TOWN OF SUTTON

Planning Board

Pillsbury Memorial Hall

Meeting Minutes

June 14, 2016

Present: Planning Board Members: Carrie Thomas, Chairperson; Roger Wells, Jim Lowe, and David Angeli, Members; Bill Curless, Ex-Officio; (Bob DeFelice and Julie McCarthy, Members, were absent); Debbie Lang, Alternate; and Laurie Hayward, Land Use Coordinator (LUC); and Steven Bagley, Sutton Road Agent.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM, by Carrie Thomas, Chairperson.

Administrative:

Minutes of previous meetings: The Chair asked for a motion regarding the meeting minutes of May 10, 2016 and the minutes of the Site Walk 5/21/2016. Wells moved that the minutes be approved; Curless seconded the motion and it was voted unanimously.

Public Hearing: Continuance tree trimming and/or removal on Corporation Hill. The Board took up the request by the Sutton Highway Department pursuant to RSA 231:158, Scenic Roads, to trim and remove trees and brush along and near Corporation Hill Road which is a designated Sutton scenic road. This is a continuance of the Public Hearing held on May 10, 2016. There was a brief discussion regarding the Site Walk and tree conditions.

There were no interested parties present. Wells moved that the recommendations as per the Site Walk Minutes be approved; Lowe seconded the motion and it was unanimously voted as follows:

Tree # 1 – Near the bridge has double trunks and is to be trimmed only. Tree # 2 – Plain dead trunk – to be removed

Tree # 3 – Rotten – to be removed

Tree #4 & #5 – close together – both can be taken down

Tree # 6 – Three part trunk. Thousands of little holes in rows indicating bug infestation. Take down Tree # 7 – Leaning over the road – to be removed

Tree # 8 – Skinny little tree, leaning – to be removed Tree # 9 – Bark off most of it – to be removed

Tree # 10 – Across from # 9, three part trunk, no leaves, appears to be dead – to be removed Tree # 11 & # 12 – close together and bark off – to be removed

Tree # 13 – Dead – to be removed

Tree # 14 & # 15 – Dead – to be removed

Tree # 16 – Huge old tree but dead – to be removed

Tree # 17 – Dead inside, rotten wood at the main trunk joint – to be removed Tree # 18 – Dead – to be removed

Tree # 19 & # 20 – on Schnitzer driveway. Need to check right of way and contact owner. Tree # 21 – Behind another tree – just needs a trim

Tree # 22 & 23 – Dead – to be removed Tree # 24 – just trim

Tree # 25 – across the road, dead – to be removed Tree # 26 – Big ash, dead base, – to be removed

Tree # 27 – Large tree, mostly dead – to be removed.

Correspondence: The LUC noted that member packets contained Mark Moser’s report regarding the ITW cell tower installation. LUC asks if the Board would like to accept Mark Moser’s Report as a final report, pay him, and refund the balance of the escrow account to ITW. Wells moved that Mark Moser’s report be accepted as a final report, that Moser be paid, and the remaining balance in the escrow account be refunded to ITW. Lowe seconded the motion and it was voted unanimously.

The LUC also told Board Members that the Planning Board was sent DES notification regarding the Boynton alteration of terrain on Rowell Hill. DES has asked them to provide information regarding work they have or are doing on Rowell Hill, copies are in the packets. DES has given the Boyntons until October to respond to their request. The issue for the Planning Board and the Town of Sutton may be access if the property is being prepared for a structure or structures to be built at some point in the future. There was a brief discussion about recent changes to the Zoning Ordinance regarding driveways, especially on properties with steep slopes.

Reports: The Land Use Coordinator reported on the status of the few remaining Open Conditions. She asked if anyone had been past the Mapes property to view the condition of the trees planted the previous year. Wells replied that he had and all the trees survived except one. He stated that one dead tree should be replaced and then the Conditions on the Mapes approved would be met. The LUC asked if the Board wanted her to take any action. Wells suggested a letter be sent to the Mapes explaining that the Board is happy with the plantings; but, asks that the one dead tree be replaced. Once the dead tree is replaced, the Condition will be completed.

The LUC went on to explain that she had hoped that the Road Agent would be at the meeting so that she could ask him whether the tree that must be removed to complete the T&G Holdings subdivision approval-has the tree come down. The LUC added that it is her understanding that Gallup has a buyer for one of the three lots and has contacted the Town Administrator regarding ways to preserve his current use status on the rest of the property once the sale of one lot is complete. There was a brief discussion about the issue of a sale on a “lot” that does not exist until all Conditions of subdivision approval have been met. It was the sense of the Board that no lots could be sold as the subdivision does not exist until all of the conditions are met.

The LUC pointed out that this evening the Board had covered all of the Open Conditions existing at this time for the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. She reminded members that there were many pages on the Open Conditions report when they first starting tracking them a few years ago and tonight there were only three items.

The LUC told members that, after a few weeks of doing all of the travel from her new home to Sutton, she has determined that is not sustainable and so has given notice to the Select Board and the Planning and Zoning Chairs that she will step down as of July 28, 2016. The LUC stated that she is sad to step down as she has very much enjoyed working for both land use boards. Wells asked if the LUC would be in a position to do work for the land use boards at her new home. The LUC pointed out that she is convinced that there needs to be someone present in Town Hall at least a few days a week to provide assistance to people who come in with questions regarding zoning and subdivisions and other things related to land use in Sutton. The LUC told members that any arrangement which would have her doing some things for the land use boards would need to be made by the Select Board, but she would be open to such a suggestion as long as it did not involve regular travel to Sutton which is 1 ½ hours one way from her current home under the best of conditions. Wells explained that he was thinking of the work on the revision of the Regulations. The LUC stated that she would be glad to work on that project if the Planning Board was in favor of her doing that. There was a brief conversation about finding a candidate for Land Use Coordinator. The LUC stated that she would contact people who are involved with land use in other towns and the county and see if they have suggestions on how to find candidates.

Work session: Subdivision & Site Plan Review Regulations. The Chair opened a discussion of the status of the revision of the Regulations. There was a question about inconsistencies of the use of “article” and “Section” in the proposed revision. The LUC explained that it was decided to move to the same convention used in the Zoning Ordinance. In the Ordinance the main topics are Articles, under Articles, there are Sections. Articles are designation with a roman numeral and sections within an article are designated by an uppercase letter; so, the second section of the second article is designated Article II.A. Any placed within the draft revision that does not follow this convention is an oversight and she will go through the document to find and correct those. There was a brief discussion of other areas that need to be reviewed for consistency of formatting and usage. The Chair asked about some of the formatting, especially the use of italics. The LUC explained that she has used italics only to show where there has been some change or some proposal of change to the current language.

The LUC told members that one change that the Zoning Board of Adjustment Chair, Derek Lick, requested and was voted in by the voters was the way numbers are handled. The Regulations still use the old convention, for example “One (1)” to express the number one. The revision to the Zoning Ordinance follows the newer convention “one” where a number is any number one through ten and any number over ten is expressed numerically – for example one hundred and ten becomes 110. The LUC pointed out that this change in the way numbers are handled does result in a reduction in the size of the complete printed Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations.

Wells pointed out a change on page 6 to the definition of “Abutter”. He suggested removal of any reference to “manufactured house” or ‘manufactured subdivision”. The LUC offered that the wording was proposed before the town vote that removed manufactured houses or subdivisions from the Zoning Ordinance as permitted land uses. The LUC stated that she would remove the language.

Wells also noted that the word “person” should be replaced by “entity” anywhere it appears in the document

Next regular meeting is scheduled to be held on June 28, 2016 at 7:00 PM and will be a work session.

There being no further business, it was moved, seconded and unanimously voted that the meeting be adjourned at 8:45 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Laurie Hayward

Land Use Coordinator