Town of Sutton

TOWN OF SUTTON

Pillsbury Memorial Hall

93 Main Street

Sutton Mills, NH 03221

PLANNING BOARD

Draft Minutes of the Regular Meeting

November 13, 2018

 

These Minutes Are Not Official Until Approved by the Board at its Next Regular Meeting

 

Board Members Present: Roger Wells, Chair; Debbie Lang, Vice-Chair; Bill Curless, Ex-Officio Member; Jim Lowe; Julie McCarthy; Glenn Pogust; and David Hill, Alternate

Board Member Absent: David Angeli

Staff Present: Diane Lander, Land Use Coordinator

Others Present: Jon Buschbaum, Wetland Scientist; Francis Parisi, Parisi Law Associates

Conceptual Consultation

Fran Parisi, Parisi Law Associates representing Vertex Towers, new cell tower (PWSF).  Parcel is located at the end of Wrights Hill Road and is owned by N. Karl Brooks (Map Lot 02-865-520, 81.4 total acres of which 79.4 acres are in current use).

Public Hearing

Case # P-18-07: Conditional Use Permit application submitted by Michael and Pipere Sailer of 195 Birch Hill Road (Tax Map 01-576-410) to allow construction of a driveway within the Steep Slope Overlay District.  Upon a finding by the Board that the application is complete, a public hearing on the merits of the proposal will either follow or will be scheduled for a future regular meeting of the Board.

 

Call to Order Regular Meeting

Chairperson Wells called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Roll Call

In response to a Sutton resident’s request that Board Members identify themselves and speak louder so they can be heard by the public, Chairman Wells asked each Board Member to state his/her name before speaking and to use the microphone.

Chairman Wells designated Alternate Board Member David Hill to sit for Board Member Angeli.

Conceptual Consultation

Francis Parisi, Parisi Law Associates representing Vertex Towers, new cell tower (PWSF).  Parcel is located at the end of Wrights Hill Road and is owned by N. Karl Brooks (Map Lot 02-865-520, 81.4 total acres of which 79.4 acres are in current use).

Chairman Wells reviewed the maps provided by Mr. Parisi.  The site is near Blaisdell Lake and the Newbury town line.

Mr. Parisi stated that he will need to submit an application to the ZBA and an application to the Planning Board.  His preference is to be heard first by the ZBA.

Mr. Parisi noted that the property is at the end of Wright’s Hill Road.  The owner of the property has a Class VI agreement with the town.  The ZBA application may need to request a frontage variance and a change in use variance.  Set back requirements should be met and there is no slope or wetland impact.

Board member Pogust asked if the Planning Board would need to address how the power comes to the tower.  Mr. Parisi replied that there will be low utility needs and just standard utilities are required and that there is an existing power source that only needs to be extended.

Board member Lowe asked about wireless carriers.  Mr. Parisi replied that Vertex will put AT&T on the tower and the tower will be built to accommodate other carriers as well.

Chairman Wells noted that one board needs to make sure approval includes bond for removal.  Mr. Parisi stated that he will post a bond, but not until submitting the building permit application.

Board member asked if “removal” is to “greenfield” the site.  Mr. Parisi replied that removal is only to take down the structures.

There were no further questions from the Board.  Mr. Parisi thanked the Board Members for their time and said he would turn in the applications soon.

Public Hearing

Case # P-18-07: Conditional Use Permit application submitted by Michael and Pipere Sailer of 195 Birch Hill Road (Tax Map 01-576-410) to allow construction of a driveway within the Steep Slope Overlay District.

The application was formally submitted to the Board.  Chairman Wells reviewed the checklist, focusing on delineation of all wetlands and wetland buffers, proposed grading at 2-foot contours for all disturbed areas, driveway cross sections and profiles, before and after drainage calculations and proof of zero peak runoff impact, and proposed details and specifications for all interim and permanent storm water controls, driveway and related constructions.

Chairman Wells reiterated the definition of “complete application” (NH RSA 676:4 I(b)) and asked for a motion to accept the application as complete.

Motion: Board Member Hill moved to accept the Conditional Use Permit application as complete.  Ex-Officio Member Curless seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative.

Chairman Wells then asked for a motion to now hear the application.

Motion: Ex-Officio Member Curless moved to now hear the Conditional Use Permit application.  Board Member Lang seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative.

Chairman Wells stated that the plans provided have existing 5-foot contours.  The applicant has submitted a waiver to allow 5-foot contours, versus 2-foot contours, which may be reasonable as 2-foot contour lines may be too tight on a small map.

Motion: Board Member Pogust moved to accept the applicant’s waiver to allow 5-foot contours.  Board Member Hill seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative.

Chairman Wells stated that the Board needs to see proposed, not existing, contours of the driveway and adjoining disturbed area.

Motion: Board Member Pogust moved to require the applicant to provide proposed 5-foot contours of the driveway and adjoining disturbed area.  Board Member McCarthy seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative.

The Board then discussed (a) the 15% driveway standard and the requirement for a “flat spot” each 100 feet and (b) the 4:1 fill and the 2:1 cut driveway standards.  The sense of the Board is that these regulations/requirements are reasonable and need to be met.  The Board Members also agreed on needing to see the before and after drainage calculations.  A motion requiring these conditions be met was then put forth.

Motion: Board Member Wells moved to require the conditions listed below.  Member Lang seconded the motion.  The motion carried 6 votes in the affirmative and one abstention (Ex-Officio Member Curless).

  • Driveway grade is not to exceed 15%.
  • A “flat spot” is needed every 100 feet. If this cannot be achieved, the applicant needs to submit a waiver.
  • The driveway sections that are in fill need a 4:1 slope on the side. When it is a cut, it can be a 2:1 slope.  These design standards are noted in the Subdivision Regulations pages 48 and 49.
  • The plan submitted needs to show drainage controls such that erosion is controlled and siltation of the stream is prevented when water drains off the adjoining slopes and the driveway into ditches.
  • It is the opinion of the Planning Board that, if the Conditional Use Permit for the driveway is approved, the revised driveway does not need to be installed until the Certificate of Occupancy is granted.

Chairman Wells asked for a motion to open the public hearing.

Motion: Board Member Pogust moved to open the public hearing on the accepted Conditional Use Permit application.  Board Member Lowe seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously in the affirmative.

As no members of the public were present at the meeting, Chairman Wells closed the public hearing.

The Land Use Coordinator will convey the required conditions noted above to Jeff Evans, the applicant’s agent, and the applicant has until 10 days before the December meeting (Friday, November 30th) to submit revised plans.

New Business: No New Business was brought before the Board.

Old Business: No Old Business was brought before the Board.

Other business that may legally come before the Board

Administrative

Due to the time, the following were postponed until a future meeting.

  • Revisit fee for Voluntary Merger application.
  • Discussion of suggested changes to the Conditional Use Permit application.

Correspondence

The following were noted by the Land Use Coordinator and copies are in each Board Member’s binder.

  • ZBA Notice of Decision Case # Z-18-03: Lee and Karen Booker, applicants and owners, request a variance to a wet land setback under Article X, Section D.1 of the Sutton Zoning Ordinance to allow installation of a solar array.  The property is located at 32 Main St., Sutton Mills, NH 03221 (Tax Map 06-380-154) in the Residential Zoning District.
  • Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission: Ten Year Transportation Improvement Plan and Long Range Transportation Plan Update.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be scheduled for Tuesday, December 11th.

Adjournment

Motion: There being no further business, Board Member Lowe moved to adjourn the meeting.  Board Member Pogust seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously.  The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Diane M. Lander, Land Use Coordinator