Town of Otisfield
Planning Board Meeting Minutes
August 15, 2017
1. Call to Order: 7:02 PM
2. Attendance: Chair – Karen Turino, Vice Chair – Rick Jackson, Recording Secretary – David Hyer, Herb Olsen, Stan Brett & Alternate – Otis Brown.
(Absent – Alternate Beth Damon & Secretary – Tanya Taft)
Code Enforcement Officer: Richard St. John
Secretary: Tanya Taft – absent. (In the secretary’s absence the meeting was tape recorded and the tape is on file.)
3. Announcement of Quorum: Board had a quorum. KT welcomed Otis Brown as the newest member of the Board for a five year term. He will serve as an alternate at this time.
4. Approve Secretary’s Report:
A. Regular Meeting Minutes from July 18, 2017. *Motion to accept minutes. HO/RJ - Unanimous.
B. Public Hearing Minutes from August 1, 2017. * Motion to accept minutes with one edit – Page 4, NOREEN EDWARDS, first line, sixth word: change to ‘Planning’. RJ/SB – Unanimous.
5. Discussion & Comments from public:
A. Hal Ferguson reported that he had checked with MMA regarding whether any of the shooting ranges in Otisfield qualify as commercial, and their answer was that none of the existing ranges are commercial.
6. Residence - Based Business Applications:
A. None
7. Shoreland Zoning Applications:
A. Beth Davies DBA Project 63 LLC, 64 Wayaka Ln, Tax Map U11 Lot 069. An application was submitted to relocate and expand a non-conforming cottage currently 50’ from Thompson Lake. Represented by Scott Verrill.
Proposed to move the non-conforming structure back to the greatest possible extent and expand to 952 sq. ft. within 100’ of the Lake. The roof of the cottage would be raised from 18 to 25’. There would be a 252 sq. ft. covered deck proposed to be within 75’ of the Lake.
DH: Questioned the figures on page 2 of the application. Specifically: #24 A) the current dimension of the deck is changed to 176’ which changed the current total sq. footage within 75’ to 440’ and changed #24 B) accordingly. #25 C) Deck is changed to 12’ in height since it is covered from 4’ which would be the height of the flooring.
SV: The foundation will be a frost wall. The septic and a shed are beyond 100’fom the water. Not sure of the type of septic system or of its condition. There is a well on the adjacent lot. HO: Questioned what the distance might be from the neighboring well to a new septic system. SV: have identified the well on one side but not the other neighbor’s. CEO: All of this will have to be determined as well as a new location if needed before PB can make a decision. SV: Has identified three (3) trees that he would like to remove. One is a pine larger than 3’ in diameter and is less than 50’ from the water. The rest of the area is quite wooded. There is no plan to have gutters on the porch roof, but they could be included if required.
CEO: Any gutters would have to be diverted away from the Lake either at the roof or ground level. SV: The lot is fairly flat rising about 4’ in elevation from water to road. RJ: Confirmed that the 25’ roof line of the house would be from the ground. SV: Estimates that the shed is 10’ from the road, the septic is approximately 10’ from the shed, and the house is approximately 10’ from the septic. House is currently approximately 30’ from road. CEO: Setback for house to road in SLZ is 25’. Sideline setbacks for non-conforming structures built prior to 1976 need be only 10’. DH: Primary concern is stormwater runoff compounded by the roof over the deck closer to the water; need erosion control. SB: Needs to have a septic system plan prior to the Site Walk. SV: Will have a septic plan before the Site Walk. Site Walk will be 9.12.2017, at the lot at 6:00 PM.
KT: Requested that the lot be marked for the proposed location of the structure including distances from the high water line in addition to the septic system layout.
8. Site Plan Applications:
A. None
9. Subdivision Application:
A. Vickie Rogers, Tax Map R-2 lot 33. Modification to existing approved subdivision plan from 2003. Applicant wants to subdivide a lot. Applicant came to PB for guidance on the process at the July meeting. There was an error in one of the dimensions on the survey and she now has the corrected map. PB: determined that all provisions were met for the original Subdivision approval in 2003. The Ordinance states that a subdivision lot can be subdivided every 5 years. Therefore, the only change would be the number of lots approved. *Motion: Approve the division of lot 33 into two (2) lots with the new lot being 5.75 acres. RJ/HO = Unanimous.
10. Upcoming Dates:
A. Planning Board Meeting September 19, 2017 at 7:00 PM.
11. Discussion & comments from Code Enforcement Officer:
A. He has two proposed subdivisions possibly coming before the Board.
12. Discussion & comments from Board:
A. KT passed out copies of the Appeals Board Ordinance and the Prohibition on Retail Marijuana Establishment and Retail Marijuana Social Clubs Ordinance which were approved at the June Town Meeting. One copy approved at that Town Meeting.
B. KT submitted an email from Kristin Roy thanking the PB and the BOS for the Public Hearing on the Weaponcraft Site Plan Application.
C. HO asked if it was legal for a home owner to charge for a mass gathering. CEO: The issue of a charge does not make it a change of use or a commercial use. Otisfield had a mass gathering ordinance years ago that would have covered that scenario. It is no longer in effect.
13. Unfinished Business:
A. Review the Subdivision and New Road Construction Ordinances regarding new road construction standards. Determine which to keep and which to eliminate. Resolve any differences.
14. Adjournment: With no further business, the regular meeting was adjourned at 8:43 PM. RJ/HO – Unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen T. Turino, Secretary Pro Tem
Approved by: Karen Turino, Chair
Otisfield Planning Board
Approved on: September 19, 2017
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