7/12/05
Present: B. Miller, E. Merklein,
H. Fletcher, D. DeCoste, P. Aslinger (alt), R. Boas (alt)
Absent: J. Miller, D.
Edkins, S. Sawyer, F. Dill (alt)
Note: The following minutes will be reviewed on August 9, 2005.
All notices were posted and abutters notified for all
hearings.
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM.
Mr. Bob Miller, acting chairperson, appointed Ms. Aslinger
and Mr. Boas to serve as regular members.
HEARING #1- DCR REAL
ESTATE/LEN-TEX SITE PLAN REVIEW 18
LENTEX LANE NORTH WALPOLE. Mr. Randy Rhodes, M & W Soils Engineering-
representing Len-Tex, said the proposal is for a 17,000 sq ft addition to the
existing manufacturing plant. There will
be a new gravel driveway to the new loading docks and a relocation of the
propane tanks. There will be 7-10 new
employees. He said the initial site plan
review was in 1997 for the re-building of the original building that was
destroyed by fire when it was owned by Flock Fiber. Several additions have been made to that
building, with the current proposed addition being the smallest. Mr. Charlie Lennon said he spoke with Chief
Snider of the North Walpole Fire Department and that the sprinkler system and
fire alarm will be extended to the new addition. The gravel drive is extended and the grade
around the building left flat for easier emergency access to the back side of
the property. The site has 41 parking
spaces.
Casey Cota, an abutter, said when Cota & Cota wanted to
build a facility in that area the Lennons were concerned about the increased
truck traffic of 5 trucks twice a day down Main Street through the school zone. He said a count was made of the Len-Tex
traffic and it was found that there were 100 cars and trucks through the yard
throughout the day through the same school zone. Mr. Don Lennon addressed this by saying that
it was not the truck traffic that was of concern, but the material being
transported. He said they were concerned
about having bulk fuel stored between their employees and their employees
egress. He said that 100 trips could be possible. He said there are 5 trips per day from Church Street to Main Street. At the end of the day there are five major
carriers the company works with to take away the finished product. He said they
anticipate an additional 3 trips per day between the Church St and Main St buildings, but no additional
trips at the end of the day- they’ll just have more space used on each
truck. Mr. Cota said Len-Tex has large
propane tanks on their property.
Mr. DeCoste confirmed that there will also be an additional
2-3 extra deliveries per week of raw material to the Main St plant. Mr. Miller established that it is tractor
trailer trucks that are being referred to as trucks. Mr. Merklein confirmed that the site plan
review check list is part of the application and that no waivers were
requested. Mr. Fletcher asked how the
North Walpole Commissioners felt about the proposal. The three commissioners present had no
objections: Barbara O’Brien, Nancy Finlay and Patrick Kiniry.
The hearing was closed at 7:47 PM.
Minutes- July 12, 2005-
Page Two
HEARING #2- WALPOLE VILLAGE MARKET LLC/VICTORIA
GOHL/SANDRI REALTY SITE PLAN REVIEW SUNOCO STATION WESTMINSTER ST. Gib Stilson, representing Ms. Gohl, said the
plan includes marking parking spaces behind the building and landscaping. A tree will be planted on the north side of
the building and another at the sw end of the building with a picnic
table. There will be landscaping around
the existing signs- but no changes to the sign are proposed at this time. The number of gas pumps and the canopy will
remain the same. The floor plan of the
interior of the store will follow the existing footprint. The garage doors will be removed and
clapboard siding and small windows will replace them. There are no changes to the exterior
footprint of the building. Mr. Merklein
asked if there will be an increase in services and traffic. Mr. Stilson said he does not believe there is
any service changes planned at this time.
Mr. Peter Roos suggested that the tree be planted nearer to the street
allowing for the picnic table to be moved further back from the road. The existing handicap parking space will
remain and no new spaces designated at this time. Ms. Aslinger asked if the selectmen and road
agent have approved the planting of a tree at the corner of the property near Main Street. Mr. DeCoste said he believes the tree is
intended to help delineate the road from the yard for traffic safety. There was a brief discussion about traffic
flow around the fountain.
The hearing was closed at 7:58 PM.
HEARING #3- MARGARET CRAY TRUST CRAY RD N.
WALPOLE SUBDIVISION. Mr. A. DiBernardo, representing the
applicant, said the proposal is for a two lot subdivision of map 27 lot 10 that
will result in a 2.95 acre lot and a 33.21 acre lot. The 33.21 acre lot can be accessed from both Kilburn Street and Forest Street- both
of which dead-end at the lot. Lot 1 has 75’ of road frontage on Cray Road and will be annexed to the
abutting lot owned by the Gays. The
second lot has no frontage and therefore requires a Variance to the frontage
requirement of the Residential B zone of North Walpole of 75’. There was discussion about whether the width
of the dead-end roads could be considered frontage at 30’ each- and the fact
that the frontage would not be contiguous in that case. The board emphasized that they can not
approve a subdivision that does not have the required frontage without a
Variance. There was discussion about the
extension of the town road and that it would require town approval. Ms. Aslinger read from the North Walpole
Zoning that 5000 sq ft and 75’ road frontage are the minimum lot requirements
in the Residential B zone. The abutters
at the end of Kilburn Street
are concerned about changes to the stone wall barrier and any possible
extension of the road.
The hearing was closed at 8:26 PM.
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
OF JUNE 14, 2005. Mr. Fletcher made a motion seconded by Mr.
DeCoste that the minutes be approved as presented. Vote passed with 5 in favor and 1 abstention
(EM).
NEW BUSINESS- PETER
ROOS 82 ELM ST BLA. Mr. Roos is
proposing a boundary line adjustment of the Westminster Street “Long River Gardens” property that abuts his 82 Elm Street
property. His proposal will divide the
greenhouses from the rest of the property that will be
Minutes- July 12, 2005-
Page Three
annexed to his Elm
Street property and put in Conservation Easement. Mr. DeCoste, an abutter, recused
himself. There will be a ROW through the
greenhouse property to access the fields that are
a part of the conservation easement parcel. He said the building is currently being
leased and that he hopes an organic farmer may be interested in the
property. Mr. Roos said a long standing
boundary dispute with the Willard property has been cleared. The greenhouse business has a Special
Exception. The area is about 4 acres.
MOTION. Ms. Aslinger made a motion seconded by Mr.
Boas that the application be accepted and a public hearing set for the August
meeting. All were in favor.
MIKE NEARY MARCH HILL
BLA. Mr. Neary is proposing a boundary
line adjustment that will rearrange the boundary lines between his property and
the abutting property so that they follow the existing stone walls on both
properties. No application was submitted
at this time.
OLD BUSINESS- DCR
REAL ESTATE SITE PLAN RESOLUTION.
The board reviewed the site plan review checklist submitted with the
application. No waivers were
requested. There was discussion about
the board accepting an application before setting a hearing. Mr. Rhodes said the plan size would have
doubled to show the company’s other building which is in the vicinity of the
proposed addition. The board was ok with
this explanation. There will be one new
pole for exterior lighting and one new sewer line- all other utilities go
through the building. The property is on
town sewer and water. There are no deed
restrictions and all fuel is in above ground propane tanks. No more pavement is to be added to the
property. The detention area was
increased by a third, but has never had standing water. There are catch basins and dry wells all
around the perimeter, all drainage is well contained on-site. Mr. Rhodes said the proposal will bring the
entire property’s “disturbed” space to 125,000 sq ft. He cautioned the board to pay closer
attention to this on future site plans.
Mr. Lennon said a new restroom may be added. N.Walpole sewer department approval will be
required. There is plenty of parking for
the new employees. There was a question
about getting the minutes of the North Walpole
meeting for the Cota proposal. The board
is ok with the explanation given for the concern over traffic.
MOTION. Mr. Merklein made a motion seconded by Mr.
DeCoste that the site plan be approved as presented subject to and pending the
receipt of a letter from the fire department.
All were in favor.
WALPOLE VILLAGE STORE SITE PLAN RESOLUTION. There was discussion about the tree on the
corner of Main Street. The board would like the opinion of the
selectmen and road agent regarding the location of the tree placement. Ms. Aslinger said there should be a
materials list and an answer to the handicap parking question.
MOTION. Ms. Aslinger made a motion seconded by Mr.
Boas that the site plan be approved as presented with the condition that a
materials list and landscape design plan be submitted and that the road agent
and selectmen be consulted regarding the tree planting on Main Street. All were in favor.
Minutes- July 12, 2005-
Page Four
MARGARET CRAY TRUST
SUBDIVISION RESOLUTION. MOTION. Ms. Aslinger made a motion seconded by Mr.
Boas that the application be denied on the basis that the road frontage
requirement of the North Walpole Zoning Ordinance is not met. All were in favor.
4TH TUESDAY WORK SESSION. The board will meet for a work session.
INTERNAL RULES OF
PROCEDURE. Ms. Aslinger has amended
the document according to input received from Mr. Edkins and Mr. J.
Miller. Changes were made on p. 2 under
C regarding the secretary determining the completeness of an application. The secretary’s report will include whether
the application meets the time requirement for notification and whether the
required fees have been submitted. Under
D- it should say, “...if board members are
unable...” On p. 6 under adoption-
delete “after public hearing”. Mr.
Fletcher suggested that the board wait until the other three regular members of
the board are present to adopt the rules of procedure. Ms. Aslinger said that Mr. Edkins and Mr. J.
Miller made comments that have been incorporated in the amended version.
MOTION. Mr. Boas made a motion seconded by Mr.
Merklein that the board accept the Internal Rules of Procedure, 6/05
draft. All were in favor.
ADJOURNMENT. Mr. B. Miller
adjourned the meeting at 9:22 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy Trow, secretary