PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
October 07, 2015
Call to Order: 6:32 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Tim Moore, Chair
Charlie Lanza, Vice Chair
Genifer Silva
Shem Kellogg
Steve Ranlett, Selectman Ex-Officio, Absent
Geoffrey Adams, Alternate (arrived 6:35 p.m.)
Laurie Milette, Alternate
Also present were: Greg Jones, Town Planner, and P. Michael Dorman, Chief Building Official
Agenda Item 2: Minutes of September 16, 2015 Meeting
C Lanza moved, second by G. Silva to approve the minutes of the September 16, 2015 meeting. There was no discussion on the motion. The vote was 3-0-1 (Kellogg abstaining).
Agenda Item 3: Plaistow Master Plan Update – Approval of the Transportation Chapter
G. Jones noted that the Transportation Chapter is nearly complete and asked when the Board would like to schedule the Public Hearing to adopt the changes. He informed the Board of noticing deadlines.
G. Adams arrived at 6:35 p.m.
G. Jones updated the Board on the changes that had been made since the last review, including those related to the results of the recent Master Plan Survey. He noted a number of outstanding items including: responsible parties still needed to be assigned to the recommendations list; certain maps, including sidewalk maps added; regional transportation information out of the rail study and final formatting.
T. Moore suggested that there were still enough outstanding items to put off the Public Hearing until the first meeting in November.
T. Moore noted some confusion as to how the commuter distances where filled out in the Master Plan Survey with regard to the wage earner and whether or not it was recorded as number of commuters or number of households.
T. Moore asked that discussion of Master Plan Survey results be put on the next meeting’s agenda. The Board requested more details on how Question 8 of the survey was answered.
Agenda Item 4: Discussion – Future Renewable Energy Initiatives
Renewable Energy Committee
T. Moore noted that there was a kick-off meeting for the newly formed Renewable Energy Committee (REC) on October 6, 2015.
G. Jones gave a PowerPoint presentation which gave an overview of the REC and some of the goals and initiatives they were looking into. The Committee will be looking at options for the Town to invest in solar energy production, tax exemptions for solar installations, and other State and Federal alternative energy programs. It was noted that there may be site walks to working facilities, such as Keene, NH to see how their programs work.
T. Moore offered that it would be the Board’s function to look at Zoning Ordinances and make sure that there is nothing contrary that would prohibit renewable energy resources.
It was noted that the Energy Chapter of the Master Plan would be coming up soon for review.
Town-Owned Properties
G. Jones gave a PowerPoint presentation on some two-owned properties located off Newton Road that the Town was potentially looking to sell. It was noted that there were a variety of offers for the parcels, either as a whole or in part, that had been submitted by Ronald LaPlume, who owns the abutting parcel. It was also noted that the Town would reserve access easements for some of the parcels for walking trails and other recreational access.
There was discussion about the fact that there were other Town-owned parcels (Massasoit Blvd) where no offers were under consideration.
T. Moore suggested a site walk to the parcels and then the Board could discussion whether or not to recommend moving forward with the sales.
Agenda Item 5: Communications
Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) Update
G. Jones noted that there was recently a successful walk/bike to school day held and that the newly purchased signage was in place. He added that he is working with NHDOT (New Hampshire Department of Transportation) on scheduling of the next part of the SRTS grant.
EDA (Economic Development Administration) Funding Eligibility – REDC (Regional Economic Development Center) Meeting Update
G. Jones noted that Methuen Construction (144 Main St) is looking to turn their property into more of a campus. They were seeking EDA assistance to gain access to Route 125 through Joanne Drive. The hope is that this will bring more jobs into the community. Information from the rail study will be used as part of their funding application.
G. Adams asked if the Main Street access would remain open if they were to get the Route 125 access.
M. Dorman offered that it would probably remain open for employee and emergency access but that most of the trucking would use the Route 125 access. He noted that the Main Street access was an easement over town-owned land.
Source Water Protection Plan (SWPP) – NHDES Meeting Update
It was noted that there was a draft copy of the SWPP provided in the member’s folders. G. Jones added that he will be meeting with Pierce Rigrod (NHDES) on Friday to go through the details. He noted that there were maps that needed to be added as well as some formatting finishes and a GIS layer update from RPC (Rockingham Planning Commission).
T. Moore offered that he did notice that there was still some duplication of information in the draft. He cited the Beede Superfund site as an example.
G. Jones replied that it was relative in a number of different sections of the document.
There was a brief discussion about the funding for the SWPP. It was noted that the original plan was developed in 2001 and is updated every 3-5 years. This update includes a survey of local businesses that used items that could have potential impact to the water supply. It was further noted that the initial document included information regarding the contamination at the Beede and Lido sites as well as the town-owned landfill.
C. Lanza asked if there were any updates on any other grants (GREE).
T. Moore noted there were still working on finalizing the report.
Agenda Item. 6: Other Business
Activity Log
M. Dorman noted that his office had created and updated a Commercial Site Activity Log at the Board’s request. The log was provided in the member’s folders.
FYI – Update on Westville Road Bridge Project
There was communications from New Hampshire Division of Historic Resources requesting a project review for the Westville Road Bridge project. It was noted that this is a standard request for these types of projects. It was thought to be related to a wetlands permit application.
FYI – RPC Dues Request
It was noted that there was a letter from RPC requesting a dues payment in the amount of $7,335.00. This amount is based on population figures.
T. Moore requested a motion to recommend to the BOS that they pay the requested RPC dues.
G. Silva moved, second by C. Lanza to recommend to the BOS that they pay the requested RPC dues in the amount of $7,335.00. The vote was 2-0-2 (Lanza and Kellogg abstaining) and the motion carried.
FYI - Abutter Notifications
Abutter notifications from the City of Haverhill, Ma; Salem, NH and Seabrook, NH were noted. The notices from Salem and Seabrook were both in reference to wireless/cell towers.
There were no additional matters before the Board and the meeting was adjourned at 7:35 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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