Washington Planning Board

Meeting Minutes - Draft

June 1, 2021

0.0       Assembly:  6:30PM, at Town Hall

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

            0.2       Alternates present: None

0.3       Members and Alternates Absent: Terani and Chidester

0.4       Visitors: Peter Mellen, Rebecca Persechino, Georgann Casey

Hatch opened the meeting at 6:30PM.

1.0 Minutes: May 4^th meeting – Hatch asked if there were any changes needed for the minutes, none were mentioned. Kluk made a motion to approve as written, Crandall seconded the motion and all voted in favor.

2.0       New Business –

2.1 Business Permit from Edward (Ted) Bryant – We reviewed a Business Permit Application for Ted Bryant at 142 Bradford Springs Road. He is a firearms dealer who wants to run a shop from his home. The intent is not for retail sales. This location is the site of previous gun seller and the space is already set up to do this. We decided he met the requirements for a minor home occupation and Schwartz will send him the Exemption for Site Plan Review paperwork to fill out.

2.2 Discussion of shed conversion, seasonal home conversions – Revane said the BoS had a question about conversion of a shed into seasonal home. There are issues with people living in buildings not designed for this purpose and using a port-o-potty for sanitation. Schwartz said she has been asked about “dry camps” and what is permitted. We discussed change of use and the need for a construction permit. Kluk had put together helpful research of LUO sections pertaining to this seasonal issue, which we discussed. Kluk will reach out to NHMA and look at state regulations on camping and criteria for living spaces. Hatch will bring it up with UVLSRPC.

2.3       Sugar River Region Destination Management Council – Schwartz provided the Board with a letter from Upper Valley seeking members for their new council promoting the Upper Valley/Sugar River area.

3.0       Old Business:

3.1       Tweedy Subdivision, Peter Mellen – Mellen provided the mylars, the updated (showing the corner pins) paper plans and a check for the fees and LCHIP fee for the Tweedy Subdivision. Hatch signed the copies and gave Mellen a signed paper copy for his files. Schwartz will bring the mylar up to the Registry of Deeds later in the week.

3.2       Georgann Casey – Casey came in to question the RSAs sent to her by Schwartz to explain why she needs to have a licensed surveyor draw a plan for her subdivision. Kluk explained that she is making a change and a legal record needs to be made. Casey asked Mellen if a surveyor could come in and look at what is there and stamp a plan. He explained that he couldn’t, there are legal requirements that control what he can and can’t do as a licensed surveyor.

3.3 Persechino lots – Mellen stated that he is doing a survey of the Persechino’s lot and there are 3 tracts laid out in their deed. The tract with the house is described as 2.5 acres; the second tract is on an abutter’s land and is large enough for a well and pipes to the house. The third tract is 5.2 acres below the house that includes the pond frontage. The Persechino’s want to preserve the lot as multiple lots and the deadline for doing so is December 2021. This was an involuntary merger by the town done years ago. Persechino said that her sister and brother-in-law want to build on the lower lot but don’t want the acreage and Persechino’s don’t want to lose their pond front. Mellen wanted to discuss the possibility of swapping the acreage of the lots and wanted to know if they would need to go to the ZBA for a variance. We all agreed that you can’t make a non-conforming lot less conforming and hardship is not possible here. Mellen suggested building first on the 5.2 acres and then moving the lot lines. Hatch suggested making it a 4-acre lot with the excess acres going to the Persechinos.

3.4 Sign Permit for Gibson’s Pewter – Schwartz asked the dimensions of the sign after we tabled the permit last month and it was 14”x142”. The LUO permits 12 sqft so we determined that their sign is 1.8’ over the permitted size. It was also installed before the permit was acquired. Schwartz will send a letter asking that they meet with the board to figure out a mitigation strategy.

3.5       Lucky 7 Farm – Revane said the BoS received notice of an emergency septic system repair and it included mention of a butcher shop. Schwartz said the butcher room was observed on the site walk as existing and is not an added part of the farm business.

3.6 RV Park plan for East Washington Road, Hillsborough – Schwartz said that the Hillsboro Planning Board approved the RV Park with conditions and they still need to go to the ZBA for a Special Exception. They need to acquire numerous other permits from DES, etc.

3.7       Town Center Vision project – Crandall presented a preliminary plan for the driveway and building access. He is suggesting some parking behind the buildings on top of the leach field. He spoke with Costello who thought it was possible but more investigation needs to be done with Thayer. Schwartz pointed out a few structural objects in the area that need to be avoided or relocated. Schwartz had an alternate plan for the front driveway access to consider instead of having no drive out front. The board is supportive of looking into the leach field parking. Crandall commented that the heat pump/cooling and sound absorbing panels are now in place in the upstairs Town Hall meeting space, thanks to some very generous donors.

3.8       Old Schoolhouse project update – Revane said they would move ahead with more work on the OSH this year if the warrant article asking for money passes at Town Meeting.

3.9       Master Plan – this is a placeholder.

3.10     ZBA Report – Hatch said that they have two things for us to look at. In LUO section 403.1 they want to know if they can grant a variance under this even though it doesn’t state that they can. They have an issue with a case with a sideline variance. We looked into the 35’ between buildings due to fire hazard. It is found in 402.2 in the LUO and is a Life Safety issue. Hatch said that they granted a rehearing of a contested denial after receiving a letter from their lawyer questioning their process. The Town Attorney is reviewing the case.

3.11 UVLSRPC – No report but they are having their annual retreat soon.

3.10 LUO Issues - We discussed issues we need to research and discuss this year are Tiny Homes, other LUO update needs, section 200.4, 304 and Certificate of Occupancy. We will add camping, dwellings and seasonal uses to the list of things to look at this year. Kluk will research camping and Schwartz sent information about a webinar on Tiny Houses taking place later this month.

4.0       Driveway Permits:

4.1 Alan & Kristine Chidester, Millen Pond Road, TM 11-39-2, Ed signed, recommending a 15” culvert in the ditch line. Andrew signed off on it and Schwartz notified the Chidester’s.

4.2 James Dunton, Bailey Road, TM 20-32, access for camping.

4.3 Chris Stubbs, Beaver Brook Road, TM 20-182, access for a home.

Schwartz will let Thayer know about the two new applications and Hatch will look at them after Thayer makes his recommendations.

5.0       Mergers: None

Discussion - Kluk mentioned a NH court case involving Occupancy Permits and a town where they only looked at setbacks and those types of issues. The building didn’t meet code and the Superior Court said the Town wasn’t liable for not checking the structure but if there were a loss of life the Town would be liable. There should be a discussion about code inspectors. Revane said there should be a demolition permit added to the construction permit to inform the Town and Assessors when a structure is taken down.

6.0       Communications:

6.1       Intent-to-cut, TM 7-51, Rte. 31 North, Krone

7.0 Meeting date for next Planning Board meeting – July 6, 2021, at 6:30 PM, at Town Hall.

9.0 Adjournment:                       Time: 9:15PM

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

Respectfully Submitted,  

Nan Schwartz