TOWN OF SUTTON

Pillsbury Memorial Hall

93 Main Street

Sutton Mills, NH 03221

PLANNING BOARD

Approved Meeting Minutes for Tuesday October 25, 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), Kristin Angelli (alternate), Peter Blakeman, Chuck Bolduc, Christine Fletcher, David Hill, Dane Headley, Jason Teaster (alternate)

 

ABSENT:

 

ALSO PRESENT: Dorleese Stewart, John Stewart, Tom Schamberg

 

Chair Pogust called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. He called roll and found there was a quorum. He asked alternate, Jason to sit as a voting member since Peter Blakeman was absent.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE:

1. Approval of Draft October 11, 2022, Meeting Minutes

 

It was moved by Roger Wells and seconded by Dane Headley to approve the minutes of October 11, 2022, as circulated.

The motion was approved unanimously.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Public Hearing – Eversource Scenic Road Tree Cutting Request

Randy Marcott from Eversource said he has worked in the Sutton area a long time as an arborist. There are about five spans on Stonehouse Road that need minimal trimming.  There are also four trees that should be cut.  The landowners have already granted permission to cut the four trees in question. On Hominy Pot Road there was some trimming done in Feb/March timeframe. When he did his inspection, he noticed three dead/dying ash trees. Those trees aren’t completely dead yet but he would like to take care of them now before they become dangerous. Keyser Street has two trees that need to be cut. A new pole was put in and some trimming needs to be done around it at house #100. House #38 has a 30” oak tree that needs to be cut; the top is dead from being close to the road and having compacted roots. It also looks to have been hit by a plow once or twice. It has a lean towards the lines and the utility has to take care of this. He is agreeable to removing the wood, so the road looks scenic. Hominy Pot will have the logs left there as the owners requested to keep the wood. He was asking for permission from the Town to cut the trees in question.

 

Dane said there were a few trees near his home that were flagged to be cut last year but were not taken down. Chair Pogust said permission was given to cut the trees, so Eversource can assume that the permission stands. He asked if the wood would be removed. Randy said he likes to remove the wood to keep the roads looking nice. If the owners want to keep the wood, they may. Peter Stanley noted that his complaint is that when the wood is left, it is usually left in the ditch. Randy said he would be sure this would not happen.

 

Peter Blakeman arrived at 7:09pm so Jason was moved back down to alternate status.

 

Dane asked if the trees flagged from last year would be cut this year. Randy said it would likely be the beginning of 2023 that those trees were taken down.

 

It was moved by David Hill and seconded by Roger Wells to open the hearing for public comment. The motion was approved unanimously.

 

There were no comments from the public.

 

It was moved by Dane Headley and seconded by David Hill to close the public comment portion of the meeting. The motion was approved unanimously.

 

There was no further discussion on the application.

It was moved by Roger Wells and seconded by David Hill to remove the four trees as delineated in the letter by Eversource, in addition to the trees from last year that permission was reaffirmed for, and to do the trimming proposed on Stonehouse Road and Keyser Street. Wood would be removed or kept on-site depending on the wishes of the property owners but would be kept out of the ditches. The motion was approved unanimously.

 

 

OLD BUSINESS

1. Public Hearing – Adoption of the 2021 Master Plan

Chair Pogust said in May there was a public hearing on the draft master plan. They had a number of typographical and detail errors to correct. The updated draft only includes the corrections and no other changes as far as content goes. The Planning Board needed to formally adopt the plan that evening. It has been almost 2.5 years in the making.

 

Roger said it was good and they should adopt it. Dane said there was one punctuation mark that needed to be fixed. This was not a substantive change.

 

It was moved by Roger Wells and seconded by David Hill to open the public comment portion of the meeting on whether the Planning Board should adopt the current draft of the master plan update. The motion was approved unanimously.

 

When Dorleese Stewart asked what the next step was Chair Pogust said the plan will serve as a guideline for the Town. Anything that is a change in the ordinance has to be proposed, go to the Select Board, and go to town meeting for a vote. They are continuing to work on a proposed revision of the cluster ordinance as a board later on in the meeting. It needs some cleaning up and closing of loop-holes.

 

There were no further questions or comments from the public.

 

It was moved by Roger Wells and seconded by Dane Headley to close public comment. The motion was approved unanimously.

 

It was moved by Roger Wells and Seconded by David Hill to adopt the current draft of the master plan update subject to some further typographical corrections as the Town of Sutton’s master plan update of 2021. The motion was approved unanimously.

 

 

2. Continued Discussion of the Proposed Revisions to the cluster ordinance.

Chair Pogust said the discussion won’t include a public comment portion as they are not voting on anything that evening. They have come up with a revised cluster ordinance that the board has been reviewing and working on. They are also working on a document that will help people know where and what the changes are, to help them understand what is being proposed.

 

Chair Pogust also proposed to send the documents to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Conservation Commission for their input and that the ZBA will need to follow the ordinance in considering applications to create a cluster subdivision. Chuck asked if anyone would be meeting with the Zoning Board about the changes. Chair Pogust said he would go to the meeting in November and any one person from the Planning Board could come with him. Peter Stanley said if these documents are approved, he would suggest sending them to the ZBA to put it on their agenda for November. That would give the members a chance to look through it all prior to the meeting.

 

Chair Pogust said he and Roger Wells worked to identify the key issues and explain the changes. One change was to limit the length of driveways for single family residences. There was discussion of providing public access to Open Space that is reasonable in terms of what is available. The Planning Board can require that public access to Open Space be separate from the main access to the subdivision. This may be an incentive to have the public space be situated along the road and not tucked back in the rear of the property. Chuck liked that the PB and ZBA would be asked to provide input on these changes. Roger said that the Town Attorney should look at the ordinance to make sure they are doing something that they are allowed to do. Chair Pogust said they also need help writing the warrant. Peter Stanley said he could handle that or the Town Attorney could.

 

Chair Pogust noted that the first step for an applicant who wants to do a cluster development would be to go to the ZBA with a formal application or to the Planning Board for a conceptual review. The Planning Board and the Conservation Commission will also give non-binding comments on any formal application to the ZBA that will help with the planning. There has to be a determination of feasibility for the development on the property in question by the ZBA. Roger said the applicant will have a site analysis and go to the ZBA. The ZBA would come up with an appropriate density. The PB can then focus on the design and can then work with the applicant on the design until it fits.

 

Dane asked about the conveyance of open space. Chair Pogust said it would be undeveloped land and shouldn’t cost anything to maintain. This is different than the Town doing something like accepting a dedication of a road.  Improved areas other than the access road can’t get deeded to the Town; that type of land can only be deeded to the homeowners.

 

Chair Pogust said the documents will be sent to the ZBA, Conservation Commission and Town Counsel for review.

 

A mock-up of the side-by-side comparison of the present and proposed changes for the Intertown Record was shown by Roger. It was thought that this was a good way to show the suggested changes. The purpose of the comparison is to show that the changes proposed were ones that made sense and so that people would understand that the changes are for the good of the town.

 

Chuck said it may seem simple, but it should be indicated somewhere that these changes aren’t for regular development, but only for cluster development.

 

Chair Pogust said the plan is to deal with the gaps in this cluster subdivision regulation, and then workforce housing and senior housing. These are all on the docket to be focused on.

 

Roger feared that people won’t read the ad in the Intertown ad because it was too wordy. Chuck thought the half-page that was distributed that shows the intent behind the changes was perfect for the Intertown. Roger thought using the half page and then list the bulleted changes below that. The website could have the side-by-side comparison posted for those interested in further investigation. Roger thought if they did make it only a half-page, they could afford to make it color, which would grab people’s attention.

 

Chuck asked if recreational trails would be prevented on the open space? Chair Pogust didn’t think that cutting a trail on open land would be against the suggested regulations. It needed to be clarified if trails were considered development and what the permitted uses would be. Chair Pogust agreed to have the Town Attorney comment on this. Common land and open space would need to be defined on the plans.

 

Chair Pogust asked if the Board needed to approve what he and Roger come up with to put in the Intertown Record. Peter Stanley said they have to have public notice about the hearing to review the changes. This has to be 10 days prior to the hearing. This posting in the Intertown is separate. Roger agreed and said that what they are doing is public relations. Chair Pogust said Peter Stanley would send the board members what has been decided to use for the advertisement and if there are any changes, they could comment directly to Peter. Roger said he hoped that it should be in color to draw attention. Chuck thought that they should include the summary, a few bullet points, and then a reference to the website where there is more information would be good. Chair Pogust agreed.

 

There was some discussion about posting the formal hearings, when the hearings would need to be held, and it was suggested that the board avoid the drop-dead dates to allow for wiggle-room.

 

 

3. Update on Peacock Hill LLC.

Chair Pogust shared that Peacock Hill has been doing some work. They are following the requirements of the Town and the Town will continue to keep an eye on what is going on there.

 

 

 

November 15, 2022, is the next meeting of the Planning Board.

 

It was moved by Roger Wells and seconded by Christine Fletcher to adjourn the meeting.

The motion was approved unanimously.

 

The meeting adjourned at 8:13pm.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Kristy Heath, Recording Secretary

Town of Sutton