October 10, 2023 | Hilary Grimes TOWN OF SUTTON Pillsbury Memorial Hall 93 Main Street Sutton Mills, NH 03221 PLANNING BOARD MEETING Minutes for Tuesday October 10, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Pogust called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. He noted there was a quorum and took the roll. ROLL: Glenn Pogust (Chair), Chuck Bolduc, Christine Fletcher, David Hill, Dane Headley MEMBERS ABSENT: Roger Wells (Vice Chair), Jason Teaster, Kristin Angeli(Alternate), Peter Blakeman (Alternate) ALSO PRESENT: Peter Stanley, Planning and Zoning Admin., Kristy Heath, Marilou & Bruno Steblai, Robin Gray, Myra LaPierre, Michael Gilbert, Anthony Seminara, Andy Jeffrey, Dorothy Jeffrey, Paul Little, Mark Rosenthal, Anthony Costello, Frank Lombardi, Andrew Suplee, Clayton Platt, Joanna Murphy, Gregory Gill. Chair Pogust said he understood that many citizens were there to discuss the proposed village overlay district that had been discussed at a special meeting on September 26th, but they may not have much time to touch on the topic at tonight’s meeting. The Planning Board will likely reschedule another meeting to discuss the proposal and allow time for the citizens to listen and have a conversation with the Board. He said they were welcome to stay but no action would be taken on the proposed overlay district until a later date. The Planning Board would like to allow enough time for everyone to be heard. ADMINISTRATION: Review of Minutes of September 12, 2023 David said the second “they” on page 3 should be defined as “property owners.” It was moved by Christine Fletcher and seconded by David Hill to accept the minutes of September 12, 2023 as amended. The motion was approved unanimously. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Case PB 2023-10 Jeffrey Minor Subdivision Anthony Costello was there to represent the Jeffreys. Peter Stanley said the application was complete and there most certainly would be conditions of approval. There were no questions regarding completeness from the Board. It was moved by Chuck Bolduc and seconded by Dane Headley to accept the Jeffrey application as complete. The motion was approved unanimously. Anthony said they’d like to subdivide two lots off an existing 129.02-acre piece of property at the intersection of Blaisdell Road and Archie Sawyer Road. A slide was shown to illustrate the proposed subdivision. The proposed subdivision of the property would include a 13.04-acre lot, a 6.03-acre lot, and the remaining lot would be 109.26 acres in size. The Jeffrey’s intent is to build a road off Blaisdell Hill Road to access the back part of the field and build a home in an area just past the wetlands. They will make an application to the State for a wetlands crossing and will request a conditional use permit to do work over a wetland. A man-made area where people are currently crossing the wetland will be shored up to create a way to get a car over the wetland. The applicant would like to get a wetlands permit for the two crossings, and will grant an access easement on the larger lot to create a road to access the new 13 acre lot without crossing wetlands and steep slopes even further, which would create more impact to the land. Peter said if the Jeffreys are asking for a crossing of a wetland, they will need to get a Zoning Board variance, and a conditional use permit from the Planning Board for either a wetland buffer crossing or a steep slope crossing. Mr. Costello said he wasn’t aware of this but understood. Chair Pogust opened the floor for Public Comment on the Application. Frank Lombardi, abutter, said he wasn’t clear where the lot is. Peter showed two images to help. Frank asked if there were future plans to subdivide the property further? Andy Jeffrey said their intent is to conserve the rest of the property to continue a wildlife corridor. They would like to farm the field and bring back the old Blaisdell Farm. There were no additional questions or comments from the public. It was moved by Christine Fletcher and seconded by Chuck Bolduc to close the public comment portion of the hearing. The motion was approved unanimously. David asked if the property was in current use and wondered if it had to be taken out of current use to do the subdivision. Peter said that the parcel they will use to build on is over 10 acres so could still be eligible for current use. Once the remaining parcels are no longer owned by the Jeffrey’s, and if they consist of less than 10 acres each, the owners would be subject to paying the Land Use Change penalty. It was moved by Christine Fletcher and seconded by David Hill to approve the application on the condition that 1. A zoning variance is obtained for crossing of any and all wetlands, and 2. A conditional use permit with respect to crossing any and all wetland buffers is obtained, 3. A conditional use permit is obtained for crossing any and all steep slopes, 4. State permits must be obtained for all wetlands and septic plans, 5. A driveway easement defined by meets and bounds must to be established before the Mylar is signed. The motion was approved unanimously. 2. Case PB 2023-08 Gilbert Minor Subdivision Peter Stanley said that the application was complete. There were no questions regarding completeness from the Board. It was moved by Chuck Bolduc and seconded by Christine Fletcher to accept the application as complete. The motion was approved unanimously. Clayton Platt was there to represent the applicant. He explained that this was a 36-acre parcel made up of mostly fields, that was turned into pasture 15-20 years ago by Ed Canane. There are some isolated small wetlands throughout the property. The 12-acre parcels all have suitable building sites. A common driveway is being proposed for lots 2 and 3. Access for lot 1 will require a conditional use permit because it intersects a wetland buffer. The lots are all over 12 acres and will stay in current use until they are subdivided further in the future. The property doesn’t have any steep slopes but is made of rolling hills. Peter said he didn’t think the intention was to sell any lots right away. Mr. Gilbert was present said they are thinking of leaving the lots to their children and/or making the property into a farm. They are still deciding what to do with the land. Clayton noted that there was a waiver submitted for the 4:1 ratio on the length and width on lots 2 and 3. It was moved by Christine Fletcher and seconded by David Hill to grant the waiver of the 4:1 ratio on lots 2 and 3 due to the large amount of road frontage and because of the situation of the properties along two intersecting roads. The motion was approved unanimously. It was moved by David Hill and seconded by Christine Fletcher to grant the conditional use permit to allow for the crossing of the wetland buffer, as identified on the plan, on lot number 1 on the corner of Baker Road (northern corner). The motion was approved unanimously. It was moved by Christine Fletcher and seconded by David Hill to grant the subdivision with the conditional approval that a defined driveway easement will be documented and shown on the Mylar before it is submitted for recording. The motion was approved unanimously. 3. Case PB 2023-11 Seminara Conditional Use Permit Chair Pogust said each plan that had come before them that evening shows a delineation of what will be done if the Conditional Use Permit is granted. The sketch provided by Mr. Seminara does not show a clear representation of what the applicant wants to do or that can be used to determine whether the applicant complies with the permit. Chair Pogust did not feel that the application was complete. The applicant has not delineated where they are encroaching on the buffer. He suggested that a surveyor should identify the wetlands and show where they belong on the map. There are no surveyor-determined dimensions on the current map. Mr. Seminara said the map shows the driveway being 17’ into the buffer. A culvert was put in the driveway about 20 years ago in the location of the proposed driveway. Chair Pogust said the whole property doesn’t need to be surveyed but someone professional has to show exactly where the stream and driveway are located. Without that being defined, the applicant has no way to show that what he wants to do will comply with what is permitted by the Conditional Use Permit. Mr. Seminara said he had lengthened the opening that was there currently, but he didn’t widen it at all. Chair Pogust said the Board has to approve a conditional use permit which is based on the facts in the form of a document with exact measurements so there is a record of what they grant if they grant it, but they can’t grant it just because he needs a way to get into the property. The surveyor will provide accurate information for the Town. Mr. Seminara said he had taken the measurements on his own. Chair Pogust said he understands that Mr. Seminara needs to be able to access the property, but a licensed surveyor needs to be able to show where everything is. It isn’t a big deal but has to be done the right way. David asked about the number 75 noted on the sketch above the driveway. What is that? Mr. Seminara said that is the 75’ buffer. David commented that it appears that the driveway is entirely within the buffer. Mr. Seminara said it was. Chair Pogust said the driveway is also very close to the stream. Chair Pogust said they need to verify if there were wetlands on the banks of the brook. He understood that the property wasn’t in the wetlands overlay district but there still may be wetlands. Mr. Seminara said a soils scientist already came and didn’t find any wetlands. Then, a wetlands scientist went through the property and found no wetlands, and he was the one who provided the letter to the Town stating this fact. Chair Pogust said the scientist should be able to indicate on the plan the information he compiled about the brook and the mapping of where the wetlands are/are not. Mr. Seminara agreed with Peter Stanley that the map with his sketches were not to scale. Mr. Seminara asked if the Board was asking for a surveyor to come out and draw a map to scale. Also, is the Board asking that another wetlands scientist come out again and add information to the map? Chair Pogust said the scientist should be able to put on the survey where the wetlands are or verify that there are no wetlands in the affected area because the scientist has already done the work. And the survey doesn’t have to cover the entire property, just the part that includes the driveway. Peter Stanley said a blow-up map of the driveway should be made, to scale, to make sure the plans are executed as approved by the Planning Board. Peter suggested to save an expense for the applicant, they could continue the hearing to the next meeting instead of closing it and noticing another one. The meeting would be continued to the November Planning Board meeting. Peter suggested asking the surveyor to scale the map to 1” = 20’. It was moved by David Hill and seconded by Christine Fletcher to continue case PB 2023-11: Seminara Conditional Use Permit to the November 14, 2023 meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. OLD BUSINESS: Village Overlay District Discussion Joanna Murphy said she and others weren’t able to get to the meeting on the 26th and offered that many didn’t hear about it until after it happened. Chair Pogust said he understands that there are more people who wish to hear about and discuss the proposed Village Overlay District changes. He wants to make sure people have an opportunity to listen to what the Planning Board is proposing and to give their feedback. The Planning Board will schedule another meeting so more people who wish to attend can do so. Greg Gill said he was at an informal meeting of several Sutton Mills residents on the October 8 and the majority of them present thought it would be a good idea to have another meeting. Chair Pogust said they would hold another meeting where this would be the only item on the agenda. They will make it on a night that is not during one of their regular meetings. Dane said in terms of notification, the State requires the Towns to notify meetings in certain venues and on certain dates. This was done. Unfortunately, not everyone heard and didn’t attend. They weren’t trying to pull a fast one. Dane offered that Chair Pogust was being very nice to hold another meeting. Joanna said that there are people in the village that are not happy with the proposal. Chair Pogust said they will hold another meeting. Greg Gill requested that the date and time be set before adjournment so that everyone would know when it would be held. Chair Pogust suggested the date of October 24th at 7:00 pm. A quorum is not necessary because they aren’t voting on anything. Nothing else will be on the agenda but this review. It was agreed that there will be a meeting on October 24th at 7:00 pm to discuss the proposed creation of Village Overlay District. Proposed Revised Subdivision Regulations and the Site Plan Review Regulations Chair Pogust asked members of the Board to review the information he had provided to them and to send any suggestions to Peter Stanley. NEW BUSINESS: None ANY OTHER BUSINESS: None ADJOURNMENT: Chair Pogust adjourned the meeting at 8:11pm.