TOWN OF SUTTON
PLANNING BOARD

Regular Meeting of Tuesday, June 13, 2017 (7:00 p.m.)
Pillsbury Memorial Hall
93 Main Street
Sutton Mills, NH 03221

Board Members Present:  Jim Lowe; David Angeli; Debbie Lang; Dennis O’Connor; and Roger Wells

Board Members Absent:  Julie McCarthy

Ex-Officio Absent:  Bill Curless

Staff Present:  Ed Canane, Land Use Coordinator

1. Call to Order Regular Meeting by LUC

Ed Canane called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.

2. Roll Call of Members

3. Election of Chair

Mr. Canane requested a nomination from the PB for election of the Chairperson.

MOTION:  Board Member Lang moved to nominate Board Member Wells as Chairperson of the Planning Board.  It was seconded by Board Member Lowe.

The following votes were made:

Board Member Angeli:  Aye

Board Member Lang:  Aye

Board Member O’Connor:  Aye

Board Member Wells:  Abstained from Voting

Board Member Lowe:  Aye

The motion carried unanimously, with one abstention.

Chairperson Wells suggested nominating a Vice Chairperson, in situations where the Chairperson is not able to attend, at the next meeting when everyone is in attendance.

Chairperson Wells also proposed that, at the beginning of each meeting from this point forward, that, should there be presenters, applicants, or audience members present, that “rules of the road” should be read to instruct all participants as to exactly what will take place at the meeting.  He inquired of the LUC as to any specific rules that may exist in the State of New Hampshire for the Planning Board to follow.

The LUC responded that he would forward Chairperson Wells some different procedures available for him to review with the Board.  He also indicated it may be beneficial to compose some rules and informational packets to distribute to new members, in order to orient them to the Planning Board, itself.  Further discussion was had in terms of what role the LUC would play for the Planning Board, as well as procedures going forward.

4. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of May 23, 2017

MOTION:  Board Member Angeli moved to approve the May 23, 2017 Regular Meeting Minutes, as presented.  It was seconded by Board Member Lowe.  The motion carried unanimously.

5. Correspondence

04-240-350 Prospective Use as an Antique Store – LUC informed the Board that Mr. Frederick Uboldi will not be coming before the Planning Board for Site Plan Review for the antique store, as he had attempted to put a P&S on the property, and they couldn’t come to an agreement, and therefore he is not looking to move forward with that property.

6. New Business

 Working towards Master Plan for the Town of Sutton with CNHRPC

 LUC indicated that the Director of CNHRPC, Mark Tardiff, is willing to attend the next Planning Board meeting on June 27th, 2017 to describe their role in the preparation of the Master Plan.  He gave a brief overview of his understanding of their role, and the Planning Board’s role.  He noted that the cost of the service would be between $12,000 and $14,000, which could either be taken from the Capital Reserve or via a vote at Town Meeting.

Discussion was held regarding whether it would be reasonable and appropriate to employ CNHRPC, without having an idea of the direction the Town of Sutton would be going in and what would be included in the Master Plan.  Board Members voiced their ideas on what they envision the Town looking like, as well as challenges that the Board faces in terms of attempting to change the Town.

Board Members also discussed what steps could be taken in order to get the community more involved and onboard with bringing in services to the town, and therefore lowering property taxes.

7. Old Business

 Site Plan Review Document and Missing Attachment (F)

 Board Members received a copy of the Site Plan and Subdivision Regulations.  Discussion was had regarding the packet.  Chairperson Wells noticed that there were things that were talked about potentially eliminating, which are reflected in the Minutes, which are still included in the copies before the Board.  He stated that he would review the current copy and itemize what still needed to be removed, as well as propose a new location for the two clauses that used to reside under the HISS Chapter.

Chairperson Wells suggested that the Board Members review the presented documents to answer the following questions, if they were in an Applicant’s shoes:

– Whether they understand what they are reading

– Whether or not the rules that are written are fair and reasonable

Chairperson Wells indicated that this would give the Board insight into how to respond to any questions posed at the public hearing regarding its composition.  Much discussion was had on how to make the regulations more layman-friendly, possibly with the insertion of a Purpose Clause ahead of every section, or a creation of a reference guide.

LUC proposed that the Board consider changing the attachments in order to make them sequential.  Chairperson Wells responded that he could provide a set of attachments that do not have the identifying letter written on the image.  Further discussion was had regarding the formats that the attachments should be in, as well as their editability.

Chairperson Wells informed the Board that, once the Subdivision Regulations have been approved, the Board should devise an Applicant Checklist of required documents to provide and steps to be taken.  Once those were complete, then the Site Plan Regulations would enter the revision process.

Chairperson concluded that the hope would be to call for a public hearing regarding the Subdivision Regulations sometime in July.

8. Other Discussion

Board Members received a ZBA schedule.  Discussion was had regarding the hearings that will be held on Wednesday, June 21, 2017.

Board Members received a copy of both New London’s and Sutton’s Driveway Regulations.  LUC indicated that he’ll provide a chart displaying the different sections of Sutton’s Driveway Regulations, in order for the Board to review and consolidate them.  Chairperson Wells requested a comparison between the to-be-approved Subdivision Regulations and the in-place Zoning Regulations.

9. Adjournment

The Board voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:47 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Victoria O’Connor, Recording Secretary
Town of Sutton
Planning Board