Town of Walpole, Walpole, NH 03608
PLANNING BOARD MEETING
March 13, 2007–7:30 pm
Basement Meeting Room
MINUTES
Presiding: Robert Miller, V-Ch.
Members Present: Sheldon Sawyer, Selectman, Henry Fletcher, Eric Merklein, Ben Daviss, Dave DeCoste, Fred Dill, alt.
Members Absent: Jeff Miller, Ch., David Edkins, alt.
Recording: Pamela Aslinger, alt. and Secretary
These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the April 10, 2007 meeting for errors, omissions and corrections.
(There were 6 additional persons in attendance.)
I. Meeting opened at 7:35pm
A. Fred Dill was designated for Jeff Miller, Pam Aslinger designated for Jeff Miller during F. Dill’s subdivision preliminary consultation.
B. Minutes from 2/13/07 were approved as amended, a clarification by Mel Schupack and a comment added to the minutes by John Hansel. The 2/27/07 work session minutes were approved as presented.
II. V-Ch. Bob Miller closed the meeting and opened the Public Hearing on the Site Plan Review
amendment as shown on the agenda. Mr. B. Miller read the amendment out loud. He then read a letter into the record, received by the Planning Board via e-mail to the Secretary on 3/12/07 from Attny. Thomas Hanna on behalf of Walpole Properties LLC and Berkshire-Walpole LLC who own property in the commercial district. The letter questions the Board’s authority to enact a change in the Site Plan Review regulations when the intent is to mandate a limitation on lot coverage he thinks should be addressed in the zoning ordinance. He asks for the Board “to drop its effort to impose a coverage requirement through the site plan review amendment process”. V-Ch. Miller announced due to receiving the letter at the 11th hour, he said he felt it was important to get an opinion as to the Board’s actions other than from Mr. Hanna with all due respect to his question. He said Ms. Aslinger had contacted SWRPC and NH Local Govt. Center for their input, she reported the NHLGC Legal Services would be responding by 3/14/07 and they advised Town counsel be asked to give an opinion as well. V. Ch. Miller asked the Board to table further action on the amendment until an opinion could be presented. It was so moved and seconded. Mr. Dill asked if the Board would be continuing the Public Hearing until the April 10, 2007 meeting in order to avoid additional notification costs? Mr. Sawyer withdrew his motion and moved to continue the Public Hearing and Board action on the amendment until the April 10, 2007 meeting. The motion was seconded, vote called, motion carried. It was requested of the Secretary to simply re-post the notice of the continued Public Hearing for the April meeting. Sec. Aslinger said she would inform the members by e-mail once the NHLGC responds. She said there are two RSA’s pertaining to wording requirements both in the Zoning Ordinance and Site Plan Review Regulations, the Zoning Ordinance (674:16) addresses “percentage of a lot that may be occupied and other open spaces” but Site Plan Review (674:44) may also “provide for open space and green spaces of adequate proportions.” She noted it is ambiguous but the Board should not attempt to zone through the site plan review regulations.
III. Public Hearing was adjourned until the April 10, 2007 meeting. Meeting was re-opened.
IV. Board delayed action on the Site Plan Review amendment until the April 10, 2007 meeting.
V. Unfinished Business
A. Jeff Michaud 2 lot minor subdivision approved at the Feb. 13, 2007 meeting. Sec. Aslinger reported the Board approved the subdivision plan without obtaining the State Subdivision Approval required on lots under 5 acres. She said she notified Mr. Michaud on 2/14/07 who agreed to apply for the approval and not to record the plan until approval had been granted. She spoke with him earlier today he is waiting for the frost to melt before his engineer can perform the test pit. He said he was not planning to build on the site this year, but would keep the Board informed as to the outcome of the State Subdivision approval.
Comment: Mr. Hansel asked to make a comment, although it was “out of order”. V-Ch. Miller did not object. Mr. Hansel asked for the Board during the Site Plan Review amendment process to review the “Statement of Purpose” as outlined in the Site Plan Review regulations that expresses very clearly what the Board’s powers are as a prelude to the Site Plan itself. He asked the minutes reflect his comment, that the Board takes it into consideration during future deliberations on the Site Plan amendment.
VI. New Business: Preliminary Conceptual Consultations
A. V-Ch. Miller called for Mr. Fred Dill to make his presentation of a Major 12 lot subdivision located on Hooper Rd. Map 8 Lot 15 in the Rural Agricultural and Residential A districts. Mr. Dill recused himself Ms. Aslinger was designated as alternate for J. Miller.
Mr. Dill presented preliminary map/plans for the Board to review. The plans showed 12 new lots, with the existing farmhouse and pond shown as a pre-existing lot. Lots 1-11 range from 1.45 acres to 3.34 acres with Lot 12 as 13.59 acres. Lot 12 and 4 have frontage on Wentworth Rd. Lot 11 and 10 are accessed by a ROW off Hooper Road but have the required frontage on Old Keene Rd. The remaining lots are accessed and have frontage on Hooper Rd. Test pits have been dug on all lots. It was noted south of Hooper Rd. is Rural Agricultural zoning district, north is in the Residential A district. (Sec. note: 3/15 Mr. Dibernardo questions the zoning designation, according to his GPS findings and zoning map, the entire area appears to be only in the Res. A. zone, this information will be clarified prior to submission of the completed application.) All lots conform to the zoning requirements as shown, no new roads. Mr. Dill said he hadn’t applied to the State for subdivision approval pending any problems the Board may see on the preliminary plans. He said it has been logged recently, he suggested members drive by to get a better idea. Mr. DeCoste asked about Lot 9 if the acreage of 1.47 included the ROW, it does. Mr. Dill explained the steep terrain on the lots abutting Old Keene Rd. was a factor in designing the shared driveway/ROW on lots 11 and 10 adding it was aesthetically more pleasing. Mr. Sawyer asked if Mr. Dill would consider “like in the old days” putting in a Bandstand on Lot 12? He said the Boston Pops would come up on Sundays so the Bellow’s could be entertained. He pointed out where the old Bandstand had been in about lot 6 and 7. He said people used to come up on the train. Mr. Dill questioned whether it might have been across the street in the big house? Mr. Miller noted the frontage measurement was missing from lot 4. Joe DiBernardo said the plans were preliminary and missing some information, he said it is 200 ft. Mr. Miller said it was obvious the number of lots were “maximized”. Mr. Dill pointed out not so, the big lot with an added road would have allowed for 5 or 6 more lots. He added the lots of more than 2 acres are larger than the Town’s requirement, saying he might have been able to get an additional couple of lots by reducing the acreage requirement. Mr. Miller noted Lot 12 has the minimum 200 ft. of frontage thereby is not re-subdividable. Mr. Dill said Lot 12 could be expanded to 5 or 6 lots by putting in a new Town road. He said he didn’t think the Town was accepting new roads nor was he willing to go to that expense. He said he thought Lot 12 was more desirable as a larger lot. Mr. Miller inquired about the old wagon missing from the lot he enjoyed seeing it. Mr. Dill said he thought it had been plowed into the woods it was falling apart and there were a lot of bees in it. Mr. Miller said it was a pleasant view for the area. Mr. Dill said when he described the property to anyone he usually said where “the big dog was”. Mr. Miller asked about the existing farmhouse lot and Lot 1, specifically the wetlands designation. Mr. Dill said two spots are wet on Lot 1, also pointed out the stream on Lot 12. Mr. Sawyer asked about a small piece of property belonging to Mr. Jeffreys, Mr. Dill said he knew about it but is unsure of it’s status. Ms. Aslinger asked if the zoning designation could be shown on the maps? It was explained to members it followed Hooper Rd. Ms. Aslinger pointed out the subdivision had the look of a higher density development along the road with a large piece of land, Lot 12 in the back. She asked Mr. Dill if Lot 12 would be designated a “park” for the new lot owners. Mr. Dill said no, then it would be called cluster development, not allowed in Walpole and cluster is a bad word in Walpole. She said the plans did have a “cluster” style design to it which was nice but minus the common open space. He said he was for cluster housing but thought is was a lost cause. Mr. Sawyer agreed saying there could have been a lot more open space incorporated into the design if it was allowed. Ms. Aslinger asked if the large lot connected to any other conservation land possibly creating a corridor? Mr. Dill said he didn’t think it did. Mr. Sawyer pointed out the Lazzaro property off Old Keene Rd. and also below Wilson Rd. the Phsherrer property is in conservation. Mr. Merklein asked Mr. Dill if he would consider putting Lot 12 into a conservation area. Mr. Dill said he has a problem with the conservation land in Walpole, being neglected, never logged, no walking trails, he would rather not contribute to their land practices. Mr. Merklein asked about keeping it as open space. Mr. Sawyer offered he had spoken with the Conservation Commission, they are willing to have a forester go in and look over a property, he would suggest it as a possibility. Mr. Dill said he was open to suggestions, but not willing to put the land in the bank and have it deteriorate. He said the Lazzaro property couldn’t even be walked on he thought it was a waste to let it go. Mr. Sawyer said Lazzaro had done some recent logging. Mr. Merklein said on his recent trip to an Alablaman tree farm, management practices were amazing, when a tree was ready it was taken down and another put in its place. Mr. Dill said he knew of those types of farms and how you could see the tree rings in the stump showing it’s age and growth patterns. Mr. Miller said he is concerned that the lot layouts are similar to the lots towards Keene he wants to avoid the undesirable look of that development. Mr. Sawyer pointed out Wentworth and County Roads have similar layouts already. Mr. Dill said if you look at areas of Town that have shared driveways, it improves the look and he has incorporated some of that “clustering” in his design. He said there is certainly fear about cluster housing; if you make it easier for the builder he’ll build more, but he said, cluster housing is much more appealing by incorporating a park area and placing the homes along a winding road. Mr. Merklein reminded the members of the presentation OEP made regarding Village Overlay Subdivisions. Mr. Joe Dibernardo said he has done cluster developments across the River, saying it is the best use of the land because there is usually a percentage of the area reserved for open space and common land. He said it is better to locate the house sites by considering the terrain instead of frontage requirements. Mr. Dill said most people don’t want to maintain 2 acres of land, with cluster development you can offer housing with less land maintenance. He said Mr. Jasse’s property lent itself to having the open land in the front with the houses placed in the woods, this parcel doesn’t have that feature so is somewhat limited. He said the large lot isn’t situated where it would be convenient for the rest of the residents. Mr. Sawyer said some Towns offer a 50 foot ROW off the frontage into a large lot in the back as an option to keep houses from lining the streets. Ms. Aslinger said also known as “pork chop” lots as opposed to “spaghetti lots”. She asked if the plans were complete, Mr. Dill pointed out on the existing farmhouse lot, they moved the back line to accommodate Lot 1’s wet area. (Sec. note: The plans show a 12 lot subdivision and lot line adjustment on existing lot and lot 1) He said they have not spoken to the Town about the road, Mr. Sawyer said the Town upgraded Hooper Road two years ago, put in culverts and resurfaced it. He would be submitting his application to the Board for the April 10, 2007 meeting formal acceptance and Public Hearing will be scheduled for the May meeting.
B. Dale Woodward - Minor subdivision Hubbard Farms, Huntington Farm property - Mr. Toby Tousle was present to discuss a 3 Lot subdivision on Map 12 Lot 54, the parcel being voted on today which may or may not change the zone from Rural Ag. to Industrial. He explained in order to close on his deal, Hubbard wished to retain roughly 3 acres along the northwest boundary to include 3 buildings as a new Lot 3, as well as retain their Lab on the northeast corner in the Commercial Zone as new Lot 2, with the remainder of the parcel being Lot 1. The access for the lab and Lot 2 would be via the existing lane. He showed the area on an aerial photo/map. No frontage if the zone changes to Industrial is required for proposed Lot 3. He said eventually there would be some changes to Huntington Lane to accommodate future industrial sites he’s had some other inquiries. He pointed out the land below the buildings approximately 10 acres would never be built on and is in the flood plain and wellhead protection area. V-Ch. Miller read a letter into the record from Mark Houghton, Superintendent of the Water Department asking the Board to take into consideration his comments on any proposals within the wellhead protection area. The letter was dated 3/12/07 and received by the Board 3/13/07 for tonight’s meeting. It also offered facts regarding the possible re-zoning of the “Hubbard B Farm” and the potential for degradation of the Town’s drinking water sources. It mentioned the protective measures the Department with the Source Water Protection Committee, and Land Use Boards have taken, such as adopting a wellhead protection overlay district voted on by the Town as a zoning change in 2004 based on a 2003 report. Mr. Houghton closed with this thought: “Walpole is fortunate to have two aquifers to draw water from -- that’s two more than many of our neighbors have. Using a proactive approach to guide development on land over these aquifers today will ensure an invaluable resource for tomorrow.”
Sec. Aslinger said she would send him a copy of the minutes from tonight’s meeting and future agendas to keep him informed. Mr. Dave DeCoste said he felt strongly Mr. Houghton should be part of any review brought before the Board involved with drinking water protection.
Mr. Tousle reminded the Board he had contacted Brackett Geo. Services, the same firm the Town uses, who wrote a letter to the Board about the well-head protection zone. Mr. Tousle said they were prepared to install monitoring systems or whatever means necessary to insure the wellheads were protected and protect the aquafir. He said he had spoken with Mr. Speed of the Conservation Commission. He said the proposal he was presenting tonight is already an existing use so has no additional consequence. Mr. Hansel asked if they would be drilling new wells, answer was the parcel would use Town water, not a private system.
Mr. Dill asked if the zoning change doesn’t pass, would that affect this proposal. Mr. Tousle answered if the change fails this proposal would “go away” along with the sale of the property as it stands today. He said they might negotiate something different. Sec. Aslinger asked when they would like to submit this 3 lot subdivision, she said the Board normally takes applications at their meetings only, but if the Board would vote to divert from that procedure, he could submit his application by March 26th for the April 10, 2007 meeting. He said he would like to have the proposal on for the April 10 meeting but he is not prepared to submit the application at tonight’s meeting. A motion to allow the applicant to submit their application to the Secretary prior to March 26th, to be processed for the April 10, 2007 meeting was made and seconded. The motion carried. Mr. Tousle and/or Mr. Joe DiBernardo will contact the Secretary later in the month.
C. Mr. Bob Jasse - Joe DiBernardo presented maps and application materials for a 3 Lot Subdivision located on Wentworth Rd. and Graves Rd. Map 5 Lot 2-9 in the Rural Agricultural District. Mr. DiBernardo pointed out Lot 3 of 13.93 acres as non-developed, Lots 1 & 2 are buildable but include conservation areas, no build zones, shown in hatch marks. Lot 1 is 13.75 acres, Lot 2, 11.01 acres. He indicated a ROW from Wentworth Rd. across Lot 1 extending to Lot 3 and Lot 2. He noted that a cluster ordinance would have enhanced this project. Mr. Jasse explained the purpose of the subdivision was to create 2 more lots and set aside the non-buildable lot. He stated his intention is to provide for his family and to leave his options open. He is doubtful a broad based tax will be realized; he worries that a view tax will make it impossible to continue with his operation. Ms. Aslinger stated she had been assessed a view tax in Warner, NH raising her taxes on her view property from 7000.00 to 12000.00 in one year. Mr. DeCoste objected to the complaint of a view tax when the surrounding property has been sold for higher prices not because of a view but because the land is valued higher. He agreed with Mr. Jasse about the need for a broad based tax. Mr. Jasse made one final point, he said when he bought the land he went to Cornell and UNH, they suggested land with good air drainage. He said the land had good air drainage and wasn’t thinking about the view, in fact there were many trees on the property when he bought it. He said he planted 28,000 trees dug 4 acres of ponds, put in a runway, we created a few good views, so he doesn’t think this wound should be inflicted on him. He said as an asset Alyson’s Apple Orchard has a definite time limit. Mr. Fletcher noted if he owned a piece of land and decided to cut trees down that opened up a view on an abutting property, the abutter could be taxed for that view. Mr. Dill asked if the “not to be developed” Lot 3 was being deeded that way, Mr. Jasse said no it is currently a woodlot. All other lots shown on the plans pre-exist. A motion to place the application on the April 10, 2007 meeting and schedule the Public Hearing was made and seconded, motion carried. Fees are pending.
D. Sec. Aslinger said she receives calls throughout the month from potential applicants and wished to keep the Board informed. By phone, Mr. Snow from Appledore Design in Portsmouth asked about parking lot ratios and sizes in regard to a parcel between the Ames building and Fall Mtn. Bldg. Supply which includes the Reel to Reel Store. She answered back to him by e-mail stating parking lot sizes and ratios are not specified in the Site Plan Regs, the Board relies on current industry standards. She said to the Board, the parcel is owned by Berkshire Development and may have some frontage constraints as Meadow Lane bisects the parcel but cannot be used as frontage. She thought they would need to subdivide the land because Walpole only allows one building per lot. Mr. Dill thought the original developer had an approved plan that showed two buildings on that property prior to Berkshire and Randy Daniels, when the grocery store was built. He remembered seeing a map showing pre-approved buildings on either side of Meadow Lane. Sec. Aslinger suggested because each part of the Plaza has special ownership issues, the Board should review all the past approvals and try to reconstruct who owns what. Members agreed and asked to have the materials gathered for the next work session so the Board would be dealing in facts on future development of the area.
Walpole Planning Board Minutes March 13, 20007 page 5
Ms. Aslinger also received a letter from Judith Barden of Barden Holdings, LLC or Keene, petitioning the Board to approve a subdivision of Lot 42, Map 9 located on March Hill Rd with the intention of selling the property to Dennis and Patricia Beaudoin abutters, Map 9 Lots 53 and 54. Ms. Aslinger replied in writing notifying her the Board did not approve subdivisions by petition, explained the application process but has not heard back from her. Mr. Fletcher noted he saw a transfer of property in that location in the Keene Sentinel a couple a weeks ago that may be related. Sec. Aslinger hoped property wasn’t being transferred without subdivision.
VII. Communications and Miscellaneous
A. Work Session Agenda 3/27/07 - Ben Daviss said the work session generated a good group of people interested in the Master Plan update and in deference to their input rather than reviewing the Goal and Objectives sections, Mel Schupack was gathering ideas for an introductory vision statement to Master Plan and Land Use section identifying the values of the Town. Mr. Schupack will have a draft presentation of those ideas for the March work session. Mr. Daviss said in order to move the update process ahead he has contacted Teresa Kissell in the Town Office about expanding the Town’s website to include the update by way of message boards, draft documents, meeting notices, minutes so it can speed up and include more people in the process. He asked if the Board would authorize her to do this. Ms. Aslinger noted the Board of Selectmen would need to give her permission to add the extra work into her schedule. Ms. Kissell stated she is pressed for time but would be able to incorporate additional information as time allows. Ms. Aslinger said Ms. Kissell had very kindly added a special section for the Master Plan ahead of this request and was willing to make the site more user friendly for the Town. Ms. Aslinger thought it was a good use of the site and thought it would be good to have townspeople get used to using the site not only for the Master Plan but for minutes and agendas of meetings. Mr. Dill asked if Ms. Kissell’s additional time would be taken out of the Planning Board budget. Mr. Sawyer said Teresa would allocate her time to the Planning Board. Mr. Daviss said he hoped to find a volunteer to take over some of the duties as well. A motion to make a request of the Board of Selectmen to authorize Teresa Kissell to expand the Town website to include the Master Plan update was made, seconded, motion carried.
B. Review agenda items for 4/10/07, as mentioned above.
C. SWRPC - Sec. Aslinger stated Ch. J. Miller was questioning when their estimate might be complete. Mr. Daviss said he would contact them again. Mr. Dill asked about using SWRPC on questions like the Tom Hanna letter, who pays for it. Answer: Under the Town’s membership we are allowed some free information and there is free legal assistance available at the NH Local Govt. Center as a member of the Municipal Association. Ms. Aslinger said while the advice is free, the lawyer on call stated we should back up their opinion with Town Counsel however it is helpful to have initial information to use to ask an intelligent question of Town Counsel.
D. Other - Ms. Aslinger mentioned her “notes” that she and Ch. Miller did meet with the Selectmen in regard to when they decide to include the land use boards in reviewing Town projects. She said the Selectmen were very helpful and informative and basically agreed the land use boards should be included in Town project reviews and have been in the past. She said Ch. Miller stated if the Bandstand passes it may or may not be reviewed based on what it costs under the Site Plan Review. She said rather than going into further details at this time it is best to wait until after Town Meeting, members agreed.
D. Other - Mr. Sawyer said for everyone’s information at the Saturday Town meeting, the first article will be on the Ballam Farm bond issue, it will be passed over until May 5th so they can hold the bond hearing that wasn’t properly held. He said the article at the May 5th meeting would be a vote by ballot.
VIII. Meeting adjourned at 9:00pm
Next regular meeting will be held 4/10/07. A work session will be held 3/27/07 in the basement office at 7:00pm.
cc: PB, ZBA, MP, WCC, BOS, M. Houghton, Supt. Water
posted: by 3/19/07 Town Hall, Lobby, Burdick’s Market