PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
February 19, 2014
Call to Order: 6:34 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Steve Ranlett, Chair
Tim Moore, Vice Chair
Genifer Silva
Shem Kellogg, arrived 6:50 p.m.
Robert Gray, Selectman Ex-Officio
Geoffrey Adams, Alternate
Also present were Leigh Komornick, Planner and P. Michael Dorman, Chief Building Official.
G. Adams was appointed as a voting member until the arrival of S. Kellogg.
Minutes of January 15, 2013 and February 12, 2014 Planning Board Meetings
T. Moore moved, second by R. Gray, to approve the minutes of the January 15, 2014 meeting. There was no discussion on the motion and the vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
T. Moore moved, second by G. Silva, to approve the minutes of the February 12, 2014 meeting. There was no discussion on the motion and the vote was 3-0-2 (Ranlett and Gray abstaining).
Agenda Item 4: Review of a Minor Site Plan Amendment to the Pentucket Shopping Center Condominium Plan to show the location of the Home Depot Rental Trucks.
John Kerekes, Site Development Coordinator and Agent for Home Depot, was present for the Minor Site Plan Amendment.
J. Kerekes noted the following regarding the request from Home Depot:
- Allow parking for ten (10) Penske rental trucks over fourteen (14) parking spaces
- Some of the Penske Trucks are larger and take a little more than a single space
- Turn over for the Penske trucks was consistent in an approximate 36 hour cycle
- Allow parking for two (2) “load and go” Home Depot rental trucks
L. Komornick noted that this Minor Site Plan Amendment was triggered by S. Ranlett bringing up to M. Dorman that trucks were being parked on the site and were not indicated on the site plan.
S. Ranlett questioned the signs on certain parking spaced that were reserved for contractors.
J. Kerekes explained that they reserve those for contractors as a convenience to allow them to park closer to the store. He added that they usually have 2-3 times more product to load than the average customer.
L. Komornick noted the trucks have been there about two years and no issues with parking had been reported to the Town.
R. Gray asked if all the parking was shared space (with the other units in the condo association).
L. Komornick replied that there were cross easements over the whole site. She offered that there should be a note added to the plan to say that there would be these trucks parking on the site overnight. Currently the plan does not allow for overnight parking.
R. Gray moved, second by R. Gray, to approve the Minor Site Plan Amendment to allow Home Depot to Park Penske Rental Trucks and Home Depot load and go trucks with the following condition:
- A note be added to the plan regarding these trucks parking overnight
There was a brief discussion regarding the form that was used for this application. It was noted that the Minor Site Plan Amendment form was mostly used for amendments to allow special events. L. Komornick offered that there were just two application forms and this was the one that was the better fit over the full site plan review application.
S. Ranlett noted that there was no one in the gallery to comment on this application.
There was no additional discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
S. Kellogg arrived at 6:50 p.m. G. Adams no longer voting member.
Agenda Item 5: WORKSHOP: Review of Surveys for MasterPlan Update
The Board began review and discussion of a sample survey form from the Town of Henniker, NH. The form had been provided by Mark Fougere who is working with the Board to update the MasterPlan. The Board didn’t feel that this form was over complicated and didn’t meet the needs for the Town of Plaistow. It was noted that the Henniker example was unnecessarily long and a lot of the information could be obtained through the Census results. The consensus was that a more simple form would get greater participation and more results.
L. Komornick provided copies of an earlier survey form the Town used. The form had been put together with Appledore Engineering. She also noted that she would look for more examples and provide the members with copies. Members are asked to be prepared to discuss the survey form at the next meeting on March 5.
There was additional discussion on how best to advertise the availability of the survey. It was suggested that an announcement could be run in the Eagle Tribune and Cable Channels 17 and 23.
S. Ranlett noted that he wanted to target the next meeting to have the survey completed as he wanted to have R. Gray’s “fingerprint” on it and the next meeting will be Mr. Gray’s last.
Agenda Item 6: Reading of Communications Directed to or from the Board
See Item 8
Agenda Item 7: Reports/Update by Tim Moore on RPC and MPO Activities on the Rail Project
T. Moore noted that he had nothing to report at this time.
Agenda Item 8: Other Business
- Updates and FYIs from the Planning Board and Building Department
69-71 Plaistow Rd
It was noted there was a letter from Attorney Sumner Kaman regarding the foreclosure of a parcel owned by Jay Davey. The parcel was combined with another parcel by a voluntary lot merger as part of a site plan review and approval. The combined parcel is not under a single mortgage, but under separate mortgages and one of them is being foreclosed, which will affect the validity of the site plan. The letter requests time to review the Town’s documents and plans related to this parcel in order to prepare a response to the foreclosure notice.
Village Way
There was a letter from Torromeo Industries and CMS Sullivan requesting to change the number of street lights on Village Way. It was noted that the Board had previously discussed and agreed to this request.
L. Komornick offered that the letter was to request an official consensus.
S. Ranlett noted that he had been on the street when the lighting was on and compared it to an airport runway.
There was formal consensus of the Board to grant the request to decrease the number of street lights on Village Way.
There was a brief discussion regarding change the lighting requirements in the site plan regulations to be based upon lumens instead of fixtures.
M. Dorman suggested that in a subdivision plan it should be up to Unitil to determine the lighting plan.
T. Moore added that people who reside on dark streets can petition the Board of Selectmen and the Highway Safety Committee for changes.
51 Kingston Rd – Sullivan Letter
There was a copy of a letter from the Department of Building Safety (DBS) to resident Scott Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan sent multiple letters to members of the Planning Board and DBS regarding operations at ProBark and Mayer Tree of 51 Kingston Road.
It was noted that there had been previous discussion regarding this matter and there was to be a joint letter from the Town Manager and the Planning Board to address Mr. Sullivan’s concerns.
S. Ranlett added that ProBark had gone through the appropriate approval process, including public hearings, regarding operations on the site.
L. Komornick noted that she had spoken with Attorney Charles Cleary and there was nothing particular to address.
Bella Visage – 5 Elm Street
There was an FYI memo from the DBS noting that Bella Visage would be locating at 5 Elm Street. Parking and septic verification has been submitted and reviewed.
Hillcrest Estates – Snow’s Brook
There was a letter from Hillcrest Estates requesting waivers from impact fees related to their project on Hillcrest Estates.
L. Komornick noted that this should be an agenda item for discussion.
S. Ranlett directed that it be put on the next meeting’s agenda.
L. Komornick added that he was hoping to hear from the Police and Fire Departments regarding the request to waive the Public Safety Impact Fees.
R. Gray offered that in light of past issues he was going to ask the Board of Selectmen to weigh in as well.
Plaistow Center – 3-9 Plaistow Rd
L. Komornick noted that C. Cleary was asked about the need to include numbering for the individual retail unit numbers added to the recently approved condo plan. It was suggested that the individual unit numbers not be on the plan as they can frequently change when units are combined and/or divided. Therefore the condo plan will only show Unit 1 (the main plaza) and Unit 2 (Walgreens).
There were no additional matters before the Board and the meeting was adjourned at 7:37 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted as recorded by Dee Voss.
Approved by the Planning Board on _________________________
________________________
Steve Ranlett, Vice Chairman
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