PLANNING BOARD
Walpole,
NH 03608
Regular
Meeting – Tuesday, June 9, 2009 7:00pm
Town Hall
MINUTES
This meeting
was delayed until 7:30pm due to a conflict with a public hearing scheduled for
the same date and time by the Selectboard to hear comments on issuing a
building permit on a Class VI road proposed by Merriam Farm. While the planning board must make a
recommendation to the Selectboard in regard to the Town’s Class VI road
resolution, the Selectboard must hold the public hearing and did so from 7:00 –
7:30pm. The planning board was unable to
make a recommendation due to lack of sufficient information discussed under New
Business later in these minutes.
Presiding: Jeff Miller, Ch. Members Present: Ben Daviss, Dave DeCoste, Henry Fletcher, Bob
Miller, Eric Merklein, Sheldon Sawyer, Donn Lounsbury, alt.
Recording: Pamela Aslinger, Sec./alt.
These minutes
are unapproved and will be reviewed at the July 14, 2009 meeting for errors,
corrections and omissions. There were 50
persons in attendance.
I. Meeting Opened at 7:30pm
A.
Roll
Call – All regular members were present, no alternates were designated.
B. Minutes
– Sec. Aslinger noted a change to the work session minutes requested by Mr.
Daviss to clarify that the website was being purged of a large quantity of old
spam. Mr. DeCoste made a motion to approve the minutes of the 5/12 and 5/26
minutes as amended, seconded by Mr. Merklein, all were in favor, motion
carried.
C.
Alternate
openings – passed over
II. Review Applications Submitted:
A.
Mervyn(Eric) & Lilo Frink (Lot
50) and Merriam Farm, Inc. (Lot 54) – Lot Line Adjustment located on Merriam Rd. Map
3 Lots 54 and 50 in the rural agricultural and timberland zones. Purpose is to annex 59.4 acres from Lot 50 to
Lot 54 resulting in Lot 54 of 77.5 acres and Lot 50 of 122.6 acres.
Ch.
Miller asked Mr. Thomas Flavin, land surveyor to describe the proposal. Mr. Flavin referred to the map indicating the
parcels and the changes with a colored map.
He showed the existing Frink property and what portion of the Merriam
Farm parcel was being added.
III. Close Meeting – Open Public Hearing
A.
Frink/Merriam Farm LLA – Ch. Miller opened the public hearing and called
for comments. Mr. Edward C. Goodrich, Jr.
NH licensed land surveyor spoke to
the boundary dispute as a representative for Mr. & Mrs. John Faulkner,
abutters. He agreed and verified that the lot line proposal was in no way
connected to the boundary dispute that remains unresolved. They are in the process of doing a new survey
to update Mr. Faulkner’s survey from the late 1870’s. He assured the board that the contested
boundary dispute does not infringe upon the conveyance of property to the
Frink’s shown in the lot line adjustment proposal. He added that Mr. Flavin has indicated on the
plat a reference to the lines in question.
The Faulkner’s do not have a claim on the southerly portion being
conveyed to the Frink’s.
Ch. Miller asked Mr.
Keurulainen/Merriam Farms if the lot line proposal or the actual land (3 lots)
is affected by the Class VI road resolution that is being discussed by Merriam
Farms and the Selectboard or if it is connected to the boundary dispute and
pending survey?
Mr. Keurelainen answered no and Mr. Goodrich said that the dispute is
actually at the furthest point away from the Frink/Merriam proposal.
Mr. Flavin confirmed that
prior planning board discussions in regard to a boundary dispute between
Merriam Farm and Mr. Faulkner is not related to this proposal. His research
indicates that a surveyor error occurred in 1934 when the Merriam Farm parcel
was surveyed. He
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes 6/09/09 page 2
provided the board with a copy of a
colored and detailed map indicating the location of the boundary dispute and
his research notes. It will be included
in the permanent file.
IV. 7:36pm Ch. Miller hearing no further
comments closed the public hearing and re-opened the meeting. Out of agenda
order, Ch.
Miller asked for a secretary’s report as to the completeness of the application
and called for a motion of acceptance.
Sec. Aslinger reported that the application materials, fees, abutter
notifications and postings were in order the application is complete. Mr.
DeCoste moved to accept the application as complete, seconded, vtoe called, all
were in favor, motion carried. Ch.
Miller called for board action. Without
further discussion Mr. Sawyer moved to
approve the Frink/Merriam Farm lot line adjustment as presented, seconded by
Mr. Daviss. Vote called, all were in
favor, motion carried. The maps and mylar were signed with Mr. Flavin agreeing to record the
mylar at the Registry of deeds and report the recording data back to Sec.
Aslinger as proof of recording.
The hall
cleared during the signing of the maps and with the meeting resuming at 7:45pm.
II. B.
Aumand Realty Corp./Aumand’s Furniture Store
Site Plan Review located on 2 Church St., North Walpole, Map 28, Lot 2 in the commercial
district. New construction of
14, 000 sq. ft. replacing a
legally non-conforming building destroyed by fire on 7/10/08 and being totally
within the previous footprint. A list of waivers were requested due to non-applicable
status and existing conditions. (18 persons remained for this hearing)
Ch.
Miller called for a secretary’s report as to the completeness of the
application. Sec. Aslinger reported that
all application materials had been presented in timely manner, abutter’s
notified and notices properly posted. In addition to the application she had
received a letter from the Police, Fire, Water and conservation departments
earlier in the day. There were no
concerns from any of the departments and the letters were passed to the
Chairman. Ch. Miller called for a motion to accept the application as
complete. It was so moved and
seconded. The vote was called after no
further discussion, all were in favor, motion passed.
III. Ch. Miller closed the meeting and opened
the public hearing.
Ch.
Miller asked Attorney Thomas Hanna, Aumand’s representative to describe the
proposal. Mr. Hanna introduced Bob
Furlone building engineer, Ted Fellows, site engineer, and Joe Dibernardo, land
surveyor who will speak to the details of the plan. He acknowledged the Aumand’s family members
that were in attendance. Attorney Hanna
began with a brief overview noting that in the 1920’s it was a residence that
morphed over several decades into various commercial businesses finally
resulting in the furniture store that was destroyed by fire in July of
2008. Their proposal replaces the
building and improves the site by conforming to existing zoning setbacks and
has been designed at a standard that emphasizes safety for the
neighborhood. He stated they hoped for
an approval at tonight’s meeting due to the long permitting process and
construction timeframes. He said the
previous retail floor area was 15,398 sq. feet according to the town
records. The new proposal reduces the
footprint to 14,000 sq. feet of floor area.
The footprint was 11,667 sq. feet and is being reduced to 9,450 sq.
feet. The result allows for additional
landscaping and permeable surface on a site that had little or no permeable
surface. No part of the building will be
outside of the existing footprint. The building is sprinkled and made of
masonry to address the concerns of Mrs. Shaugnessey who’s
home was nearly destroyed by the fire.
The new set back on the west side ranges from 19-24 ft. from her home as
opposed to the prior setback of 5 feet.
In addition there will be additional landscaping on the west side and a
buried propane tank. The building height
at the west end will be much lower than before, there is a second floor but
it’s on the Church St. side of the building, half of the building will be one
story. Improved site distances have been
made for West St. along with new sidewalks on the north and east perimeters. The drainage as originally planned is being
changed in order to use the
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes 6/9/09 page 3
existing West Street drains as
agreed to by Mr. Terrell and water officials instead of applying for difficult
to obtain permits from Trans Canada Hydro at this time. Since they are a rather
large corporation it may not be a priority.
They will still pursue the State permits, permission and deeded
easements but in order to move the construction forward they have determined
the existing Town drainage on West Street is fully functional and equally
effective for the site. He asked the
board to consider a conditional approval to perhaps include an either/or
scenario. He said Mr. Fellows had tested
the system with Mr. Terrell and it has been referred to in the letter from Mr.
Hanna. (on file) Mr. Hanna has received confirmation of their
agreement with Mr. Terrell. He asked Mr.
Dibernardo to expand on the site plan.
Mr. DiBernardo provided
corrected copies showing the changes to the drainage. He pointed to the map to orient the board and
public to the site pointing out streets, the old vs. new footprint,
landscaping, drainage, buried tank, sidewalks and setbacks. The primary roof drain will now run from the
north side with a straight shot to the corner of West St. that goes into the
river. There will be landscaping on the
east, west and north sides with removal of the old pavement on the south side
and grassed. All water mains are existing and fire department connections are laid out. Parking will remain as it was off West St.
across from the building. Handicap
access is provided with drop off allowing for two cars to pass on West St. No additional drainage will affect Trans
Canada’s property or Mrs. Shaughnessey.
Mr.
Tom Greathead abutter asked about the distance between the building and Trans
Canada and the curb on West St. Mr.
Dibernardo said the curb to the building was roughly 15 feet from about 3 feet
before. The curb on West St. is also
improved by about 5 feet.
Ch.
Miller said the change to the Town’s drainage system was acceptable along with
the option of them pursuing an agreement with Trans Canada at a later
date.
Mr.
Tom Greathead asked if the new construction was required to meet the current
zoning requirements. Ch. Miller answered
that the board had questioned and discussed whether they were to meet current
zoning requirements and determined that they were legally within their rights
to replace the building on the existing footprint without conforming to the
current zoning. He mentioned that they
had worked to improve the site taking into consideration the abutters and
setback requirements, he commended them for working with the neighborhood and
town requirements.
Mr.
Merklein asked about exterior lighting and concern for the Shaughnessey’s
regarding the buried gas tank. He
thought locating the tank on the west side might be a concern, is there another
option? Mr. Hanna said the tank is very
safe and buried and also at the previous meeting that Mr. Merklein did not
attend, there were no objections to its placement. Mr. Dibernardo said the lighting would be
minimal, with only two downcast exterior lights over the West Street entrances
and reuse of the existing street lights on existing poles. They have submitted lighting descriptions
that are included in the application materials.
Mr. Daviss asked about the lighted “AUMAND’S” sign, where was it being
located? Mr. Hanna said it would now be
building mounted instead of roof mounted on the South side. (note: this sign has been allowed for in the zoning
ordinance specifically and may be legally reused)
Attorney
Rob Kasper representing Mary Shaughnessey spoke on her behalf stating that they
have worked very closely with Mr. Hanna and the engineers offering input on the
design and final result. He said Mrs.
Shaughessey couldn’t be happier with what has been proposed. The reduction in the building size, building
it of masonry, sprinklers and alarming it plus building it 19 feet away has
made them very pleased.
Mr.
Bob Furlone, from American Construction handed out reduced versions of the
building design for each of the members.
He pointed out the elevations and provided a sample of the masonry and
colors. He said the construction is load
bearing masonry, very few windows due to fade factor on the furniture and the
building is all non-combustible. He
showed fire escapes, egresses, an office window and details on each of the
elevations. The roof will be flat with a
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes 6/9/09 page 4
slight pitch for drainage and
covered with a membrane. The top portion
of the walls is a stucco styrofoam with masonry behind
it. It is all steel framed inside, with
a fire alarm system and sprinkler system using a 6” water main. It is an open concept without ceilings but
rather painted bar joists with lighting, carpeted floors, fully handicap
accessible with a lift inside for all three levels of the building. He located the two exterior lights with the
existing streetlights. He emphasized
that all the side walks will be replaced with concrete and granite curbing with
an allowance to add beds for landscaping.
There will be two air handlers on the roof for heating and air
conditioning and they are bringing three-phase electricity into the property. There is no chimney or boiler. The mechanical room will handle the
sprinkler system, communications and power.
He explained the three interior levels showing the locations of stairs
and what each level will contain. They
have complied with baseflood elevations and are about 1 ½ feet above it.
Mr.Greathead
asked if the Church St. side includes both the street level and second level? Answer was
yes. He commented on the plain look of
the Church St. side especially without windows, he thought it was ugly and
looked like the back of an industrial park building.
Mr. Furlone said the south
side would include the old sign as an added interest to the building and he
provided a sample of the actual masonry siding and it’s
color, a brownish cement color with the top portion of the walls being a darker
rusty brown.
Ms. Aslinger asked why
windows weren’t included in the design and weren’t there windows before? Mr.
Hannah said they would cause fading of the furniture and the windows were there
from previous businesses. Mr. Greathead
thought low UV glass could be used to prevent fading.
IV. Ch.
Miller called for comments, hearing none closed the public hearing (8:15) and
reopened the meeting. He called for board comments
and discussion. Ms. Aslinger asked about
the specific plant materials being used on the east side. She was referred to the plans and thought the
rosa rugosa and spirea would provide some flowering
materials along with the evergreen yews to help soften the facade. Mr. Dibernardo said all of the materials are
salt tolerant. Ms. Aslinger thought the
larger size of the materials would also help for an instant effect. She thought the plain facade of the building
without windows does give it an industrial look but for the reasons given
understandable, the landscaping will help to soften the building. She asked if Mr. Hanna had any comments on
the list of waivers that were requested with the application. He referred to page 2 of the waivers noting that #17 was
fulfilled and #24 related to the
drainage and a possible conditional approval with the option of the TransCanada
permitting. Ms. Aslinger remembered that
for past site plans where minor changes have occurred an applicant simply
notifies the board, the change is discussed and a public hearing or
re-notification is not required. She
thought it was better to take final action on what they have presented which is
the West St. drainage and if it were to change to return to the board for an
amendment to the plan. Ch. Miller agreed
saying it was a simpler approach, Mr. Hanna understood.
Mr. Merklein asked if white
siding was considered since it is in a residential area? Mr. Furlone said it was not a matter of
economics but functionality, the R value of the product around the building is
an additional 10 with the roof being R37, an R19 wall inside and a R value of 5
½ on the walls, it is a super insulated building. The decision to use the masonry was to have
flexibility on color and maintenance free, not to avoid wood. The product does not need painting but
perhaps in 15 years it made need recoating.
Ch. Miller called for a motion to approve the site plan as presented
with the bulk of the drainage being directed into the town’s West St.
system. He said if the drainage
option should change they must notify the board and amend the approved
plans. Mr. Fellows said that both of the
drainage exits have been used and will continue to be used, both are in working
order. Not all the drainage on the site
goes to West St., it was split before and will remain
as such. Mr. Sawyer moved the chairman’s motion, seconded by Mr. Daviss. Vote was called without further discussion,
all were in favor, motion carried.
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes 6/09/09 page 5
V. New Business
A. Judy Northcott submitted an application
and plan for a two lot subdivision on behalf of her mother Roxanna Damaziak located on the south side of
Cheney Hill Rd. and east side of Valley Rd. in the rural agricultural
district. Lot 1 with the existing house
will be 1.73 acres and lot 2 will be 44.57 acres of wood and farm lot. Both lots have adequate road frontage and no
new construction is being proposed at this time. She noted that the abutters are few due to
the subdivision being almost surrounded by the Damaziak trust. Sec. Aslinger will check the abutter list,
notify her via e-mail and request an additional check for the
notification. The board agreed to place
the application on its July 14, 2009 meeting for review. New maps and a corrected mylar
will be needed due to an address change on one of the abutters, they may be
submitted at the meeting.
B. Merriam Farm Class VI road resolution –
Ch. Miller said the board may give a recommendation on the proposal and
called for discussion. Mr. Fletcher
thought the board should give a favorable recommendation to the selectboard and
finally allow Mr. Keurulainen to build on his land. Ms. Aslinger commented on issuing building
permits on Class VI roads in general.
She is not in favor at any time to allow building on a Class VI road despite
the resolution, she feels it creates scattered and premature development and
creates hazards to the property owners, public and safety response
departments. Even though a waiver of
liability is signed for fire and rescue they still would make an attempt
putting them at risk. Allowing building on Class VI roads removes the planning
board’s ability to plan for growth in areas of the town where services can be
provided. She would like to see the town
adopt a policy of not issuing building permits on Class VI roads. Ch. Miller said he is concerned about the
2300 feet of road with a bridge, it seems like other proposals have had a much
shorter distance of a few hundred feet and been in areas that are much less
remote. He said basically they would be
constructing a long driveway. He said
even though there is a liability waiver the Selectboard must set certain
criteria for the condition of the road to insure safety, he thought it was a
scattered and premature development. Mr.
DeCoste said once the first permit is issued the other two will likely follow
and may create safety issues for future owners.
He questions whether the town actually will be held harmless even with a
signed waiver. Mr. Sawyer said even at
this time the town could be sued, it might be less likely with a signed
waiver. Ms. Aslinger read aloud from the
resolution criteria that the Selectboard must consider before issuing a
permit. 1.
Does the condition of the road have adequate drainage, width and grade
to handle increased development?
She asked if their site visit confirmed the condition of the road? 2.
Are the connecting roads leading to the Class VI road adequate to handle
the increased traffic? 3. Will the contemplated
development increase the need for police, fire, water, sewer and electric
services? 4. Is the issuance of
the permit likely to result in an occasion to lay out the road to a Class V? She thought this was highly likely with the
addition of three more buildable lots.
Mr. Sawyer said the Selectboard denies laying
out of Class V roads without the vote of the entire Town. Ch. Miller reminded that the current
Selectboard may have that policy but in the future a different board may decide
differently so why create a situation that may lead to a remote Class V road and
an expense to the town. He mentioned
that on Whipple Hill Rd. because of the need to create a turn around they
extended the Class V road without a vote of the Town. Ms. Mansouri researched the road and found
that the road was built to Class V standards.
Mr. Fletcher asked if the Selectboard could require Mr. Keurulainen to
upgrade the road to Class V standards? Mr. Sawyer said they have the authority but
they would rather not make that requirement to prevent additional development
because there are a potential of 8 more houses that could be allowed on the
road. Ms. Aslinger read the two final
criteria to be considered – 5. How will the property affect the neighboring
property and how well does it fit into the growth and development plans of the
town? She thought it did not fit
well into the development plans of the town because it is so far removed from
town services and isn’t a targeted area for development.
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes 6/9/09 page 6
6. Will the issuance of said permit tend to
distort the Town’s street map or Master Plan?
She
thought it would distort the street map and master plan. Ch. Miller thought most who lived out there
were more inclined to use Keene’s services rather than coming to Walpole
village. He thought Mr. Keurulainen and
his engineer may have been unprepared and thought it was better to have them
return to the selectboard to explain their exact intentions before the planning
board makes a recommendation. He wasn’t
sure of which lot they were requesting the building permit on. Mr. Sawyer agreed but noted there may have
been some miscommunication, they may have needed to
check in with Mr. Terrell.
Ch. Miller asked the board
to decide on how to proceed. Ms.
Aslinger thought the board should always deny favorable recommendations on
Class VI roads to prevent scattered and premature development. Mr. Sawyer thought only elected members of
the planning board should comment as recommended by the local government
center. Ch. Miller said it is the policy
of the planning board to allow alternates to comment on board matters. Mr DeCoste asked if the board should ask for
clarification on the number of permits that may result? Mr. Sawyer thought it might be possible to
declare the road as an emergency lane and make it passable for fire
protection. He said Merriam Farm planned
to improve the road all on their own, increasing the
gravel up to Crehore Rd. He said there
are some benefits to the town if the road is brought up. He has brushhogged some of the land and returned
it to productive food producing acreage which is encouraged in the Master Plan
as an agricultural use. It was
determined to have Merriam Farm return to both the selectboard and planning
board at the planning board’s meeting July 14, 2009 as an agenda item “Joint
Discussion” without an additional public hearing. They will be able to make their case and
perhaps offer more information to alternatives on the road including access
from Surry. And offer ways in to meet
the criteria of the Class VI road resolution adopted by the planning board and
selectboard several years ago to address property owners
rights and recently relaxed State laws on the subject. Mr. Merklein asked if each recommendation is
on a case by case basis without the risk of setting a precedence,
answer was yes.
Mr. Sawyer apologized for
not coordinating better with the planning board on the public hearing and
presentation. Sec. Aslinger thought
formalizing the joint discussion at the next meeting would properly inform the public
and interested parties.
VI. C ommunications and Miscellanous
A. Master Plan SWRPC proposal. Mr. Daviss reported having e-mailed a copy of Lisa
Murphy’s proposal to complete the land use section to Ch. Miller, Bob Miller
and Sec. Aslinger. Sec. Aslinger did not
bring copies to the meeting but will forward the e-mail to all of the
members. The cost is $1500.00.
B.
Website update – Mr. Daviss said the site is up and running but old
spam is periodically being removed.
C.
Work session - Ch. Miller asked if a work
session was needed. Sec. Aslinger
suggested (with Mr. Daviss’s input) combining the work session items with the
regular meeting due to a sparse attendance at the work sessions. A new agenda item could be added called
“Planning Discussion” where various planning subjects such as the economic
development plan could be formulated with full board participation. She suggested keeping the 4th
Tuesday open for possible subcommittee meetings that result from the
discussions. Ch. Miller said it might be
dependent on how full the agenda is. Mr.
Sawyer suggested placing it on the regular agenda with the option to recess it
to the 4th Tuesday if needed.
Ch.
Miller said the priority is to complete the Land Use section by fall, the
economic development plan can be moved forward with the help of SWRPC instead
of trying to create it on our own, to get an outline, present it to the Town
for funding in 2010 and hire SWRPC to create the document with the Board’s
input by fall of 2010. Mr. Daviss said
the board could continue with their outline of an economic plan to aid in
proposing the project to the town. Ch.
Miller
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes 6/09/09 page 7
thought inviting Ms. Murphy to the
planning board meeting in July or August to discuss the economic development
plan might be helpful.
Sec.
Aslinger offered to bring coffee, tea and cookies to fuel the discussions
beyond the main meeting items especially if they run beyond 8:30pm. The board thought it was a good suggestion. The refreshments cost can come from the petty
cash or supplies account.
E.
Other – Selectmen Sawyer mentioned that the group proposing the new
playground at the Whitcomb Park have reconsidered the location and have
discussed placing it on the south end of the common. Most were not in favor of overcrowding the
common and adding to the already imposing bandstand and memorial, that the
common has historically been an open space and should be preserved. It was noted that the bandstand has been a
useful addition but is being vandalized more than expected.
VII. Meeting adjourned at 9:15pm.
cc: file, PB,
ZBA, WCC, BOS, Town Offices
T. Hanna, R. Kasper, Tom Flavin, Merriam Farm, D.
Morgan
posted: Town Hall, Lobby, Burdick’s Market, www.walpoleplanningboard.org
and
www.thewalpolean.com