PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
November 19, 2008
APPROVED:
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AGENDA: COMPLIANCE HEARING: FRIENDS OF NEWFOUND FOOTBALL FIELD COMMITTEE/KERRY MATTSON, Newfound Rd., #219-011
JAY MEEGAN PRESENTATION ON DOWNTOWN IDEAS
CIP PRESENTATION OF THE 2009 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN
WORKSHOP: PROPOSED ZONING CHANGES
ATTENDING: Dan Paradis (Chairman), Elizabeth Seeler (Vice Chairman), Denice DeStefano, Clay Dingman, Jerry McGwin.
Alternates: Tom Babcock, Murray Campbell, Steve Favorite
ABSENT: Don Milbrand (Sel. Rep. – funeral), Janice DellaCroce (work)
Alternates: Don Martin (medical reasons)
OTHER: Michelle Bonsteel (Land Use Officer), Paul Weston (Town Manager), Jodie Favorite, Barbara Greenwood, Sandra Heaney, Mike Willingham
The meeting opened at 7:00 pm. Mr. Babcock sat in for Ms. DellaCroce.
COMPLIANCE HEARING: FRIENDS OF NEWFOUND FOOTBALL FIELD COMMITTEE/KERRY MATTSON/COREY JOHNSTON
Mr. Johnston pointed out that the sign-off block and date of completion have been put onto the plan. Site Specific has put stipulations on in which they recommend following the Shoreland Protection Act. For this, Mr. Johnston has prepared a generic maintenance plan as Mr. Johnston does not know what the School will determine due to the liability of mud if the field is not green. Mr. Paradis read the DES recommendation.
Mr. Paradis then explained that RSA674:54 has different regulations for Governmental Land Use and the Board might want to review this. He added that the Board cannot enforce anything. Mr. Paradis then asked about the EPA permit. Mr. Johnston explained that for an EPA permit, you file on line and get an automatic permit by 7 days later. Mr. Meegan added that, technically, the Board cannot enforce this requirement. Ms. Seeler thought that the Board should continue the case for a month so as to get a copy of the EPA agreement, but the applicants could start anyway. Mr. Paradis agreed that they would be free to start as they do not need legal approval. Mr. Johnston stated that they do not give him anything. Mr. Meegan asked if Mr. Johnston gets a confirmation from them when he applies and Mr. Johnston answered that they don’t give anything as he recalls but that he would give the Board whatever he gets. The Board had no problem with this.
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COMP. HEARING: NEWFOUND FOOTBALL continued
Mr. Johnston explained that they are required to have a contractor. He felt that, in the future, the Board might not want to require the EPZ permit in order to sign plans and let the building permit handle that after the Board’s approval.
E. Seeler made a MOTION, second by C. Dingman, to APPROVE THE SITE PLAN FOR FRIENDS OF NEWFOUND FOOTBALL FIELD COMMITTEE AS THE CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN MET. The motion CARRIED and the Board signed the plans.
JAY MEEGAN PRESENTATION:
Mr. Meegan presented a computerized program showing his thoughts for the Downtown area. He used some of the suggestions brought up by the PlanNH Charrette. Mr. Meegan began by using a scaled drawing from an old Master Plan and laid out his ideas over it. He pointed out that he straightened Route 104 by bringing it through the parking lot in front of the bank. This gives clear sight and a smoother transition through the area. In the square, Mr. Meegan had combined the Baptist Church driveway and the Beano Elderly complex driveway so that they both entered/exited in the same egress and at a point that had a clearer view. He widened the sidewalks so as to allow tables outside the restaurants and merchandise, etc. in front of stores, adding interest to the area. From the sidewalk on the Memorial Drive side, he eliminated the Drive and built up a large green space to chair seat height. This would allow seating on the retaining wall around the whole space. There would be a small sidewalk encircling the green. The cannon and other memorials would be set up on the green with flags, old-fashioned lampposts, and perhaps flowers hanging from them. He also showed a gazebo in the middle. As you enter South Main St. from Pleasant St., Mr. Meegan showed a bump-out to give more protection to the parked cars along that side. He would retain those spaces as well as the ones in front of the Rusty Skillet side. Across from the latter, would be a few more spaces. Mr. Meegan felt that the mica building should be raised and a municipal parking lot would replace it and make up for the parking spaces that had been eliminated. He also felt that, if North Main Street were made into a one-way north, angle parking could be done all the way to Mayhew St. He suggested that underground utilities would be done in the Square.
It was mentioned that the Lions Club is looking at the mica building for a community center. Also, there was one objection to using pavers for sidewalks as it is difficult to push a wheelchair on.
All in all, most of the attending people seemed to like the concept and plans, discs, and/or e-mails of the plan was asked for so that it could be shown to others and further studied.
Mr. Meegan was thanked for his hard work and good ideas.
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CIP PRESENTATION, FY2009 – FY2018:
Mr. Campbell, Chairman of the CIP committee, distributed the 2009 CIP booklets. He reminded the Board that they had received preliminary figures last week. The final version has little change from that. On page 1 Introduction, 4th paragraph, Mr. Paradis explained that a Capital project has now been raised to $10,000 instead of $2500. Mr. Campbell stated that any differences could show up should an occurrence be placed 1 year and the offset comes in the next year. He explained the various column colors on pages 9 and 10: pink the previous years, yellow for 2009, and orange for future years. As the committee recently received the figures requested, they have not done as well on the future years as they would like. They plan to do more to those next year. Offsetting revenues have created a drop in the overall total, he added. Pages 11 through 16 are the explanations of what the committee concluded and page 17 is the list of Bristol citizen requests.
Mr. Campbell thanked the members of the CIP committee for their hard work.
E. Seeler made a MOTION, second by D. DeStefano, to ACCEPT THE CIP FOR 2009-2018 AS PRESENTED. The motion CARRIED.
Mr. Paradis spoke as Chairman of the Planning Board and thanked Mr. Campbell and the committee, as well. The next step is to take it to the Budget Committee; the CIP committee will present to them on December 8th.
MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 12, 2008:
The following amendments and clarifications were made:
Page 2, 1st paragraph, 8th line, insert “with DES” following “permit”. 2nd paragraph, 3rd line, replace “674:74” with “674:54” and 4th line, delete “and only the field has run off” and replace with “which exempts governmental use from adherence to local regulations.” 5th paragraph, 1st line, insert “the Planning Board” following “scrutiny” and delete “others” and replace with “previous applicants to wetlands”. Last paragraph, last line, replace “deteriorate” with “decompose”.
Page 3, 4th paragraph, 2nd line, replace “RECEIVAL” with “RECEIPT”. Last paragraph, 3rd line, after “fences” insert “adjacent to the proposed fence for every 2’,”.
Page 5, 1st paragraph, 2nd line, replace “(as he” with “(Ms. Bonsteel”. Last paragraph, 4th line, replace the first “he” with “him” and following “volunteers” add “with no direct oversight over the problem detailed in the memo.” 6th line, replace “this is the” with “complain” and replace “result” with “resulting in a memo like this”. 7th & 8th lines, delete “we have had no direction previously but, with Ms. Bonsteel, this has been greatly improved.” and replace with “since the hire of Ms. Bonsteel as Code Enforcement Officer, the application process has greatly improved.”
Page 6, 1st paragraph, last line, replace “accused” with “involved”. 2nd paragraph, 2nd & 3rd lines, delete “going around to the various members (he had called Mr. Dingman and also Ms. Heaney at their home).” and replace with “calling Mr. Dingman at home.” Under Proposed Ordinance for Signs, 3rd paragraph, 2nd line, replace “need to” with “oversight”. 4th line, replace “Compliance” with “Approval”. 6th line, replace “honorous” with “onerous”.
Page 7, 1st paragraph, 1st line, replace “brings in” with “involves”. 7th line, insert “the” before “HDC”. Under Seating, 2nd paragraph, last line, replace “keep us together” with “continue to work cooperatively”.
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MINUTES continued:
Page 8, under Signs, 6th line, following “ZBA” insert “told him they”. 9th line, following “Dublin” insert “Ohio”. Under Steep Slopes, 1st line, replace “Ms. DellaCroce” with “Ms DeStefano”.
C. Dingman made a motion, second by D. DeStefano, to approve the minutes as amended. The motion carried.
WORKSHOP: ZONING PROPOSALS
Historic District Ordinance Amendment: Mr. Paradis explained his proposal to amend this section so as to provide some relief, moving signs to the jurisdiction of design guidelines. It would give great flexibility. Ms. Bonsteel add that, on the front end, it makes a little more work for her but is better in the long run. She gave the example of it being like a deck in which the applicant can either go smaller or go for a Variance when enlarging would bring them into the setback. The Board determined that the word “shall” instead of “may” should be used. Mr. Paradis advised the Board to read about interim signs in the Historic District section of the Ordinance.
C. Dingman made a MOTION, second by D. DeStefano, to INCLUDE THE WORD “SHALL” AND TO TAKE THIS PROPOSAL TO A PUBLIC HEARING. Mr. Paradis asked if the hearing date could be determined later and it was thought that it could. The motion CARRIED.
Signs: Mr. Paradis asked the Board to turn to section L. Ms. Bonsteel suggested that they should include the property owner, if different than the applicant. It was determined that, in the second line, before “Board of Selectmen” we should insert “property owner and the”.
Section A. Ms. Bonsteel asked about abandonment and Mr. Paradis explained that this should be addressed in Section B and we should think of how to add a sentence to cover it.
Section B. See above.
Section C. It was felt that we need to broaden the types of lights, such as LED, revolving, moving, and holographic. A discussion was held on electronic message signs and later thought to eliminate here.
Section D. Ms. DeStefano mentioned that some businesses close at 5:00 pm but the signs stay on until 8:00 or 9:00. Ms. Seeler said that it is a form of advertising. Mr. Dingman said that they would need a Variance if this stayed as presented. Ms. Bonsteel felt that an exception was needed for 24-hour businesses; they should be exempt. Mr. Favorite felt that C needs to change to allow LED and electronic message signs when they are stable for a time. The rapid change should not be allowed. Ms. Bonsteel asked about the Pharmacy changes. Mr. Paradis determined that the Board wished to prohibit rapidly changing signs.
To address Ms. DeStefano’s concern, it was determined to delete “whichever is earlier” from the 4th line and end the sentence with “11 P.M.”
Section E. Okay.
Section F. Okay.
Section G. Ms. Bonsteel felt that the setback of 15’ was too far and Mr. Babcock agreed. The Board determined to end the sentence with “lot line” in the first line, deleting “and fifteen (15) feet from the improved road edge where possible.”
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Signs continued:
Section H. Okay.
Section I. Okay.
Section J. Okay.
Section K. Okay.
Section L. See previous page.
Section M. Next to last line, change “top” to read “to”
Temporary Signs:
Section N.1. Ms. Bonsteel thought that this was only an issue in the summertime. Following more discussion, the Board determined to drop from the last line “with a limit of 120 days per year” due to the difficulty to enforce it.
Section N.2. In the second line, change “without” to “with” and “Sixteen (16)” to “Thirty-two (32)”.
Section N.3. Okay.
Section N.4. Okay.
Section N.5. Okay.
Section O. Okay.
Section P. Okay.
HDC Question: At this time, Mr. Favorite questioned why, in the Historic District Ordinance, there is the district and then the perimeter buffer and that the buffer has the same rules as the district. Mr. Dingman (Board member and also Chairman of the Historic District Commission) explained that the buffer just shows the perimeter of the district. Mr. Favorite said that he would rather see that the buffer have suggestions to compliment the district but not have to follow the rules of the district. Mr. Dingman stated that the buffer is just a name; they are considered a non-contributing section. The buffer is used only to construct the district. Ms. Bonsteel felt that they should strike buffer from the Ordinance. Mr. Dingman stated that the district includes all of these. The primary section protects the core and then there is the buffer section. These are buffers to those that are on the National Register of Historical Buildings. Ms. Bonsteel stated that, in Zoning, buffer is traditionally transitional. Mr. Paradis felt that we could add in the Historic District in the last line. Mr. Dingman questioned if it is worth taking to the voters just for a couple of words. The Board felt that it should and determined to add “Will be included in the Historic District.”
Fences: Mr. Paradis explained that he has not received anything from Ms. DellaCroce as yet.
Lighting/Dark Skies: Mr. Paradis would like to drop this one for this year as he did not feel that we have enough time left to do it justice.
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Steep Slopes: The Board received two proposals and comments from Boyd Smith, Director of the Newfound Lake Region Association. It was expressed that he had a conflict and could not attend this evening as he would have liked. Mr. Paradis felt that maybe we should hold this off a year, as well.
Ms. Bonsteel has been hearing that we are over-regulating already. Ms. Bonsteel added that Mr. Smith mentioned ridgelines and wondered if we should be looking at that. Mr. Paradis stated that this is already covered in our laws as you cannot subdivide anything over 15% grade.
Windmills/Wind Turbines: It was asked if we want to consider all energy sources. Mr. Paradis answered that the State and LRPC deal with just turbines. Mr. Favorite said that in the meeting Monday night, they talked about height, air flow highs and lows, and to pump water they pump oil to a furnace to heat water. All of this is expensive. He felt that ridgeline is better. Mr. Paradis felt that there are two issues: the large scale and the home use. He likes the model for home use. It is not too critical. Mr. Favorite said that Fran Parkhurst is beginning to supply some of the materials at her business. Mr. Paradis would like to continue working on this.
Outdoor boilers and Solar: Ms. Bonsteel stated that she has had one on Crescent St. where they want solar on an area of their deck. Mr. Paradis felt that we need to address this at some point.
Hearings: Mr. Paradis would like to hold the public hearings on whatever we get finished at our January meetings. We shall have to determine how to handle advertising in the papers.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Copies of Mr. Smith’s comments on Steep Slopes were given out to the members of the Board.
Mr. Paradis read the DES letter to J. P. Morrison in regard to removing asbestos material without proper notification.
Mr. Paradis read the DES letter to Frank & Shirley Bednaz for a waiver with conditions. Ms. Bonsteel explained that they clear-cut their property. They must now use blueberry matting. The property owner and the builder must sign an affidavit.
The Nov./Dec. 2008 Town & City went home with Mr. Paradis this time.
Mr. Paradis read the letter from John Thouin in regard to Dark Skies. He stated that our sign ordinance addresses some of Mr. Thouin’s concerns and we have looked more into the lighting since the Car Wash came in. Mr. Babcock mentioned the Caldwell Banker signs on Summer St. and Mr. Paradis said that the Site Plan should be looked at.
REPORTS:
Historic District: Nothing new.
Selectmen: Absent.
CIP: To go to the Budget Committee next.
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REPORTS continued:
PlanNH Charrette: Not received yet.
Other: Mr. Paradis mentioned that, somehow, the Planning Board budget had 3 lines cut off. He will see the Town Manager about this, especially as one of the lines is the CIP budget.
NEXT MEETING:
The next meeting will be held on December 10, 2008 at 7:00 pm. To date, we have a minor site plan for Joe Santamaria and a compliance hearing for Swiss View Village Condo. Assoc.
With no other business to address, E. Seeler made a motion, second by D. DeStefano, to adjourn at 10:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jan Laferriere, secretary