Washington Planning Board

Meeting Minutes - Draft

May 1, 2018

0.0       Assembly:  6:30PM, Town Hall

0.1       Members present: Crandall, Hatch, Krygeris and Schwartz

            0.2       Alternates present: Kluk and Terani

0.3       Members and Alternates Absent: Dulac and Russell

0.4       Visitors: None

Crandall called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM, he appointed Kluk to sit in for Dulac. He welcomed Al Krygeris as our new Ex-Officio member.

1.0       Minutes:

April 3^rd meeting – Crandall asked if there were any comments on the minutes. Hatch pointed out several typos that Schwartz will fix. There being no other comments Kluk made a motion to approve with the correction, Crandall seconded the motion and all voted in favor with Krygeris abstaining because he wasn’t present at the meeting.

2.0       New Business:

2.1       Business permit application, application for site plan exemption, Anna Annelli, Smith Pond Road, Tea and tea party business – Schwartz went over the applications for the board. Kluk had a question about the exemption application and felt that Annelli didn’t meet all the criteria; item E. in particular. This item concerns onsite sales and services. Crandall felt it would be better to have a site visit and hold a hearing. Kluk moved to deny the request for site plan exemption, Hatch seconded the motion and all voted in favor. We felt that because she is going to serve food she will need to call the state about that, as per the application. Schwartz will send her the application for a home business site plan review.

2.2       Certification of updated LUO – Members signed the certificate, Schwartz will give the Town Clerk a copy of the new certified LUO. It is already posted on the website.

3.0 Old Business:

3.1       24th Annual Spring Planning and Zoning Conference – Crandall reported that 4 members attended the conference. He commented that the conference seems to promote the programs that the state comes up with. Kluk commented that Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) seem to be backfiring in some communities because people are using them for short-term rental units instead of their intended use. They are coming up with some updates and fixes for the RSAs so we may not have to update the LUO. The changes concern the turning an ADU into a condo and selling it as a separate unit and septic requirements for additional bedrooms. The state will require a septic design but won’t make you do a new system until the old one fails.

Kluk mentioned a book that was recommended at the conference: “Land Use and Planning” by Peter Loughlin, Esq. Schwartz will look it up and we will consider getting a copy.

Kluk said she and Crandall attended the Historic Preservation session and it was good. They spoke about possible available grant money and mentioned “Certified Local Governments” designation for towns with Heritage Commissions. This designation opens up a lot of grant possibilities. Crandall said that Newport (and many other towns) have this designation. Kluk said a Heritage Commission is similar to a Conservation Commission in that they have an advisory role and it is not at all like a historic district. We will do some more research on Heritage Commissions and bring it back next month. Crandall said this could tie into the Town Center Vision project.

            Hatch said he went to all the ZBA sessions and they were informative. Schwartz went to the “Bristol Reborn” session and they also touched on the Certified Local Government idea. They did a project to rework their downtown area. They held a PlanNH charrette to kick the project off and it got them off on good footing with a plan. She also attended the “Solar” session and the presenters are working on a model ordinance that will be out soon so we can take a look at it. It concerns solar arrays (not roof-top residential solar). Krygeris asked if people need a building permit for a ground-mounted array for a home location and Kluk asked if setbacks apply. We thought they did because it is a structure but need to do more research on the subject. Schwartz said that roof top systems can be a problem for fire fighters; they need to be trained on how to deal with them and shutting down the power source.

Crandall and Schwartz attended the “Recusal” session with Matt Serge (town counsel) and Margaret from NHMA and they both thought it was really good.

3.2 Town Center Vision – Crandall said that he announced the project at Town Meeting and some people spoke up and wanted to be involved. He asked if it is a subcommittee of the PB, he feels it should be. He asked if we want to have only people from the town center or should we include others that are interested. We felt that anyone interested should be involved. Crandall recommended a group of 5 or 6 people in addition to PB members. We discussed a list of people and agreed that Crandall should contact them. Terani asked if they would report to us and Kluk said we would have members on it so we will hear monthly reports.  Crandall asked how we should proceed. We thought that ideas need to bubble up from the subcommittee. We will hold a community wide event at some point. Hatch said that the initiative was brought to the PB by citizens and should be a citizen effort. Hatch said that Noah Chidester approached him at Town Meeting and wants to be involved; he is a landscape designer and could be very helpful, he will speak with him. Kluk has a list of possible funding and organizations we can contact for help and grant money. Crandall will contact his list and we will try to hold a preliminary meeting later in May. Krygeris said that someone brought up, to the BoS, the idea to move the bandstand off the small triangle of land to a better spot for concerts. This could be an issue that is discussed.

3.3 Municipal Buildings project update:

            We are holding our first meeting in the Town Hall! There are still a small list of things that need to be finished, but Milestone did a beautiful job on the building.

            The Schoolhouse is still being looked at. Krygeris said that there is a question about who to use for the architect. He feels Drasba is good but maybe we could use the one they used on the FD building (Katie Cassidy Sutherland). The board expressed their interest in being involved and helping with the Schoolhouse project. Hatch asked Krygeris if they have any sense from Ryan Murdough about how it is working as a PD, when we spoke to him last year he was brand new in the position. Krygeris thinks it is working fine and he hasn’t asked for any big changes in the space. Krygeris is taking a sample of the degraded insulation powder to the state lab for testing. It will be removed and replaced with cellulose eventually. Hatch said the Energy Committee has data on fuel use for TH and OSH and the schoolhouse is very wasteful. Crandall again expressed our offer of help with anything Krygeris needs on the building.

            The FD building garage is getting close to done so they can move the trucks in soon opening up the existing station for renovation. There will be a small committee to work on the details of the space to meet all the needs of the users.

3.4       Master Plan – this is a placeholder. Schwartz said she feels we are doing a good job of moving things forward.

3.5       Collection of data from ZBA on non-conforming lots and setback information from other towns – Hatch hasn’t had time to speak with ZBA members about a joint meeting but he will at their meeting later this month. He said that Valley Road is a hot spot because of lot sizes. He said the defining notion is that you have to have a unique situation to deal with for variances but there is a universal problem out there. He said the hardship rule is difficult and he is an advocate for clean documentation on their records. Schwartz did some research and when Highland Lake was developed it was in the 1950/60’s and the lots were set out for camps and smaller dwellings. The deeded setbacks were 5’ from a sideline, 20’ from the road and no setback from the waterfront. Both LAE and WLA have the same deeded setbacks: 10-foot setbacks for sideline and 50” from the water. The LUO supersedes any deeded setbacks. Krygeris said that as an Assessor they had people complain that some lots in developments that they purchased were not buildable because of ledge or wetland. The lesson being buyer beware, no lot is guaranteed to be buildable.

3.6       Nuisance Ordinance – At the request of the BoS we are looking at adding a nuisance ordinance to the LUO. Kluk has done some research and found some towns with these ordinances. Krygeris said that they think it is the responsibility of the Health Officer. We liked what Berlin has, but they have changed it. We will keep gathering information.

4.0 Driveway Permits: None

5.0 Mergers:

5.1 Georgann Casey, 117 Washington Heights Dr, TM 7-25 and 7-24, deeds provided, fee paid, Crandall motioned to approve the merger pending receipt of the notarized signature page, Kluk seconded the motion and all voted in favor.

5.2       Craig Gebo, Washington Dr, TM 12-123 and 12-127, deeds provided, fee paid, Kluk recused herself as an abutter to Gebo. Hatch made a motion to approve the merger, Crandall seconded the motion and all others voted in favor. Crandall signed the merger and Schwartz will send to the Registry of Deeds.

6.0 Communications:

            Intent-to-cut, David Vos, TM 7-22 & 23, Washington Heights

7.0 Meeting date for next Planning Board meeting, June 4, 2018, at 6:30 PM, at the Town Hall

8.0 Adjournment:                       Time: 8:15PM

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

Respectfully Submitted,

Nan Schwartz