June 6, 2022 | Town Admin TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH 03221 PLANNING BOARD Draft Meeting Minutes for Tuesday May 24, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. Chair Pogust called the meeting to order at 7:00pm and took roll. ROLL: Glenn Pogust (Chair), Roger Wells (Vice-Chair), Christine Fletcher, David Hill, Dane Headley, Kristin Angeli (Alternate), Jason Teaster (Alternate) ABSENT: Peter Blakeman, Chuck Bolduc OTHERS PRESENT: Peter Stanley (Land Use Coordinator), Susan Levine, Pat Tivnan, Steve Gunnerson, Doug and Sonja Suitor, Charles and Ana Maria Ashland, Robert O’Neil, Kim Ortakales, Vincent Cerieco, James Cerieco, Larry and Peg Ford, Don Davis, Robert Moser, Gary Dellert, Sue Esposito, Mike Stickney, Kyle Hubbard, Doug Hamilton, Tom Schamberg, Laurie Logue, Dana and Kathy Stockman, Anthony Giglio, Charles Forsberg, Shelly Boucher, Gail Sebring, Betsy Forsham, Bonnie Hill, Donna Catanzaro, Lynn Whittman, Diane Rosewood, Tom Paul, Steve and Carol St. Pierre, Jennifer McCourt, Carol Williams, Susan Knight, Henry Howell, Cynthia Marshall, Debbie Fieldman, Mike McManus, Walter Baker Master Plan Review Chair Pogust said the Master Plan is something that the Planning Board is required to do and it serves as sort of a road map for the Town. The idea is to identify issues and try to make recommendations for actions to be taken. Nothing is changed until after the Master Plan is adopted, and an ordinance change is worked on by the Planning Board, with input from the public. The select board needs to decide if they will support the proposed change, and then there is a vote by the citizens at Town Meeting. Nothing will change as soon as the document is adopted; it is an opportunity to make improvements within the Town. Chair Pogust said they would like to review the parts of the Master Plan and then open the meeting up to public comment. The last Master Plan that the town put together was a very long document that was complicated to get through; it was hard to focus on the goals that were listed. In this year’s report, they have shortened it to just 38 pages. It has graphics and photos to make more readable. What is precious in our town? What is of concern? What should they be doing in Sutton which they aren’t currently doing? These are the questions asked of those in the Town who participate in various boards and committees, as well as to the citizens of the town in a survey. The responses gave a picture of what people would like to keep in the town and what they would like to change. Roger Wells listed the five most important items from the respondents who participated in the survey: To maintain the rural atmosphere of the town and the sense of community To maintain the existing villages To enable the use of other housing options To reduce taxes Roger went through the percentages for each of the answers in the survey. There were questions about land uses that people would be in favor of: Light Industrial, R&D, Hotel, Mixed Uses, Senior Citizen Housing, 1-2 multi-family housing, Office Spaces, Retail. In the villages, there is a small possibility of these kinds of things being allowed in the villages. Many felt route 114 was a “safe” place to allow these kinds of things. Off of Exit 10 was the place most people thought light R&D and Industrial should go. The vast majority expressed low opposition for potential land uses, except for multi-family housing. This should be noted that the housing for multi-family addressed in the Draft Master Plan isn’t meant to be large apartment buildings, but more for workforce housing with smaller scale buildings. Roger said there are 12 recommendations proposed as follows: Rural Atmosphere Review the cluster ordinance so it protects open spaces, addresses neighbor concerns, and benefits the town. He said the current cluster ordinance is not very well written and should be re-studied. It could be a really good thing for the town by carefully planning for the use of open space. With regards to rural atmosphere, the Planning Board proposes the creation a table of uses for rural agricultural zones. Review the possible expansion of rural scenic roads and views. There is nothing currently in the zoning ordinance to protect views. Other towns in this area have such ordinances. Friendliness of the Town To encourage housing that young families and senior citizens can afford with the goal to keep children in the schools and make it possible for older people to remain in the town. We need younger people living in town to volunteer and do other things. The Planning Board is not looking to change the character of the town. Create a leadership council to coordinate what the recreational opportunities are. Find a way to improve the availability to use the town facilities. They don’t really have a place in town for people to gather and meet as a community. Lowering the Tax Base Existing Villages Use the conditional use process to enable things to be built within/added to the villages. The Planning Board would have a set of categories and rules that must be met to approve the proposed use(s). Development around Exit 10 and the Country Club of NH Light Industrial or Hospitality in this area could be done in a way to have little impact on the surrounding area. They would address everything such as lighting or sound to make it compatible with the town. Bringing these things into the town helps lower the tax base. Chair Pogust said the map with the boundary lines are based presenting a concept; it is just an idea of where things could have development done. He cautioned people about seeing the map and believing that all of these places would be developed and the actual boundaries would only be set after input from the public, including those with homes in the area. Roger said the Board doesn’t want to force anything down their throats; The Planning Board has reached out to groups and citizens to find out what the town wants. They want to move forward with things the citizens want. It was moved by Roger Wells and seconded by Dane Headley to open the public comment portion of the meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. Charles Ash said he has lived in the town for 80 years. He asked if someone wanted to open an architect’s office and they were shut down, why? Glenn said that a business can be run from someone’s own home, but a special exception is required to do this in these places. It is an obstacle. He added that Sutton is seen as a difficult town to open businesses. Roger said that the special exception is something that the Zoning Board requires. They are proposing to make it easier to bring certain specified types of businesses to defined areas in the town by not having to go to the Zoning Board. Charles said he feels the board works hard, but they have a lot of choices they can make to make sure the questions get answered to bring forward some of the problems they are talking about. Roger said if they want to achieve something, they need to work collectively with everyone else so that it will pass at Town Meeting. They have made an effort to go out into the community and get feedback. Joanna Murphy said she moved to Sutton for the atmosphere; she loves the trails and has her own business. The taxes are hard to pay, but they chose to stay in Sutton for the schools. The rural character and natural resources seem to be important to many. She saw certain areas on the map where multi-family housing could maybe happen. The wildlife corridors and natural resources would definitely be impacted. There is a huge aquifer over by the Country Club. This cannot be depleted. These are really important things to consider; lowering the taxes is not the most important thing. Chair Pogust said that he agrees with her. They are trying to take locations that have all of this value and can encourage someone to do something that is compatible with the wetlands, wildlife corridors, and wetlands, and use the land while preserving everything for the town. They do not want people coming in and purchasing a 50-acre parcel and dividing it up into 2-acre lots; that doesn’t benefit the wildlife, the wetlands or the open spaces. Heather Stockman asked if they had considered the changes in the school size that the development would create. Chair Pogust said they aren’t talking about a development that would add 300+ students to the schools; they are thinking of smaller opportunities to create the ability for younger families to move here. Roger said there is a way to protect the wildlife corridors while still allowing for some development. Jennifer McCourt has had a connection with Sutton for 50 years. She said the master plan is important as it provides guidance to the town. She felt the theories in the ordinance were great. In her experience, she has seen that older barns and buildings have been turned into 1-2 bedroom condos. While that is a good use of space, it doesn’t encourage young families. She thinks if they can encourage development along the existing roads, that will encourage the open space being kept for people to enjoy. She worried about the current gravel roads being overused. They should encourage 55+ housing in town, as it will help the tax base the most. Perhaps attached townhouses, single story in a cluster. An attendee who did not state her name, said she liked the plan and loved how so many people were involved. Dana Stockman said that he and his wife live on Shaker Street and raise beef. They sell pork and veggies too. What happens when all this stops because of development? Where will they go for food? He has worked in Massachusetts and New Jersey. People from these places are coming to NH because they have a beautiful community; let’s keep it that way. Roger said if we do nothing, we won’t keep what we have; it will change. It may change in ways that people do not like. People who own property have a right to use it. We have an opportunity to help people do things that are better for the town by giving them reasons to do those better things, so it is a win/win for the people and the town. Chair Pogust said it doesn’t help for the Town to pass a bunch of ordinances on their own; we first need an understanding of what people might want to do in Sutton that would help benefit the Town. The cluster development needs to be fixed as it isn’t what the town wants right now. Shelly Boucher asked if there had been discussions with the country club about their land and the proposed ideas. Roger said he has reached out to the owner who is in ill health. He spoke with the owner’s daughter and explained what would be suggested in the master plan as a general idea. She said she would show it to their board and get back to the Town on their thoughts. From what he has heard, the owners are interested in selling the land. The Town needs to get involved if that is the case, before another developer does. Joe Burns said he realizes the master plan is a lot of work and it takes the town in a great direction. He has a concern about Exit 10. Driving south there is an incredible view of Mt. Kearsarge and it would break his heart to see a hotel or something on the corner there. Chair Pogust said their idea is to keep things out of sight with very little impact to the view. Joe thought Exit 10 should remain as it is. He didn’t see how adding commercial to that area would change their tax base. Joe used examples about Newport and Warner; two towns that have a lot of commercial, but higher taxes than Sutton. Chair Pogust said that their plan is to protect the things we now have. The Planning Board isn’t talking about putting in an industrial park; if they can do something without impact that is tucked away, that may help the tax base. It isn’t going to make their taxes go away, but it will help flatten some of the increases without having them come from the values of people’s homes. Roger said that there are a growing number of people who come to the town and build large homes but do not live here full-time. This is changing the town. They need people for the rescue squad, the fire department and the other things that make the town friendly. A person who did not state her name said they did a study five years ago and the reason they have such high taxes is education. If they encourage more people to come to Sutton, it puts more pressure on town resources, the schools, and their taxes go up. She thought the high taxes were due to the way they fund their education. Kim Ortakales asked if anyone had the answer to the point Joe Burns made regarding the commercial that Newport/Claremont have compared to Sutton. How do they make the town more affordable for those who are getting older, or on limited income? She didn’t want to get into a knee-jerk reaction response to this idea that more commercial needs to come to Sutton. Those aren’t towns she would want to live. She added that she moved to Sutton from Belmont and it is important to think about commercial; they should not try to do too much of this because it won’t be a town people will want to live in anymore. Roger said that based on what Joe has brought up, it behooves them to find out why Newport is higher in taxes. Jennifer McCourt said that when the valuations on the buildings are low, the tax rate will be high to meet that budget. Claremont and Newport’s valuations are low, which is why taxes are high. Sutton’s population is increasing and they need to take care of that. They will have kids going through the school and they must be taken care of. She thought they should do things smarter, the way they want it to be. If they have housing, 55+ would work. 1–2-bedroom housing will not encourage school-aged children to come to town. Doctors at DHMC come to the area for 6 months or so and are looking for rentals. The town of Whitefield, NH has capitalized on this type of housing. Carol Williams suggested that it would be helpful for people to see what may be proposed for commercial or multi-unit development with graphic depictions that would make it easier for people to understand what is being proposed. Chair Pogust said that was a good ides and could be helpful to explain any proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance. Tom Schamberg asked what their definition of affordable or reasonable were. He wondered why they are reaching out to the golf course when less than the majority of the town is interested in buying it. They talk about open space being important. What size is suggested for planned development? What do they do about water or septic impact, as well as police or fire impact? How will they stop once the commercial takes off and continuing? Chair Pogust said they are talking about a concept that has some potential and that those are the types of questions that need to be addressed and answered in the course of proposing any changes to the Zoning Ordinance. The Planning Board hasn’t come up with the exact parameters for what will happen. In Sutton developers can do anything almost anywhere if they can get an exemption from the zoning board. The Planning Board is proposing to get some areas zoned to create a space with parameters that have limits and conditions on what people can do. Saying we are going to allow commercial activity doesn’t open commercial up to whoever wants to do anything. The Planning Board isn’t going to define what is reasonable; the people of Sutton will. They have to develop and create the limits and the controls before the next person puts in a 10 houses into a 50-acre lot. The Planning Board is not offering to buy the land at the country club. Chair Pogust said there are many questions they will need to ask and there is a long process to go through before any decisions are made. Don Davis said he lives to closest to Exit 10 and suggested having the board have a group that makes sure that nothing is done at exit 10 to spoil the character of that area. Tom Paul congratulated the Planning Board on the work they’ve done and the process they have taken to get input from many. He congratulated all those in the room for being there and providing input and opinions. That is what the Planning Board was looking for. He asked for an explanation of cluster housing. Chair Pogust said the idea is to give an incentive to someone who has a large parcel of land to build on smaller than 2-acre lots and provide for common ownership of the remaining undeveloped land, which creates open space. This provides something to the town in return for allowing homes to be built on smaller than two-acre lots. Peter Stanley said commercial development is currently allowed within the entire rural agricultural districts; they are suggesting to constrain where this is allowed for future planning. Sue Esposito asked if the cluster housing was like Hilltop or Fenwood (in New London). Chair Pogust said they aren’t saying they need something like Hilltop; they want to create an ordinance to allow people to be able to do something in a way that works for the town and the owner. Laurie Logue said she hears they are trying to figure out how to lower taxes. Do they have a master plan goal for what kind of tax base they want and how they can work backwards to find out how it can be created? Chair Pogust said they haven’t a way to scale that. He also said that things don’t happen very quickly in Sutton; this is going to be a process and will take some time. Roger said the amount they have to pay in taxes is mostly impacted by the schools. Joanna Murphy said development will happen and roads will happen. Kearsarge Valley Road is an example of what happened in town. How would that type of development change if the cluster development ordinance was changed. Roger said there could still be the same number of houses, but they would be closer together, allowing more open space and they would not be so visible. Tricia (last name inaudible) said for the people who live in the neighborhoods who lose their open spaces, they are suffering. It isn’t just important to hide the homes from those who pass by. It is important to consider the people who live in those areas. She was disappointed that the Town has gone to talk to the country club about developing the land around the golf course. Why give these ideas to people and also think that development won’t happen there as well as in other areas? Chair Pogust said the owners of the golf course all already looking at development opportunities, the Planning Board wants to be strict in identifying the places where the townspeople don’t want development, and other areas where the Town can specify what can or cannot be done. Tricia said one way to reduce taxes, she suggested going to the governor to get their taxes reduced for education. Have they looked at the town budget? Are they overspending in some areas? These are good ways to lower taxes. Chair Pogust said the town gets a concession in their taxes because the schools are in their town. There is a formula that exists to distribute the school taxes among the 7 towns in the school district. Sutton is also very conservative with the town’s budget; they are not extravagant and have just three full-time administrative employees in the office handling all of the business of the Town, a volunteer fire department, and a small number of employees in the Police and Highway Departments. We need find ways to sustain the town. If that is to allow some limited, well-defined commercial development, then the Town should consider that. Donna Catanzaro said she was impressed with the town and what they have done. She asked if they had considered allowing tiny houses in the town. Roger said they have made a modification to their ordinance to allow a smaller minimum house size to accommodate a smaller structure. He thought 320 sq’ was the smallest allowed. Kim (last name inaudible) asked if the agreement with the school district could be renegotiated to help the town with their taxes. Chair Pogust said the formula is a combination of the total assessed value of the town and how many students are attending the school. He thinks that Sutton sends the second largest number of students to the school district. No matter how wealthy the other towns are, they do not want to get their taxes raised either. Roger suggested talking more about this with the select board on this as it would be their move to suggest a change. David Hill encouraged the people who were there that night to continue coming to the meetings and participate and ask questions. The Town wants to hear from them on these kinds of things. Joe Burns said he has heard everyone say they need 2 acres of land but in a cluster, would they also need a certain amount of road frontage? Roger said this would be true. Joe said it is very expensive to build a road in Sutton. Chair Pogust said it will cost a recent developer $150,000 to build a road that reaches his cluster development for 6 driveways to 7 homes, so it is more economical than a development that is more spread out. This is the kind of incentive that they are talking about. It was noted that maintenance of the road is another expense to the town. Chair Pogust said that the town does not need to accept a road if they don’t want to. Chair Pogust asked if anyone else wished to comment or ask a question, and there was no one who asked to add anything. In closing, Chair Pogust said this is not the end of the process, but the very beginning. He hoped those who came with their thoughts and ideas would come back to the Planning Board meetings when they continue with the process of developing proposals to bring to Town Meeting for a vote. It was moved by Roger Wells and seconded by David Hill to close public comment portion of the meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. It was moved by Dane Headley and seconded by Roger Wells to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:21pm. Respectfully submitted, Kristy Heath, Recording Secretary Town of Sutton