TOWN OF SUTTON

Planning Board

Pillsbury Memorial Hall

Meeting Minutes

April 26, 2016

Present: Planning Board Members: Carrie Thomas, Chairperson; Julie McCarthy, Roger Wells, Jim Lowe and David Angeli, Members; (Bill Curless, Ex-Officio, and Bob DeFelice, Member, were absent); and Laurie Hayward, Land Use Coordinator (LUC); also present were Clayton Platt, surveyor, and Todd Jackson, property owner; and interested party, Deb Lang.

The meeting was called to order at 7:04 PM, by Carrie Thomas, Chairperson.

Administrative:

Minutes of previous meetings: The Chair tabled the vote on the minutes from the last meeting.

Preliminary Consultation: The Chair opened the consultation asking who would like to speak regarding the proposed major subdivision. Clayton Platt, surveyor, and Todd Jackson, owner, were both present. Platt stepped forward. Platt explained that Jackson owns roughly 123 acres on Cottage Lane. Platt displayed an initial plan for a possible four-lot subdivision. Members asked where Cottage Lane is located. The LUC showed members the Town Tax Map pointed out Cottage Lane which is just off Barker Road. Platt told members that the purpose of the subdivision is to create four lots. Jackson wants to divide the property to give lots to his two sons. As currently proposed, 3 of the 4 lots will have land in Warner as well as in Sutton. Cottage Lane is a private road and the proposal is to add to the private road to provide access to the lots. One possibility is to extend Cottage Lane by 600 feet and add a turnaround. Wells asked if Platt and Jackson were aware of the Zoning Ordinance changes. Platt said that he has read the new ordinance. Wells asked Platt if there would be any issues with steep slopes and driveways. Wells pointed out that if this is to be an extension of an existing private road, the design standards and current Ordinance and Town Regulations regarding acceptable road design for private roads should be considered. Wells asked the LUC to do some research for the Board on current regulations.

There was a discussion about the possible presence of steep slopes and wetlands and the importance that any plan take into consideration new Zoning requirements for driveways where steep slopes and wetlands are present. Platt asked whether there is a map that shows Sutton Steep Slope areas. The LUC stated that there is a map and agreed to email him a PDF of that map. The Board thanked the applicant and the owner for making use of the Preliminary Consultation process to discuss their proposal and review the important considerations in preparing a plan and an application.

Clayton Platt and Todd Jackson left the meeting at this point.

Work session: Subdivision & Site Plan Review Regulations. The Chair opened the work session. Board Members had copies of the suggestions for revision that Wells had made over the past several months. There was a brief discussion about the Article numbers. The LUC reminded members that most or all of the Article numbers changed when the Board decided early-on that they preferred to have the Article with Definitions appear at the front of the Regulations rather than the back. There was also a discussion about the process going forward. One proposal was to do what was done for the Zoning Ordinance and to plan for the Board to hold an “all-day” meeting to hash out and make substantial progress on revising the entire Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations.

Board Members agreed that the LUC should incorporate all of the changes suggested for the first six Articles into the draft document. Article VII will be the previously numbered Article VI and will be discussed at the next available meeting.

The LUC reminded members that she expects to be moving in late May and the Board agreed that they would not have a meeting on the 4th Tuesday in May.

Next regular meeting is scheduled to be held on May 10, 2016 at 7:00 PM.

There being no further business, Wells moved; Lowe seconded and it was unanimously voted that the meeting be adjourned at 8:21 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Laurie Hayward

Land Use Coordinator