PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
September 02, 2015
Call to Order: 6:30 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Tim Moore, Chair
Charlie Lanza, Vice Chair
Genifer Silva, Excused
Shem Kellogg
Steve Ranlett, Selectman Ex-Officio
Geoffrey Adams, Alternate
Laurie Milette, Alternate
Also present were: Mark Fougere, Interim Planning Consultant and P. Michael Dorman, Chief Building Official
G. Adams was appointed as a voting member for G. Silva.
Agenda Item 2: Minutes of August 19, 2015 Meeting
C. Lanza moved, second by G. Adams to approve the minutes of the August 19, 2015 meeting. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 3-0-2 (Kellogg and Ranlett abstaining).
Agenda Item 3: Public Hearings
PB15-13A Methuen Construction: A site plan review application to review an amendment to the site plan to replace 19,590 square feet of existing industrial & office space with a 36,000 square foot of office use. This property is located at 144 Main Street, Tax Map 41 Lots 12 & 13 in the I-1 Industrial District. The Applicant/owner is Metcon Realty, LLC.
Charlie Zilch, SEC and Associates; David Clark and Joe Barrone, Metcon, were present for the application.
C. Zilch noted that the plan had been present at a meeting two weeks ago. He added that they were returning this meeting to move forward procedurally. He offered to go through the plan again. The Board didn’t find that necessary.
T. Moore asked if the Board had any questions, there were none. He asked if there were any abutters with questions or concerns. There were none.
There was a brief discussion about whether or not a partial waiver of a regulation could be granted. It was noted that partial waivers could be granted.
S. Ranlett moved, second by C. Lanza accept the proposed site plan amendment for 144 Main St and complete. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
The Board considered the following waiver requests:
§230-14.1.L – Site Area to be shown in acres and in square feet.
It was noted that the site has been surveyed, but that a major portion is bound by a river and only an approximate acreage can be determined.
S. Ranlett moved, second by C. Lanza to approve the request to waiver §230-14.1.L. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
§230-14.1.Z Topography.
It was noted that the only improvement being made to this site was the renovation with a small expansion of an existing building. That expansion falls within an area previously graded and established. There will be no changes to the existing grade.
S. Ranlett moved, second by C. Lanza to approve the request to waiver §230-14.1.Z. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
§230-14.1.BB – Existing and Proposed structures both onsite and office site to be shown
G. Adams noted that this was why he raised the question about partial waivers. He offered he felt it was important to note the location of onsite structures.
C. Lanza noted that the onsite structures were already shown on the Plan.
S. Ranlett moved, second by C. Lanza to approve the request to waiver §230-14.1.BB, but only for offsite structures. Onsite structures are to be shown on the Plan. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
§230-14.1.CC – Locations of Onsite and Abutting Wells and Septics
G. Adams suggested that the same partial waiver should apply to location of onsite wells and septics.
S. Ranlett moved, second by C. Lanza to approve the request to waiver §230-14.1.CC, but only for offsite structures. Onsite wells and septics are to be shown on the Plan. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
§230-14.1.HH – Submission of a Separate Landscaping Plan
The waiver request noted that this is an existing site with an established buffer. Additional landscaping is proposed on the plan along the façade of the newly proposed building.
S. Ranlett moved, second by C. Lanza to approve the request to waiver §230-14.1.HH. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
§230-14.1.II – Submission of Separate Lighting Plan
The waiver request noted that there is established lighting on this site. There is a note on the Plan that states all additional lighting will be in compliance with the Plaistow Lighting Ordinance.
S. Ranlett moved, second by G. Adams to approve the request to waiver §230-14.1.II. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
§230-14.1.F – Establishment of Escrow Account
The waiver request noted that this plan didn’t require any engineering or legal review as there is no change in the lot coverage. The proposed addition is expanding over an existing paved area, therefore there is no increase to the drainage.
S. Ranlett asked M. Dorman if this was correct. M. Dorman confirmed that it was.
S. Ranlett moved, second by C. Lanza to approve the request to waiver §230-14.1.F. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
T. Moore noted that the Staff report suggested two conditions be added if the Board were to grant approval of the site plan amendment.
There was discussion of the calculations for the Impact Fees. It was noted that there was a net gain of 16,410 sq ft as a result of the amended plan. That is the number that will be used for the calculation of the Public Safety and Waterline Impact Fees.
S. Ranlett moved, second by C. Lanza to approve the proposed site plan amendment for 144 Main St with the following conditions:
- The applicant shall submit a digital file along with 3 hard copies of the Plan
- All notes regarding granted waivers shall be updated where needed
- The Public Safety Impact ($1.01 sq. ft.) and Waterline Impact ($2.00 sq. ft.) Fees shall be based on a net gain square footage of 16,410 sq. ft.
There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 5-0-0 U/A.
Agenda Item 4: Discussion with Ron Brown Re: Gunstock Falls
Ron Brown, Gunstock Falls Property Owner, was present for the discussion.
R. Brown indicated that he would like to request certain waivers from the Board regarding his (Elderly Housing) project off Sweet Hill Road referred to as Gunstock Falls.
Waiver of Sidewalks:
R. Brown noted that he would like a waiver on the sidewalks that are shown on the Plan. The design called for 22’ of pavement a two (2) foot grass strip and then a paved sidewalk. He noted that there are walking trails provided for on the site and the Board had waived the requirement for other developments.
There was discussion regarding the need for separate raised sidewalks. The Board agreed that the sidewalk requirement was part of an older road profile design and would present maintenance issues for the Town once the road was accepted as a Town road. It was noted that the main road “Gunstock” would eventually become a Town road. The cul-de-sacs would remain private. The Board agreed that a separate raised sidewalk wasn’t necessary. There was discussion about other options to accommodate walkers and bicyclers.
There was discussion regarding whether or not the roadway could be made wider on one side to provide for a walking/biking lane. Mr. Brown noted that the road was already paved to 22’ wide. There was discussion regarding whether or not there was an issue with pavement being added to the existing roadway.
M. Fougere noted that can be issued when pavement is patched in creating a scab in the pavement, which can breakdown over time.
R. Brown suggested that the wider the road was the more likely it was to become a raceway. He added that he didn’t want to lose the esthetics of the grassy area on the side of the road.
S. Ranlett offered that Mr. Brown should have come to the Board with this request prior to paving the roadway.
There was discussion regarding the amount of impervious structure there would be if the road was widened for a walking/biking lane.
C. Lanza noted that he had recently been involved in a project where the roads were built to 18’, which was seen to be a traffic calming measure; narrow roads cause drivers to go slower.
There was discussion about whether or not the existing road could be striped so as to provide a walking/biking lane to one side. It was noted that since the road was already built the crown of the road was already in the center and putting the centerline off that crowd could be confusing.
There was discussion about other streets in Town and whether or not they had effective walking/biking lanes. There was also discussion about providing adequate accessibility for handicapped persons as well as emergency personnel. It was noted that there needed to be adequate room for drivers to pull off to the side to allow emergency vehicles to pass.
There was discussion about whether or not such a change would affect the Alteration of Terrain (AoT) permit. It was noted that the expiration dates on all State permits would need to be checked.
R. Brown suggested that there would not be any changes to the drainage as all those structures were already in place, including the retention ponds. He reiterated that he was only looking to be able to delete the sidewalks.
T. Moore noted that the road needed to be wide enough that when the snow gets plowed in winter there was still walking area available.
R. Brown offered that there were many roads in Town that didn’t provide that.
T. Moore responded that the Board was trying to make things better.
There was additional discussion regarding mitigation for the lack of sidewalks. It was decided that the travel lines could be striped narrower at 9’ feet, which would allow for a little more room on the sides of the road for pedestrians.
S. Ranlett moved, second by C. Lanza to waive the requirement for separate sidewalks for the Gunstock Road project. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 3-2-0 (Ranlett and Adams dissenting).
S. Ranlett moved, second by G. Adams to require Gunstock Road to be striped in the center of the road, with nine (9) foot wide travel lanes on either side of the centerline, with fog lines. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 4-1-0 (Ranlett dissenting).
R. Brown offered that he would like to request a waiver for the cul-de-sacs that would allow them to be 18’ wide, instead of 22’ wide.
S. Ranlett replied that the proper way to request a waiver from the Board was to put the request in writing with justification for each request.
R. Brown stated that he would like to ask the Board to allow Certificates of Occupancy (CO) to be issued for houses that may be built at the top of the road prior to the entire length of roadway being paved to binder. It was noted that there are five (5) single-family lots at the Sweet Hill Road end of the project. It was noted that one of the lots has been sold and Mr. Brown would like to sell the other lots.
T. Moore noted that he didn’t have a big problem with COs being issued for these lots before the whole road is paved.
S. Ranlett offered that he didn’t hold anything against Mr. Brown and would like to see this project get going, but he would be voting no on issuing COs out of concern that the project is being piecemealed together.
C. Lanza moved, second by S. Ranlett, to allow Certificates of Occupancy to be issued for any single-family homes that are completed on the five (5) lots near the Sweet Hill Road end of the project, prior to the entire project being paved. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 4-1-0 (Ranlett dissenting).
R. Brown noted that he would be back with more waiver requests in order to try and satisfy requests from his bank.
Agenda Item 5: CIP Update and Review
The Board was given copies of the CIP text and spread sheets in their folders.
T. Moore noted the following:
- All projects are explained the text document with the exception of a couple of Library and some Recreation Department projects
- The projects will need to be renumbered in the final product
- The review of the CIP will be on the next meeting’s agenda
M. Dorman noted that the number for a replacement vehicle for his department wasn’t enough based on pricing he had received.
T. Moore replied that he had suggested that to the CIP Committee and was overruled. He suggested that M. Dorman forward any available pricing information that he had so it could be brought to the CIP Committee.
There was a brief discussion about what items would be on the next agenda, including the CIP and Master Plan Transportation Chapter.
Agenda Item 6: Update from Tim Moore on RPC and MPO Events
T. Moore noted that the next RPC meeting is scheduled for September 9 at the Plaistow Public Library. The topic will be MS4 – Stormwater Regulations.
Agenda Item 7: Other Business
M. Fougere noted that all members had an updated table of contents for their Zoning Ordinance Books in their folders.
Master Plan Update
M. Fougere offered a progress update noting that the Recreation Chapter was complete and the Transportation Chapter was nearly done.
There was discussion about whether or not there should be a separate implementation chapter for the Master Plan or if responsibility for implementation should be assigned at the end of each chapter.
S. Ranlett noted that he would like to get the Board’s read on whether or not to add an Implementation Chapter. He added that since it was budget season it would be nice to know so that adequate funds would be available.
M. Fougere offered that it was relatively simple to do and he didn’t think it would be an expensive task, mostly cutting and pasting.
G. Adams suggested that it made more sense to have the implementation be part of the chapter instead of called out in a separate chapter.
M. Fougere added that it served the same purpose either way.
Town Planner Position
T. Moore noted that an offer had been made to fill the Town Planner position. He noted the candidate has tentatively accepted and the background check process had begun. T. Moore added that he couldn’t say who the person was yet, but that he had excellent credentials and would be responsible for doing the Planning Board administrative work.
Other Correspondence
It was noted that there was an abutter notification from the City of Haverhill.
There were no additional matters before the Board and the meeting was adjourned at 7:47 PM.
Respectfully Submitted as recorded by Dee Voss.
Approved by the Planning Board on _________________________
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Timothy E. Moore, Chair
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