PLANNING BOARD

Walpole, NH 03608

Regular Meeting - Tuesday December 9, 2008 at 7:00pm in the Town Hall

MINUTES

Presiding: Jeff Miller, Ch.

Members Present: Ben Daviss, Henry Fletcher, Sheldon Sawyer, Sel., Donn Lounsbury, alt., Shane O’Keefe, alt., Jeff White, alt.

Members Absent: Eric Merklien, Bob Miller, Dave DeCoste

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the January 13, 2008 meeting for errors, omissions, and corrections. There were 4 persons in the audience.

I. Meeting Opened at 7:10pm

A. Roll call - Shane O’Keefe was designated for Eric Merkien, Donn Lounsbury for Bob Miller, and Jeff White for Dave DeCoste.

B. Minutes - Mr. O’Keefe pointed out a typo to be corrected. Mr. Daviss moved to approve the minutes with the correction, seconded by Mr. Fletcher, vote called, all were in favor, motion carried. Mr. Sawyer mentioned a needed change on October’s minutes and he will bring it before the board at the next meeting.

II. Review Applications Submitted:

Note: Out of order on the agenda: Members discussed the status of the Aumand’s reconstruction. The legal opinion from the Town Attorney was referred to in regard to the one year time limit noting that in Mr. Hockensmith’s opinion enforcing a one year time limit and thereby requiring new construction meet current zoning standards may be deemed a “constitutional taking”. Sec. Aslinger reported that the North Walpole Commissioner’s have not received formal plans or requests from Aumand’s at this time. A site plan review will be required once their plans are formalized at a future date. Mr. Sawyer said Aumand’s had made an agreement with the Shaughnessey’s regarding current setback requirements.

A. Peter Van Dyk and Theodora B. Berg - Lot Line Adjustment located on Walpole Valley and Rice Mountain Roads, Map 11, Lot 33 in the rural ag and timberland zones. Proposal results in Lot 2 of 95.55 acres and Lot 3 of 161.83 acres by moving the eastern boundary line between the lots further east to encompass land and existing buildings onto Lot 2. No new lots are created. Mr. A. DiBernardo presented newly prepared maps to show a minor change correcting the name of Rice Mountain Rd. Sec. Aslinger reported the application was complete, abutters and the public properly notified and the fees collected in a timely manner. Ch. Miller called for a motion to accept the application presented as complete. Mr. Daviss so moved, seconded by Mr. Fletcher, vote called, all were in favor, motion carried.

III. Ch. Miller closed the meeting and opened the public hearing 7:20pm and asked Mr. DiBernardo to explain the proposal. Mr. DiBernardo pointed to the maps and traced the changed lines for the benefit of the attendees. Members asked whether all lots had adequate frontage and met setback requirements, answer was affirmative. Ch. Miller called for questions or comments from the public, hearing none closed the public hearing at 7:26pm and re-opened the meeting.

Walpole Planning Board Minutes 12/9/08 page 2

IV. Ch. Miller called for discussion and board action - Mr. Sawyer moved to approve the application as presented, seconded by Mr. Fletcher, vote called, all were in favor, motion carried. The maps and mylar were signed, Mr. DiBernardo agreed to record the mylar and report back to the Secretary.

V. New Business: Preliminary Conceptual Consultations

A. Roger Wilbur - Minor 2 Lot Subdivision - did not appear

B. Telecommunications Tower T-Mobile - (appeared later) Sec. Aslinger reported she received an e-mail communication proposing co-location on the Fall Mountain Tower from Jennifer Lougee. Ms. Lougee stated she would attend the meeting but since she was not present Ms. Aslinger asked the board to determine how they should proceed. She explained T-Mobile would be a new carrier on the Verizon Fall Mountain Tower, should they come in for a site plan review? Members discussed possible application procedures and whether they should simply file an amended plan and seek a building permit from the Selectboard. Sec. Aslinger offered to review the ordinance, gather exact details of their plans and report back to the Board, she thought perhaps Ms. Lougee was planning to attend the January meeting.

C. Wind Energy Tower - Mr. David Keurelinan contacted Sec. Aslinger via phone earlier in the day in regard to locating a temporary Meteroological tower for measuring wind energy on his property known as “Merriam Farm”. His representative Stephen B. Barrett, LEED AP director of BlueWave Strategies, LLC in Boston MA e-mailed detailed description and photos of the tower. They want to know how to proceed - do they need a permit from the Selectboard or a site plan review, can it be allowed if the Town does not have a specific ordinance? According to the documents the tower would be in place for 1 year, is solar powered and is a tall tubular galvanized steel tower and can be as high as 196 feet with a diameter of approx. 8 inches. It’s held in place via four sets of guy wires connected from various points on the tower to the anchors on the ground. An area of 250 ft. by 300 ft. should be cleared to facilitate laydown and erection of the tower, it is not required to be lit by the Fed. Aviation Admin. The data is collected in a logger box and data can be collected remotely.

Zoning Chairman Myra Mansouri noted that a reference to Wind tower zoning ordinances was mentioned and discussed in the latest issue of Town and City magazine. She said there are State regulations in place that are required if a Town does not have a specific ordinance and she remembered height and setback limits.

The Board determined because it is a temporary structure a site plan would not be required at this time. A building permit will be needed from the Selectboard and the project will need to meet the State RSA requirements. Sec. Aslinger will relay the information to Mr. Keurelinan via letter and a copy of the minutes.

VI. Communications and Miscellaneous

A. Master Plan Update - Mr. Daviss asked the board to accept the two changes suggested by SWRPC after their review of the final document. Ch. Miller asked Mr. Daviss to inquire of SWRPC what the cost would be to write a new amended Land Use Section for the Master Plan. Budget matters were discussed and Selectman Sawyer reported that the balance of the SWRPC dues were paid for 2008. He also mentioned that he had recently attended SWRPC’s quarterly meeting but was not able to speak due to

Walpole Planning Board Minutes 12/9/08 page 3

NHDOT’s presentation and the Planning Commission’s report of activities and need for additional funding due to recent budget cuts.

B. Zoning amendment proposal - Sec. Aslinger included this item on the agenda to allow ZBA Ch. Mansouri to request a possible change to the zoning ordinance in regard to setting a time limit on special exceptions. Ch. Mansouri reported after full

discussion by her board at their last meeting many questions were raised as to the legality of such a change. The zoning board concluded more research was needed before presenting an amendment therefore they would not be submitting for 2008/9.

A. MP cont’d. Mr. Daviss asked if the SWRPC suggested changes could be formally accepted by the board? Ch. Miller called for a motion. Mr. Daviss moved to accept the two changes submitted by SWRPC to the final draft of the goals/objectives and vision statement. Members asked to have the changes read. Ch. Miller read the first one pertaining to nodal development along Rte. 12. It suggests measures to create a higher density of commercial development by allowing reduced frontage and lot sizes. Mr. Miller said it has long been the intention of the Master Plan to encourage Rte. 12 commercial development within a lot ie; with one driveway serving more than one enterprise to reduce traffic back up and sprawl/density along the main road. The second suggestion was a correction in regard to Innovative Land Use Techniques by adding “pursuant to RSA 674”. Following favorable discussion Mr. O’Keefe seconded the motion, vote was called, all were in favor, motion carried.

V. New Business cont’d.

B. Telecommunications Tower T Mobile: Ms. Lougee arrived to discuss preliminary plans to co-locate on the Fall Mountain Verizon Tower. She submitted draft copies of the proposal showing nine antennae’s located at 116 ft. on the 134 ft. tower and equipment cabinet pad of 20 x 20 to extend beyond the existing fenced compound. She asked how they should proceed. Verizon has given them permission to co-locate. She has the land/ground lease agreement showing the amount of area available, Verizon has the authority to grant T-Mobile use of the land according to the ground lease. Members discussed options and referred to the ordinance. Sec. Aslinger read from the ordinance that states under Section V: Permitted Uses B. “Any alteration of the original permitted use and device configuration of the facility will require a new approval.” It was determined she would need to file an application for a conditional use permit and site plan review. She asked if she could file the application before the deadline in time for the January meeting. The Board agreed to process the application if the Secretary receives the necessary application materials by 12/29/08 by a motion made by Sheldon Sawyer and seconded by Mr. Daviss. Vote was called, all were in favor, motion carried. She asked if the abutters are needed from the Town of Langdon, answer was yes.

VII. Close Meeting

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made and seconded, all were in favor, motion carried. Meeting closed at 8:05PM. Next regular meeting 1/13/09 7PM.

Cc: file, all PB, ZBA, CC, BOS, Town Clerk, related applicants and agents

Posted: Town Hall, Lobby, Burdick’s Market, www.thewalpolean.com on or before 12/15/08