Washington Planning Board

Meeting Minutes

April 2, 2019

 

0.0       Assembly:  6:30PM, Town Hall

0.1       Members present: Crandall, Hatch, Dulac, Revane and Schwartz

            0.2       Alternates present: Kluk

0.3       Members and Alternates Absent: Terani, Chidester and Erik Shifflett

0.4       Visitors: None

 

Crandall opened the meeting at 6:30 PM

 

1.0       Minutes: March 5th meeting – Crandall asked if there were any comments on the minutes. No comments were made, Schwartz made a motion to approve as written, Dulac seconded the motion and all voted in favor.

 

2.0       New Business:

2.1       Election of Officers – Crandall stated that he felt he canÕt continue on as chair but he wanted to mention that he believes in consensus and cooperation. He said the Planning Board is a separately elected board from the Select Board and we should each stick to our jobs. He said the PB has been at the forefront of working on several big issues in the last few years, all of them opposed by the Select Board, but we were able to get things done and accomplished a lot. Hatch said he wanted to recognize CrandallÕs work on the board and said he was the one who brought him onto the board. He said he is encouraged by our work with the BoS in the last year and things have changed with that board. He feels it should all be about service to the town. Dulac agreed with Hatch and said that Crandall brought him onto the board also. He said that sometimes when you are at the end, negative things come to mind but CrandallÕs tenure has been a good one. Dulac said we look forward to working with the BoS.

            Dulac made a motion to nominate Hatch to serve as chair, Schwartz seconded the motion and all voted in favor. Crandall made a motion to make Schwartz the secretary, Dulac seconded the motion and all voted in favor. Hatch made a motion to make Dulac the vice chair, Schwartz seconded and all voted in favor.

At this point new chair Hatch took over running the meeting.

2.2       25th Annual Spring Planning and Zoning Conference – Schwartz said the conference is being held on Saturday June 1, 2019, in Concord at the Grappone Center. The conference agenda is available online, here: https://www.nh.gov/osi/planning/resources/conferences/spring-2019/documents/agenda.pdf

            Hatch encouraged everyone who can, to sign up and attend the conference. He will encourage all of our alternate members to attend also.

2.3       Sign Certification of updated LUO – Schwartz had all those present sign the updated LUO document, she will deliver a copy to the Town Clerk.

 

3.0       Old Business:

3.1       Business Permit – Schwartz said we are waiting for Noah Chidester to give us new paperwork for his application for Crestwood Landscaping LLC. Chidester is filling out the application form for Site Plan Review for home businesses. Shifflett is also looking at what he needs to do for his farm business.

3.2       Town Center Vision Committee – Hatch said the committee is meeting on Friday morning and Andru Volinsky, Ruth Ward and Steve Smith are all attending. Schwartz said that Ed Thayer and the BoS have been invited to join us. Hatch spoke about the attitudinal survey poster that was up at Town Meeting and we felt there was good participation. This was an early stab at getting input and we will look for more specifics later. He said Kevin Provencher has been great in contacting good people to work with us. Kluk talked about Jared and Penny and the LoveSullivan project she started. Kluk feels we should get some pictures up there in thanks for all they are doing for us. Crandall asked whether we were going to take the group or the DOT engineer for a walk.

3.3       Municipal Buildings project update – Revane said that the Town Hall elevator is in and awaiting inspection and more progress is being made upstairs (Kluk said the painters have started). He said that BoS met with the architect last Thursday on the Schoolhouse project and he had draft plans for them to review. Revane said they are considering a 7Õ6Ó finished height for the cellar instead of 8Õ so the forms used to pour the walls would be 8Õ instead of 10Õ giving them more options for installers. The Safety building is progressing.

3.4       Master Plan – This is a placeholder.

3.5       ZBA report – Hatch said that Revane has to step off the board because of his election as Selectman so the ZBA is looking for new members.

3.6       UVLSRPC – Dulac said the February meeting was cancelled and the next meeting is on April 10th. Schwartz asked him to pick up the zoning books when he is there.

3.7       Noise Ordinance – Schwartz sent the existing and HennikerÕs ordinances to members and she has about 6 other ordinances to look at from other towns.

3.8       Building Permit – Schwartz asked about updating the building permit and whether the ZBA is working on that or does the BoS want us to work on that. Revane said that the BoS would like help from all to work on it, including the Assessors. He said the LUO drives the permit and wanted to know if the variance process should be added to it. Hatch said we can discuss this. Schwartz said that the PB website has an information page that explains what people need to do to achieve their goals. Kluk suggested we do a news blast about the newest additions to the LUO. She asked if we should have a simpler application for small sheds. Revane thought it wasnÕt necessary. Schwartz said that you should have an easier way to permit a small shed. Hatch asked about the fee schedule for small sheds. Revane thought they need a minimal fee because the BoS does have to go out and check the site. Kluk read the existing fees on the permit. Hatch said he will go to the BoS meeting on Thursday and speak with them and suggest maybe under 50 sq. ft. have a $20 fee. Kluk would like a plan of action on the building permit. Hatch will let us know after he meets with them. Revane thinks the PB is the originator so it should start with us. Kluk said the LUO drives what is in the permit so we can work on it. Hatch said BoS uses it so we are willing to work on it in consultation with them.

            Hatch wants to take a structured look at the LUO over this year, maybe looking at it in pieces or sections instead of working on it in a reactionary way. Kluk said she has a list of items we need to tackle from a few years ago. Dulac feels that once we pass something there are issues that come up. Hatch said that we have to deal with things that come up but looking at the list is a good place to start. Kluk said we need to look for consistency across all our documents. Hatch said we need to get our ducks in a row before we tackle the next Master Plan.

 

4.0       Driveway Permits: None

 

5.0      Mergers: Marcel Trepanier, Barden Pond Road, merging lots TM19-19, TM19-20, TM 19-21 and TM 24-01, Schwartz found the deed for the property in the property file, she will check with Deb as to whether he gave her a check for the fee. Dulac made a motion to approve the merger, Schwartz seconded the motion and all voted in favor. Hatch signed the paperwork.

            

6.0       Communications:

            6.1       Intent-to-cut, copy of supplemental form, Lynn Cook, TM9-13, East Washington Rd.

 

7.0       Meeting date for next Planning Board meeting – May 7, 2019, at 6:30 PM, at the Town Hall. Hatch said he has a conflict with this date and we agreed to change the meeting to Tuesday, May 14th, Schwartz will notice.

 

8.0       Adjournment:                       Time: 7:45 PM

            Motioned by Crandall, seconded by Dulac, all voted in favor.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Nan Schwartz