Town of
PLANNING BOARD MEETING July 10, 2007 7:30pm Town Hall
MINUTES
Presiding: Jeff Miller,
Members Present: Eric Merklein, Henry Fletcher, Dave DeCoste, Bob
Miller, V-Ch., Ben Daviss, Jeff White, alt.
Fred Dill present but recused and in audience.
Members Absent: Selectman Miller, Shane O’Keefe, alt. Recording: Pamela Aslinger, Sec./alt.
These minutes are unapproved
and will be reviewed at the August 14, 2007 meeting for errors, omissions, and
corrections. There were over 30 persons
in attendance.
I. Meeting opened at 7:40pm.
A. No alternates were
appointed.
B. Minutes from June 12, 2007 were approved
as presented.
II. Review applications submitted: Accept/Reject/Delay
A.
Cindy Westover Minor 2 lot subdivision - at
III. Ch. Miller closed the meeting and opened the public hearing. Mrs. Westover described the proposal pointing out
the details on the map and stating she had purchased the lot several years ago
so her children could remain in Town.
She said the driveway permit had been approved, had been roughed in
across from
IV. closed the public hearing
and re-opened the meeting.
V. Action on Cindy Westover: Ch. Miller called for board questions and/or
action. It was moved and seconded to approve the 2 lot subdivision as
presented. Motion carried
unanimously. Maps and mylar were signed, Mrs. Westover will record the plan and
notify the Secretary. (Sec. note: State subdivision approval is pending but
overlooked as a condition.)
B.
1834 Washington Square
II, LLC - Site Plan Review for “The
III. Ch. Miller closed the meeting and opened the public hearing. Mr. Ralph (Red) Smith described the proposal
pointing out the locations of the off street parking, dumpster and apartment
locations. Mr. Therrian asked how many
parking spaces were allowed per unit.
Mr. Smith answered 2, noting one apartment is designed for a handicapped
person including it’s own parking space. Mr. DeCoste asked how much of the building
was in the commercial district?
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes July 10, 2007 page 2
Answer
was all. Mr. Merklein asked how many
parking spaces would be allowed for the office space? Mr. Smith answered 2 to 3 and pointed to the
additional parking in the rear of the building.
Being no further comments Ch. Miller -
V. closed the public hearing and re-opened the meeting.
VI. Action on The
V. Unfinished Business - Pending Application - Continued
Public Hearing & Review:
Board
Action: Approve - Disapprove - Delay.
A. Walpole D &
D, LLC - Fred Dill and Randy Daniels - Major 13 lot subdivision on Hooper, Wentworth and Old
Keene Roads. Map 9
Ch.
Miller stated he had been in contact with a licensed hydrologist Brian
Goetz from Weston Sampson firm in
Mr. DeCoste suggested each of the abutters receive a
copy of the letter and form mailed to them.
The Board agreed and instructed Sec. Aslinger to do so as soon as
possible. She will accompany the
information with a cover statement and state a place to return the survey.
Mr. Merklein asked if members could contact Mr.
Goetz for an explanation of how he goes about the study from a technical
aspect. Ch. Miller suggested waiting for
the report at the August meeting, Mr. Goetz will be present to answer
questions.
The board agreed for Ch. Miller to sign the letter
of agreement and begin the process.
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes July 10, 2007 page 3
Ch. Miller asked Mr. Dill and Mr. Joe DiBernardo to
continue with their presentation. Mr. Dill submitted revised plans showing a
reduction in the number of lots from 13 to 8.
Mr. DiBernardo pointed out that Lot 1 and 2 are no longer being changed
from the prior approved subdivision. In
addition they consolidated lots 4 and 5 into one lot and lots 9 and 10 into one
lot. Lot 4 and 5 become lot 3 and 9 and
10 into lot 7.
Ch. Miller
asked if the combined lots could be re-subdivided? Answer was yes, theoretically they would meet
frontage and lot size requirements. Mr.
DeCoste asked where the driveway was for 8 and 9, answer was the 50 ft. ROW as
shown.
Ch. Miller called for comments or questions. Mr. Charles Blount asked about the Heydenriech’s
driveway and property line (Lot 10) being in question on the plan. Answer was there is a dispute between the
property owner’s, it was thought the stonewall was the boundary but the deeds
say differently, they will come to an agreement. A question regarding lot 10’s frontage,
answer was 208.6 feet. Ms. Aslinger
asked if the purpose of the changes was to work with the Board by reducing the
density? Mr. Dill said yes, they tried
to listen to the concerns, thinking if there were less lots and wells the
impact would be lessened. Ms. Aslinger
asked if the newly created larger lots were the lots they had not located test
pits on? Answer was yes except for lot 2.
Ch. Miller
asked about the road upgrade. Mr. Dill
said they met with the Road Agent and marked the trees needing removal. They have agreed to take out the existing
black top and take it down 6 inches, lay down fabric 18 ft. wide, lay down 6
inches of gravel and/or ground up blacktop, to reuse as much of the old
material as possible. Ch. Miller asked
Mr. Terrell about the “s” curve onto Old Keene Rd. Mr. Terrell said he would not suggest taking
out the curve on a low volume road but is requiring the bank to be cut back allowing
for enough width so two cars could pass by one another. Mr. Dill said there are four trees being
removed on the curve. Ms. Aslinger asked
if it would address the drainage, Mr. Dill said there is no real drainage issue
there, it had stemmed from the Town replacing a culvert a few years ago and per
Mr. Terrell they are planning to upgrade the culvert in that area.
Ch. Miller asked if he had the drainage/soils
overlay. Mr. Dill submitted an un-revised
map with drawn soils information applied but no description of the soil types
prepared by Warren Williams, eng. Ch.
Miller requested that a new soils overlay sheet be prepared with the re-designed
lot formation and to indicate the explanation and types of soils for the Board
and hydrologist to review. Mr.
DiBernardo said the USDA has a guidebook describing the soils.
Ch. Miller
asked Mr. Dill if he was agreeing to an extension for the Board’s decision
until the second Tuesday in August. Mr.
Dill agreed noting the need to allow for the study/report.
Audience member Mr. Ken Walsh asked if the developer
would pay for the hydrological study? Answer
was yes. He noted in the near future the
State would be mandating fire sprinkler systems be included in new residential
homes, he asked if they too would impact the wells. Mr. Dill clarified the new deed restriction
was for lawn sprinkler systems, not residential fire sprinklers.
An abutter asked if the letter and survey form would
be mailed and when. Ch. Miller handed
out to abutters and adjacent neighbors who were present copies of the survey
form noting the Secretary will also be mailing them out to the abutters next
week. They can be returned to Sec.
Aslinger or mailed directly to the firm. (return
address to be shown on the abutters copies)
Ch. Miller
announced the hearing and review would continue at the August 14, 2007 meeting. Mr. Dill provided the board
with 3 sets of new plans. Mr. Fletcher
asked if the board had clearly decided to sign the letter of agreement with
Weston and Sampson and if Mr. Dill had agreed to pay for the study. Ch. Miller said yes to be shown in the
minutes, the board was in agreement to sign the letter and Mr. Dill was in
agreement to pay for the study. Sec.
Aslinger said she would send a follow-up letter to Mr. Dill reviewing what took
place at tonight’s meeting.
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes July 10, 2007 page 4
Mr. Merklein requested the board receive copies of
the hyrdologist’s report prior to the August meeting if possible. Mr. Bob Miller said the board could review
the report word for word with the engineer at the meeting. Attorney Kasper asked Sec. Aslinger for a
copy of the tapes from the meeting, she agreed saying it they would be
available the following week, she would drop them off.
OTHER - Ch. Miller announced
abutters to the Griswold Place had arrived slightly late and missed the hearing
and review. He asked the Board to allow
them to speak. (Mr. Smith had already left the meeting.) Mr. Fred Ernst thanked the board and acknowledged
Mr. Smith for being extremely sensitive to their interests regarding the
project. He was expecting to bring up
these issues at the hearing and apologized for missing it. Mr. Ernst pointed out the close proximity of
the back portion of the building to their property, only one foot from the line. He showed where the plan calls for 11 windows
on the end section of the building where only 3 exist now. The existing windows look onto their
backyard, main doorway. He said there is
no distance between the windows and their property whereas the middle section of
the building is 13 feet away with fewer windows and no windows on the end
walls. He requests at least two of the
windows be shifted to the other side so they don’t look at a massive apartment
complex. He pointed out with the
existing trees and the existing building it isn’t so noticeable. Ch. Miller asked if he had spoken with Mr.
Smith, Mr. Ernst said he intended to discuss this concern at the meeting, he
did not realize the impact of so many additional windows until he compared the
plans to what is existing.
Ch. Miller and members agreed the impact needed to
be addressed. He suggested Mr. Ernst
talk to Mr. Smith as soon as possible and for the board to notify and ask Mr.
Smith to revise the plans for the next meeting.
Mr. DeCoste queried why so many additional windows were needed. Members thought it was possible there were
building codes requiring a certain number of windows per unit or perhaps the
architect was not aware of the exact layout and had not visited the sight. Mr. Ernst suggested they just wanted to look
out on their back yard view or the interior layout was such the windows were
part of the design. Nonetheless members
agreed it should be addressed, Ch. Miller instructed Sec. Aslinger to write a
letter of explanation requesting him to return to the board with a
solution. Mr. Ernst said he had a good
dialogue with Mr. Smith and would be contacting him immediately to go over the
window placement. He thanked the board again for hearing his concerns after the
hearing.
VI. New Business
A. Sheldon Sawyer
- Minor 4 lot subdivision located on County, Wentworth and Meetinghouse Roads, Map 5 Lot 4 in the
Rural Agricultural zone. Ms. Virginia Foote
of Lawrence Associates presented. She
explained the original lot was 72.52 acres, Lot 4-1 is 5.62 acres, Lot 4-2 is
6.36 acres and lot 4-3 is 5.02 acres leaving lot 4 with 55.52 acres
remaining. All new lots have the
required frontage on County Rd. but are accessed by a 50 ft. ROW off Wentworth
Rd. The full perimeter survey is not
shown due to the large size although a full survey has been done. Ch. Miller said the Board has waived the full
survey due to size in the past. Ms.
Foote will provide a re-drawn inset of the full lot. She will provide the corrected maps by the
deadline for the August meeting. Ms. Aslinger
asked why the need for the ROW access, was it terrain? Answer was yes it would be very difficult and
expensive to locate a driveway off of County Road. John Hansel asked for a clarification of
exactly where it was located, Ch. Miller described the location. Mr. Fletcher asked if any of the land was in
fields or just woods. Answer was mostly
wooded. Sec. Aslinger noted the
application states the land is in current use, Mr. Sawyer said he intends for
it to remain in current use. Mr. DeCoste
asked if the ROW would be used as a driveway?
Mr. Sawyer said a driveway must be indicated in order to subdivide but
it may not be in the exact location, he is not intending to sell the lots
immediately stating perhaps the Town at some point would take over County Rd.
from the State so it would be more feasible
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes July 10, 2007 page 5
to
locate a driveway there. A motion to place the application on the
August agenda was made and seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
C. Hubbard LLC/Toby
Tousley - Minor 2 lot subdivision Rte. 12 - Map 12 Lot 4 in the Commercial and Rural
Agricultural zone. Mr. Joe DiBernardo
representing described the layout: Lot 1
is 31.13 acres and Lot 2 is 12.48 acres.
The frontage for Lot 2 is along Rte. 12 at the far southern end along
the Malnati property line. The lot is
oddly configured to allow for future development of the remainder lot. Lot 2 is being purchased for Chamberlain
Machine with access on Huntington Lane.
The buildings on Lot 2 are being removed. Lot 1 has a reserved strip of land off
Huntington Lane for a future roadway.
Sec. Aslinger noted the application was not filled in, she offered to
fill it out. A motion to place the application on the August agenda was made and
seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
G. Richard Francis
- Minor 2 lot subdivision on Ramsey Hill Rd. Map 11 Lot 7-1-1 in the Rural Agricultural
zone. Mr. DiBernardo representing
described the layout with Lot 1 of 57 acres and Lot 2 of 3.1 acres. The lots meet the frontage and size
requirements. Test pits have been done
and state subdivision approval applied for.
The frontage is all on Class V road.
A motion to place the application
on the August agenda was made and seconded.
Motion carried unanimously.
F. John McKee-Pratt,
Flessa/Laroche - Minor 2 lot subdivision on Reservoir Rd. Map 11 Lot 1 in the Rural Agricultural zone. Mr. DiBernardo representing described the
layout with Lot 1 pf 42.09 acres and Lot 2 of 41.25 acres. Both lots meet the frontage and lot size requirements,
The subdivision abuts a prior subdivision for Robert Hubbard approved at the
June meeting. Mr. Pratt’s house is
across the street from Lot 1. Ch. Miller
and Eric Merklein noted the beautiful cross-country ski and horse trails along
the property. A motion to place the application on the August agenda was made and
seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
D. Sprint Nextel/CDavis
Associates - Telecommunications Site Plan located at 88 Scovill Rd. Map 3 Lot 82. Ms. Jacqueline Murray representing Nextel
communications described the proposal as needing a site plan review to make
minor modifications. The modifications
are adding 2 panel antennas to the 6 existing antennas and to install one
equipment cabinet inside the existing equipment shelter. She submitted the application materials,
plans and fees. Mr. Merklein asked what
the antennas were being used for? Answer
was wireless telephone, not wireless wi-max TV.
Mr. Sawyer asked who owns the property?
Ms. Murray said it is owned by
UNH and managed by NH Public TV. A motion to place the application on the August
agenda was made and seconded. Motion
carried unanimously.
B. Martha
Kingsbury - Minor 2 lot subdivision located on Kingsbury Rd., Map 8, Lot 118/119 in the
Rural Agricultural zone. Ms. Foote of
Lawrence Associates representing described the layout with Lot 1 of 72.13 acres
and Lot 2 of 1.30 acres, meeting frontage and lot size requirements. Ms. Aslinger asked if State subdivision
approval had been applied for, answer was no, but next week. A
motion to place the application on the August agenda was made and
seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Due to the
high volume of applications to be reviewed at the August meeting, Secretary
Aslinger suggested if any members wanted to review materials ahead of the
meeting, she can open the office for two members at a time, in order to
expedite the August meeting. Mr. Sawyer noted the plans
are posted in the lobby of the Town Hall for review as well. Mr. Dill cautioned not more than two members
at a time.
VII. Communications and Miscellaneous
A. Site Plan Revocation - Secretary Aslinger
reported Town Attorney Hockensmith was unable to prepare a response for the
meeting tonight, but plans to for the August meeting. In an e-mail to Sec. Aslinger he stated he
had been on vacation and needed to study the additionally provided information
more carefully before making an opinion.
Walpole
Planning Board Minutes July 10, 2007 page 6
B. Master Plan
Update - Work Session for July 24, 2007.
Sec.
Aslinger apologized for the locked door at the June meeting. Mr. Daviss said the website is ready to go,
the survey questions are on the site, ready for public comment. He said he would write a notice and publicize
the site, to get the word out.
C. Sec. Aslinger handed out a DRA mini-course
notice sponsored by the Selectmen. She
stated she has been acting Secretary for the ZBA for several months doing their
minutes. She said at most of the
meetings the subject of Gravel Pits comes up frequently with the ZBA
questioning why the PB does not preside over the Earth Excavations as required
by the RSA’s. At the last meeting it was
noted that technically the Town may not have voted to authorize the ZBA to
preside. She said the ZBA would like
very much for a few of the PB members to attend the course in case the ZBA
should pass the duty back to the PB. She
said it would be very informative and worthwhile. Some members were surprised to hear of all
the work involved with reports and inspections.
Ms. Aslinger said the ZBA had received an application for a new pit, the
first in many years. Ch. Miller said the
responsibility had been given to the ZBA years ago and appropriate they
continue on because of the experience gained.
VIII. Meeting Adjourned at 8:50PM.
Cc: PB members, ZBA Ch., BOS, Town Offices, Road
Agent, Conservation Commission, Water/Sewer Commissioner, Fire Dept.
Posted: Town Hall, Lobby, Burdick’s Market,
thewalpolean.com