PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
December 02, 2009
Call to Order: 6:34 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Present were: Steven Ranlett, Chairman; Timothy E, Moore, Vice-Chairman; Peter Bealo; Lawrence Gil; Robert Gray, Selectmen Ex-Officio and Charles Lanza, Alternate.
Also present was Leigh Komornick, Planner and P. Michael Dorman, Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer.
Minutes of November 4, and November 18 2009, Planning Board Meetings
P. Bealo moved, second by T. Moore, to approve the minutes of the November 4, 2009, meeting. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
P. Bealo moved, second by R. Gray, to approve the minutes of the November 18, 2009, meeting.
L. Gil noted that he was listed as “absent” despite having notified the Planning Office by e-mail.
S. Ranlett directed that the record reflect that L. Gil was excused from the November 11, 2009, meeting.
There was no further discussion on the motion. The vote was 3-0-2 (Moore and Gil abstaining).
Continuation of a Public Hearing on a Site Plan Amendment to revise a plan previously approved by the Planning Board on May 8, 2008. The property is located in the CI Zone at 29 Garden Road, Tax Map 26, Lot 52 and totals 2.867 acres with 213.11 feet of frontage. The proposed retail building will be reduced in size from 14,303 square feet to 10,419 square feet. The associated parking will be reduced form 92 spaces to 74 spaces. The owner of record is Soraghan Realty Trust.
Frank Monteiro, MHF Design Consultants; Jack Soraghan, property owner; and Jerry Diorio, Channel Builders, were present for the application.
F. Monteiro reminded that they had come before the Board on November 4, 2009, for their first review of their proposed amended plan. He offered the following update:
- The proposed amendment is for the Soraghan parcel only
- November 11, 2009 the final plan application was filed and forwarded to CLD
- November 24, 2009 they received comments from CLD, many of the comments were carried over from the original plan review and there was approximately one (1) page of new comments
- Application has been made to NHDES (New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services) to amend the septic plan for two units (Casey’s Diner and Advanced Auto Parts)
- The well permit will have to be amended and that application is pending - it was noted there are two (2) wells located on the Rite Aid parcel on the original site plan and there was now proposed to be two (2) separate wells that would service each lot independently
- The NOI (Notice of Intent) must be filed ten (10) days prior to construction
- Escrow has been established and replenished; the construction bond will be established after the pre-construction meeting
- There are changes to the lighting plan as the former plan was for the entire site, this plan is for the Soraghan parcel – It was noted there were issues with the manufacturer on the fixture design, but it was assured that the lighting would meet the Town’s regulations
- Payment of the Public Safety Impact Fee will be made at the time of the application for the building permit, there has been a waiver granted for the Waterline Impact Fee
- Mr. Soraghan has agreed to pay his half, $45,000.00, of $90,000.00, pledged for offsite improvements to Westville Road at the Route 125 intersection – those monies are to be paid before the building permit can be issued
- The construction is intended to be phased and done in such a way as to allow the current tenants to stay in their locations and operate as long as possible, Designated parking areas will be provided and the construction area will be physically delineated and closed off from public access
- When the new septic system needs to be installed the current tenants will have to vacate until construction is complete
F. Monteiro addressed the comments from CLD noted the following:
- CLD commented about the location of the trash dumpster enclosure for the Rite Aid parcel – It was noted that the location of the dumpster was in a very low traffic area of the site and since it is usually emptied at early hours there shouldn’t be any conflicts
- All other comments are minor in nature and can be easily addressed with staff
L. Komornick offered there needed to be a reference on the amended plan to the original plan and a reference added regarding the construction phasing
F. Monteiro responded that both were now noted on the amended plan.
L. Komornick suggested that, should there be a conditional approval this meeting, a condition requiring a written agreement with Rite Aid that clearly states that Mr. Soraghan is allowed to do work on their property be included on the list.
F. Monteiro replied that they will supply either an easement or other written agreement from Rite Aid. He added they had spoken with Newland Development, representing Rite Aid, and all parties are in agreement with this plan.
J. Soraghan noted that his purchase and sales agreement with Rite Aid also spells out his ability to work on the Rite Aid property, noting he wished it also had better language about how he was going to be paid.
L. Gil added that all documentation should be in-hand before construction is allowed to begin to make sure there are “no snakes in the wood pile.”
J. Soraghan offered that the good news was that the Town gets the Westville Road driveway rebuilt as part of his project instead of waiting until Rite Aid does their work.
R. Gray said he was trying to get a handle on the size of the building and asked if the restaurant would be the same size.
J. Soraghan replied it was exactly the same size.
R. Gray asked if there was a purpose for the closed off parking area on the side of the building.
F. Monteiro explained that they wanted to leave the four-way access intersection as it was in the original plan but they also had some slopes to deal with, which ended up with them walling off the parking area, which it was felt would be suited for employee parking.
R. Gray asked if the entire parking area was intended to be reclaimed.
F. Monteiro said that it would be.
R. Gray wanted it noted for the record that should the Rite Aid construction damage the Westville Road driveway access they will be responsible for repairing it.
F. Monteiro explained that they would be constructing that access up to the binder coat of pavement and the final pavement would be installed as part of the Rite Aid project.
R. Gray requested that a copy of the amended plans with an overlay of the Rite Aid project be sent electronically to the Planning Office (and then forwarded to him).
L. Komornick offered that she had a discussion with CLD and they noted to her that F. Monteiro had done a great job on the drainage plans and there were no red flags. She added that CLD was now fully aware that these are now two (2) separate projects and all the notes are now clear as to which ones go with which project. L. Komornick also added that Rite Aid had met with F. Monteiro and after doing so felt there was no need to meet with staff.
L. Gil asked if there were any issues with the drainage easement.
L. Komornick explained that F. Monteiro has certified that there will be no increase in runoff from the parcel and the Town is completely covered.
F. Monteiro noted there were wetlands off the parcel that he felt would make it nearly impossible to build on the abutting parcel.
J. Soraghan questioned if the parcel could be built on if the Town ever were to get public water and sewer.
J. Monteiro replied that the issue with the abutting parcel was wetland related, not size related.
L. Gil asked if the florist would be moving to the new location.
J. Soraghan replied that he made them the offer, but they would only be there until the building is closed in July (2010).
R. Gray moved, second by L. Gil, to accept the amended site plan for 29 Garden Road, as complete. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
R Gray moved, second by P. Bealo, to approve amended plan for 29 Garden Road, with the conditions as listed in the Staff Report for this meeting.
T. Moore noted that some of the items listed in the Staff Report could not be completed unless and until the plan is signed and the plan cannot be signed unless all conditions are met.
The motion was amended, and the amendment was seconded, to list the following conditions as noted in the Staff Report:
- Adequate response to CLD’s review comments, verified by Staff
- NHDES approval of amended septic plan
- NHDES approval of amended well plan
- Payment of escrow monies to cover engineering inspections
- Address lighting comments and favorable review of lighting plan
- Payment of $45,000.00 to the Town of Plaistow for the land/widening of Westville Road
- Written documentation that Rite Aid is authorizing work to be done on their property (not in staff report, added as part of discussion)
C. Lanza asked if a new AOT (Alteration of Terrain) permit was required.
F. Monteiro replied that was in place as of November 10, 2009.
It was verified that there was a waiver of the Waterline Impact Fee.
There was no further discussion on the amended motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
Workshop on Zoning and Subdivision/Site Plan Review Regulation Amendments
L. Komornick noted that she only needed to Board to verify that the list she provided in the Staff Report was correct and inclusive so that she could post it for public hearing on December 16, 2009.
The Board reviewed the list of proposed changes as noted in the Staff Report.
R. Gray asked if the changes to the zoning lines (to follow parcel lines) would be inclusive of all remaining districts or just the Crane Crossing/Kingston Road area.
L. Komornick noted that changing all remaining districts would be extremely time consuming and could not be done for this zoning season. She said that it would also be expensive.
R. Gray asked if the time and money issue had yet been addressed with the Town Manager.
L. Komornick replied that she had not yet spoken with the Town Manager.
T. Moore noted that it was also a difficult process from the perspective of informing affected property owners of the changes, adding that the Town was under no legal obligation to formally notify in this instance but it saved from having to undo the process if there was a problem.
There was a brief discussion of how some property owners had reacted when zoning lines were changed in the Commercial I and Commercial II Districts in the past.
L. Komornick noted that all language would be finalized and sent to the Board members for review prior to the December 16, 2009, meeting.
There was a brief discussion, related to the proposed Stormwater Management Ordinance, as to whether or not Dragon Mosquito might be willing to alert the Town if, in the course of their normal contract responsibilities, they noted anything out of the ordinary, such as septic odors, related to discharge into the Town’s catch basin. Dragon Mosquito would not be asked to take any action other than to merely notify the Town if they were to note anything unusual.
S. Ranlett asked if there were any other questions related to the list in the Staff Report of proposed amendments. There were none.
S. Ranlett stated that there would be a public hearing on proposed zoning ordinance and subdivision/site plan regulation amendments on December 16, 2009.
Other Business – Haseltine Street Project
M. Dorman stated that the Haseltine Street project was nearly complete; noting the only step left was to get all approvals for the road swap with the State of New Hampshire. Haseltine Street would be swapped for the lower end of Main Street, from the intersection of Haseltine to the MA/NH border, and become a State Road; and that section of Main Street would be a Town road. M. Dorman noted that the electronic digital sign (warning of the new stop sign at the intersection of Main and Haseltine Streets) had been removed by the State. He added that they were hoping to paint the word “STOP” in eight foot high letters on the ground in the near future.
There was a brief discussion about the driveway from the former Shaw’s Plaza accessing Haseltine Street and ways to prevent drivers from making left turns across Haseltine to enter the plaza. Placement of additional signage and locations for signage were discussed. It was noted that a permanent solution may not be achieved unless and until the plaza owners should come in to amend or revise their site plan and there can be a discussion about eliminating this curb cut all together.
Other Business – New Cable Studio in Town Hall
S. Ranlett offered that he had been in the basement to see the progress on the new cable studio and it looked awesome.
M. Dorman added that the sprinklers would be worked on the end of this week.
Other Business – ZBA Agenda
It was noted that the two items on the next Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) agenda were related to 116 Main Street (Brookside Chapel) and 166 Plaistow Road (Plaistow Commons) and both were referred to the ZBA by the Planning Board for relief.
Other Business – Next Meeting Agenda
L. Komornick noted items currently scheduled for the next meeting’s agenda listing the following:
- 166 Plaistow Road (Plaistow Commons) pending ZBA outcome
- Ron Brown – Design Review Conceptual Plan, drastically different from original plan
- Snow’s Brook on Hillcrest – though they may be asking for an extension to resolve an engineering issue
- 38 Westville Road – John Blinn
- Public hearing on proposed ordinance and regulation amendments
There were no additional matters before the Board and the meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted as recorded by Dee Voss.
Approved by the Planning Board on _________________________
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Steven Ranlett, Chairman
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