Washington Planning Board

Meeting Minutes

July 5, 2017

0.0       Assembly:  6:30PM

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

            0.2       Alternates present: Kluk

            0.3       Members and Alternates Absent: Terani and Russell

0.4       Visitors: Kristine Chidester, Alan Chidester, Clayton Platt

Crandall called the meeting to order at 6:30PM.

1.0       Minutes:

June 6, 2017 – Correction mentioned to remove Hatch from members present, replace with Terani. Schwartz will make the corrections and motioned to approve the minutes as written, Hatch seconded the motion and all voted in favor.

June 27, 2017 Joint working meeting – Several corrections were mentioned, Schwartz will make the corrections, Dulac made a motion to approve with corrections, Williams seconded the motion and all voted in favor.

2.0       New Business:

2.1       Beth Gallagher – Beth lives on Berweg Road in East Washington and wants to have a home business selling automobiles. She needs our approval for a business permit before the state will issue her a license to sell cars. She anticipates having 2 to 3 vehicles at a time plus a few additional parking spaces. She said she has spoken to two of her abutters and they are supportive. She abuts the Eccardt Farm pasture and has a shared driveway with her sister Fay. She said in order to have a dealership number assigned by the state she needs a business permit from the town. Her ownership name has been applied. The DMV will allow her to sell at least 6 vehicles in a year and she can go to auctions to buy cars. She will sell on Craig’s list and at the house. She said she measured the setbacks and has (10’X20’) spaces for 6 cars. She provided us with a map of the yard. She will want 2 signs, one on the mailbox and one on the shed (maybe a directional sign down on the corner), so she will need to fill out a sign permit application. Kluk commented that her application was very thorough and complete. Crandall said we could issue a business permit conditional on the state giving her all the permits they require. He explained the first step is holding a site walk and public hearing, which we could do at our August 1^st meeting. We set the date for the site walk for Monday, July 10^th at 10am. Schwartz will notice for both the site walk and subsequent hearing. We will meet at Gallagher’s property.

3.0       Old Business:

3.1       Chidester:

Kristine and Alan Chidester came in with their surveyor, Clayton Platt to present their application and site plan map for their subdivision. The map showed 4 lots in addition to their existing lot (5 lots in total). We looked over the map, Platt pointed out a seasonal drainage area that bisected lot 39-1 making the building area difficult to assess. Kluk said we would probably need to do a site walk. Hatch asked about the extra lot and Kristine said it is just a possible/optional lot. Kluk asked about the steep driveway and it was determined that it was already approved. Williams asked about current use and Chidester’s stated the land is all in CU. Williams said that any land divided into a smaller lot and any built areas will have to come out of current use. Crandall asked for the application and Kristine provided it to him. Williams said it is a major subdivision. Kristine suggested the 5^th lot could be a woodlot or unbuildable lot. Schwartz said we can’t create an unbuildable lot. Williams said the lot would require extra analysis to see if it is a buildable lot. Hatch said they could always subdivide that lot later. The Chidester’s decided to lose the optional lot and keep that land with their house lot (13.68 acres), so they will be creating 4 lots in total. Crandall asked Platt to revise the site plan map to reflect this. We then went through the application and checked all the questions. Platt will add the building setbacks and square footage of each lot and indicate iron pins at the corners of the lots. Platt showed the topography for the house areas, we will waive it being done for the rest of the lot. Platt will add a locator map. Williams asked about whether a property owner takes responsibility for creating lots that might not meet zoning (septic and well). Platt said on a two-acre area you should be able to site both successfully. Kristine said they are growing Christmas trees as an agricultural endeavor but are not a designated tree farm. She said that there is a utility easement in the property deed.

Hatch suggested we draft up a waiver indemnity letter to be signed by Chidester’s. Dulac motioned to accept the application as complete, Williams seconded the motion and all voted in favor. Crandall said we would schedule the hearing for August 1^st at 6:15pm.

3.2       Kirsten & Elizabeth Halverson: Crandall presented a new, signed application for the Halverson’s B&B business. Hatch asked why this is coming up now and Crandall said they are advertising on AirB&B. Crandall stated that there are several more businesses like this in town. Dulac said that he knows of several people that rent out their houses now and then, that doesn’t make them a B&B. Kluk mentioned VRBO (vacation rental by owner). Williams questioned whether someone is running a real B&B (providing lodging and breakfast in their home or business) or just renting out their house, he sees that as two distinct things. He said the state would go after the B&B to get their room and meals tax. Schwartz said that at the last meeting the board decided that the Halverson’s needed a business permit, do we need to do a site plan review? We decided that several things were still missing from their application (map and abutter list). Crandall will speak with the Halverson’s about what is needed for their application.

3.3       Municipal Buildings project update:

            Williams shared with us that the Fire/Rescue building wetlands permit has not been approved yet. He said the BoS is waiting for plans from Morton; they have modified the connector to make it work under the eaves of the existing building. They think the start date will be pushed out a month (September/October). Dulac suggested they make sure they push it out far enough. Williams said that permits from the state may take a while also, so this year is tight and it may get delayed into next spring. They still hope to get it up by snowfall and in use by Town Meeting. Hatch asked if the state permits need to be in place before beginning construction. Williams said they need 30 days to approve an application and they are trying to work with them.

            On the Town Hall they are waiting for Milestone to get numbers for construction costs. They are hoping to start in August. The office trailer is coming at the end of July and the Church is letting them hook into their power and pay them for electricity.

            The Schoolhouse project has been contracted with Drasba’s firm to do the structural assessment but they are letting it sit until the TH plans are done, so it is slow going.

3.4       Master Plan/LUO Changes – Crandall felt that since we discussed things at our working meeting it was time to set a working meeting. He wondered if we could return after the site walk to Gallagher’s or meet before the site walk and work on items. Dulac asked if we would tackle RV’s, the building permit and non-conforming setbacks. Crandall would like to focus on RV’s first. Williams said that the BoS might not approve of what we do with the building permit so we shouldn’t take it on. Kluk said we could have a collaborative discussion about it and come up with ideas, not just have a finished permit that they can take or leave. Kluk also had a question about the fines for building without a permit. Williams said they fined someone $100 but the LUO clearly sets the fine at $275 a day. Hatch said we need a structural alteration definition and Kluk suggests we add one into the LUO. Williams thinks we would need at least 2-3 hours to work on this so Monday is a bad idea. Dulac wants to come up with a work session schedule and pick a date after the site walk. Kluk suggested 2 or 3 people meet and draft something to present to the board. It was decided that Kluk, Schwartz and Hatch will meet on July 17^th at 9am at Town Hall.

            Crandall brought up the sign issue with Lemon Tree and others. We had a copy of the meeting minutes with approval of the sign permits. Williams asked if there have been any complaints because the BoS haven’t received any. They don’t want to go after anyone but they will deal with it if they have to. Kluk said we need to be consistent.

3.5       Sign Certification for updated LUO:

            Schwartz brought the certification page and had all present members sign it.

4.0      Driveway Permits:

4.1      Mark Dressel, 304 Old Marlow Road, TM 11-38, Ed checked, Jim checked. Schwartz questioned what the use for the driveway was since he checked “other”. Kluk suggested we make the permit application specify what the “other” use is, all agreed and Schwartz will make the change to be approved at our next meeting. Dulac made a motion to approve the driveway subject to the conditions Ed put on the application for the possible need for a culvert and the need to come to an agreement with the property owner. Crandall seconded the motion. Hatch said the Ed’s comment implies that the driveway may already be in but more work needs to be done. Dulac rescinded his motion and said we should ask the owner to come to an agreement with Ed and then we will approve it. Crandall will call Ed about the Dressel application and it was tabled until next month.

4.2      Shane Mulliner, 393 Faxon Hill Road, TM16-76 (Rte. 31, Mulliner’s business site to be accessed from Mill Street). Ed and Jim had not had a chance to take a look at this since we just received it. Hatch wants to know the intent for the driveway, the application did not state this and was incomplete. We didn’t receive a drawing/diagram of the driveway with the application. Schwartz mentioned the extensive wetlands on the lot going towards the Mill Street side. She said that they discussed the wetlands with Mulliner at the site walk for his business permit, so he is aware that he needs to stay away from them. He may need a permit from DES to put it a driveway in that location. Crandall asked Schwartz to write a letter to Mulliner with our concerns. The permit was tabled until next month.

5.0       Mergers: None

6.0       Communications:

6.1       Intent-to-cut, Bibbo, Ayers Pond Rd., TM 6-3 and 5  

7.0       Meeting date for next Planning Board meeting, August 1, 2017, at 6:30PM

8.0       Adjournment:                       Time: 8:52 pm

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

Respectfully Submitted,

Nan Schwartz