Planning Board Clerk had been defined.
Turning to Article VI Section 8, Mr. Bock stated that he thought the board had decided not to have the Clerk perform these duties. Ms. Chauvey stated she felt the board needed to put its procedures in place in order to know where they want to go and what they require for support. Mr. Bock read a memo distributed by Charles Brown, Town Administrator, regarding the availability of minutes. He stated that a concern communicated to him is that all prior minutes should be available and distributed to board and committee members well in advance of any meetings so that members can review them in advance of considering them for acceptance. Mr. Landry suggested the sentence read, “The Clerk shall make available copies of the draft minutes.” Mr. Curry felt the board was moving away from the original intent of
the Planning Board, stating the board had consciously made a decision to keep these specific committees/boards/departments apprised of what was taking place with the Planning Board. Chair Smith suggested the section be removed because to reword it any other way takes away the intent. He felt the board should keep a list of goals they want to obtain and the support they need to fulfill them for future review. Board members concurred.
Ms. Beauchamp was asked to remove the words ‘may be’ from Article VII Section 2, leaving the sentence to read, “…perform other duties as determined by… .”
Chair Smith stated he had a problem with the ‘cease to exist’ statement in Article VIII Section 1. He asked Ms. Beauchamp to change the first sentence to read, “…Planning Board may form, when deemed necessary in order to conduct….”
Mr. Seaverns, returning to Article VI Section 4, noted that the public notice was required by law. Ms. Beauchamp read RSA 676:4I(d), which states ‘as required by the subdivision regulations’. Board members requested she change ‘by subdivision regulations’ to ‘by law’.
Chair Smith asked Ms. Beauchamp to change the title of Article IX to Meetings/Hearings and to make this change throughout the document. Mr. Bock noted Section 3 was misspelled.
Mr. Gylfphe left the meeting at 9:05 PM.
Chair Smith read Article X Section 1. Ms. Jones stated that the board has not followed Robert’s Rules of Order, in the past. Ms. Beauchamp was asked to remove Section 1 and renumber. Mr. Seaverns noted that Section 3 (new Section 2) made an assumption that a Planning Board Member had disqualified themselves. Ms. Jones suggested the second paragraph start, “Once the Planning Board Member has disqualified him or herself, the disqualification shall....” Mr. Seaverns asked Ms. Beauchamp to remove the words ‘and the public hearing’ from the second sentence of paragraph two. Mr. Curry asked Ms. Beauchamp to add #6 under the heading Meetings from the past Rules of Procedure into Section 2 (new Section 1). Ms. Beauchamp read for the record the item referred to by Mr.
Curry. Chair Smith suggested changing Approval of Minutes to Review of Minutes; taking out Reports from Planning Board Agents, and or site review committee; moving Correspondence up, and; changing Old and New Business to Any Outstanding Business. Mr. Seaverns suggested changing ‘Public hearings and/or discussions on proposed projects’ to ‘Scheduled business before the Board’. Board members agreed.
Chair Smith read for the record all sections under Article XI. Mr. Curry felt section 1 should say, “…including but not limited to….” Mr. Seaverns noted that the Historical Society is a private entity. Chair Smith asked Ms. Beauchamp to remove reference to the Historical Commission.
Ms. Bonser left the meeting.
Mr. Curry asked why Section 2 limited the meeting to two boards. Ms. Beauchamp stated it is very difficult to hold joint meetings. Mr. Seaverns suggested changing it to read, “…of each meeting.” The Board concurred. Mr. Curry suggested removing the apostrophe from the word ‘its’ in Section 6 to avoid confusion.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Ms. Chauvey informed the board that Mr. Shields had left a message, identifying himself as being from Homestead Building & Development, requesting information on the maintenance bond. Chair Smith advised Ms. Chauvey to inform Mr. Shields that any request for information will need to be in writing.
Chair Smith set the next workshop for May 23rd. He asked Ms. Beauchamp to come into the office on Thursday, May 17 to assist Ms. Chauvey with miscellaneous office items.
Chair Smith read a letter of resignation from Ms. Jones for the record. Mr. Curry told Ms. Jones he felt the time she had spent on the Board had been very helpful and valuable, noting he hoped this was not the end of her involvement.
Chair Smith made a motion to accept the resignation of Sandra Jones. Mr. Curry seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion passed 5-0.
Chair Smith asked members of the board if anyone wished to meet with Attorney Teague prior to the Witham application being ready to accept or deny. Ms. Beauchamp felt this was an issue for the Board of Selectmen to follow up on, not the Planning Board. Chair Smith stated he felt the Board should seek legal advice on the general situation. Mr. Seaverns stated that that plat should not be stamped and signed while it contains Note 5. Chair Smith stated he would speak with Attorney Teague and follow up with members. Ms. Beauchamp asked Chair Smith to ask Attorney Teague if she could be present during the discussion of the Subdivision Regulations.
Ms. Jones left the meeting.
Mr. Bock inquired about the constitution of the board now that they were down two members. Chair Smith stated there are currently five members, six if Mr. Curry can attend.
Ms. Beauchamp brought the Brooks Crossing bond to the attention of the Board, stating it runs out soon.
Mr. Curry made a motion to have Ms. Beauchamp write a letter to Mr. Falzone of Brooks Crossing asking them to come in before the Planning Board on June 6, 2007 at 7:15 PM for review of their bond. Mr. Bock seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion passed 4-0.
Mr. Seaverns asked Ms. Chauvey to call RCCD to see if they have inspected Sophia Way since the floods. Chair Smith agreed.
Mr. Curry made a motion to adjourn the workshop. Mr. Harding seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion passed 4-0.
Meeting adjourned at 10:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Traci Chauvey
Planning Board Clerk
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