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Minutes of 5/2/2013 DRAFT

May 6th, 2013

TOWN OF CARROLL
PLANNING BOARD

MINUTES
May 2, 2013

DRAFT

Members Present: Chairman, Donna Foster, Vice Chairman, Richard Nelson, Selectman Representative, Bonnie Moroney, and members of the Board, Dr. Evan Karpf, Erik Bergum, Kenneth Mills and Michael Hogan.

Also present were William Dowling, George Brodeur, David Scalley, Joan Karpf, Andrew Nadeau of Horizons Engineering, Tara Bamford of North Country Council and member of the press, Edith Tucker of the Coos County Democrat.

7:00 PM Chairman Foster called the meeting to order.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Minutes Review
Minutes of April 4, 2013
The Secretary said there was an error which was brought to her attention by Attorney Bisbee, regarding the vote to reallocate 50 residential units to the Cottage Sub-division (Natural Retreats). After she researched he notes she found that due to more than one motion being on the floor at a time, she had confused the motions and votes. Dr. Karpf suggested that the video recording be looked at and corrections made.

Dr. Karpf also noted on page 4, 4th paragraph, 5th line, “exiting” should be “existing”.

Dr. Karpf offered a motion to table the minutes to allow viewing of the video recording. Mr. Mills seconded the motion. The vote was 7 – 0. The motion carries.

Correspondence:
The Code Enforcement Officer’s report became available after the meeting folders were put together and were made available to the members.


Page 2 of 7
Planning Board
May 2, 2013


Mr. Bergum said the snowmobile rental trailer is still at the Bretton Woods location and it should have been removed by this time. Chairman Foster asked the Secretary to advise the Code Enforcement Officer of this.

Report of Officers and Committees:
Mr. Mills gave a quick summary of where the Master Plan Sub-committee is in the process. Because there is a new Board with new Officers which were on the Sub-committee, a new Sub-Committee was named to include, George Brodeur, Evan Karpf, Kenneth Mills and Michael Hogan.

Chairman Foster said the Flood Plain Hazardous Mitigation and Flood Plain regulations should be part of the Master Plan.

Ms. Moroney said when the Sub-committee meets, it is a public meeting and needs to be posted. Also, minutes must be taken and be made available to the public.

Mr. Mills verified with the Board that the Sub-committee will work with North Country Council and report to the Planning Board from time to time. Ms. Bamford brought and handed out the draft proposal she had passed out to the Sub-committee in January. She asked for feed-back from the Sub-committee but had not received any. Mr. Mills explained that they were waiting to see if the Town Meeting would give them the funding they had requested in a warrant article. Town Meeting did approve the funding and it is good for two years (to expire December 31, 2014).

Discussion turned to how to gather information from the community. A survey was one option and another was public meetings focused on specific subjects within the Master Plan. Much debate followed regarding how to get the most participation from the community and how to do that without having the result skewed with bias.

A survey had been done 5 years ago and Dr. Karpf gave out the results. Mr. Bergum said the economic conditions have changed drastically in the last 5 years and believes a new survey would be best. Dr. Karpf agreed saying he thought the survey was outdated. Mr. Mills said he felt the survey has a limited effect and they would be able to engage more people with meetings.


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Planning Board
May 2, 2013


Many options were discussed including how to advertise meetings and when to have such meetings. Ms. Tucker offered to write an article about these meetings if given 2 weeks lead time. Mr. Scalley suggested having fliers at 4th of July events and the Fire Department’s pancake breakfasts.

Mr. Bergum was very concerned that the second-home-owners community would be left out and asked that some meetings be held on weekends. He said this group must be included as they are an important part of the community.

The time for the meetings was discussed. It was the general consensus that 7:00 PM on a regular Planning Board meeting night (first Thursday) would be best as such a meeting could be controlled better than if it was scheduled after the regular meeting which might conclude late and perhaps those interested in the Master Plan would leave before that part of the meeting came about.

The result of the discussion was, meetings in the form of focus groups, would be tried first to see what the attendance would be. If there is a small turn-out, the survey would be looked at again. If the turn-out is good, perhaps there would be no need for a survey.

It was decided that this will be on the agenda again for June 4, 2013, to see what direction to go in and what focus groups to have. Ms. Bamford said she wants to get a direction and scope to be able to draw up a contract. Mr. Bergum said they should delegate the fine tuning of the scope and details to the Sub-committee. Ms. Bamford said she submitted a draft of the scope in January and she needs feedback on it.

Chairman Foster said the Sub-committee will start, with Ms. Bamford, to work on the scope and detail work and refine the draft scope as Step I. She said this will be on the agenda for June 4th.

Questions arose regarding the Bretton Woods Concept Plan and when it was to be reviewed as the general feeling was, it should be part of the Master Plan. Dr. Karpf did some research and said according to the dates he has, review can take place in 2015 rather than 2014 as previously thought. He asked that copies of “Local Land Use Planning and Regulatory Powers” RSA Section 674:2, be in the June agenda folders.


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Planning Board
May 2, 2013


Unfinished Business:
Continuation of Stables Relocation Site Plan Review Public Hearing – Map 211, Lot 46.1

Mr. Nadeau told the Board that the elevations had been provided via e-mail to the members. The color of the building has not been decided yet. Dr. Karpf asked if Mr. Nadeau was aware of the Architectural Ordinance. Mr. Nadeau was not.

Mr. Nadeau said they had reviewed the Ammonoosuc River Corridor study and the location of the stables is as far away from the river as they can make it, 450 feet away at the closest point. The stables is not in a flood zone, a wetland zone or an erosion zone even when looking at the fluvial study map.

Mr. Bergum said regarding the storage of the manure, the best management practices note that there should be adequate capacity for 5 – 6 months. Mr. Nadeau said there will be no horses housed in the winter months and there is adequate storage for 2 months for the summer. He said the manure will not be held longer than 2 months in the summer months.

It was noted that since there are sleigh rides in the winter, there will be a need for some horses. Mr. Nadeau said he did not know how many horses would be there in winter. He deferred the question of the number of horses to the operator.

Mr. Bergum said he needs more detail. He asked if the grazing area is adequate. Mr. Nadeau said there is no change where the horses are grazed and there is no history of problems. Dr. Karpf asked if there would be any run-off from the grazing area (relative to the defecation and urination of the animals) into the river. Mr. Nadeau suggested that this be noted in the conditions.

Mr. Bergum said the stables building is taking away approximately 22,000 square feet of the grazing area.

Regarding the concerns of the Fire Chief, Mr. Nadeau said the hydrant is 850 feet (straight line measurement) away from the stables. He said the hotel must address any problems with the hydrant. He said the storage of grain, hay, tack, saddles, etc. will be in a separate building along with any motorized vehicles. He continued saying that the Department of Transportation mandates the specifications for the driveway and it will support the weight of the fire truck.

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Planning Board
May 2, 2013


There will be an office in the stables building and a break room but no kitchen. There will also be rest rooms with a septic system.

Ms. Moroney offered a motion to approve the Stables Relocation Site Plan Review application, Map 211, Lot 46.1 with the following conditions:
• Regarding winter occupancy of horses and a plan as to how the manure is stored, must meet best management practices,
• The hotel will work with the Fire Chief regarding operational status of the hydrant

Mr. Nelson seconded the motion. The vote was 7 – 0. The motion carries.

Chairman Foster asked the Secretary to e-mail her time card for the Chairman’s signature on Sunday. She said she had spoken with the Finance Clerk and made arrangements to have the time card submitted that way.

Other Business:
Dartmouth Brook Stabilization
The Board has received correspondence from Attorney Watson, counsel for the Dartmouth Brook project. He is requesting that the Town’s engineer inspect the stabilized area. He said the area has survived the winter in good condition. He would like the Town to release the bond for the stabilization and needs this inspection to verify the plan has met the conditions. Chairman Foster asked the Secretary to contact Provan and Lorber to inspect and report on the stabilization effort.

Hunt Properties Bill
Chairman Foster said this is a bill for Horizons Engineering for a third party review of the sub-division road (Ruby Way) done after a stop work order was given. Dr. Karpf said Town Counsel advised him every step of the way. Town Counsel said, if any member of the Board observes something being done in violation or incorrectly, they have an obligation to tell the person to stop.




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Planning Board
May 2, 2013


Chairman Foster said she was of the opinion that the review was done for the site plan. Dr. Karpf said, the third party reviewer must sign off before a bond is released. This is a condition of the Hunt Sub-division approval and the Sub-division Regulations. It was explained that there was confusion. A bond was required for the opening (cutting/digging up of) the Town road (Paquette Drive). The Planning Board, having never dealt with a Town road opening thought this was under their purview, however, as was found eventually, it was under the Selectmen’s authority. Mr. Scalley, the applicant, was in the process of acquiring a bond for that opening/cutting/digging. Dr. Karpf continued, Mr. Scalley did not have a bond for work on the sub-division road (Ruby Way), however, he started work on the sub-division road (without a bond) and had installed about 150 feet of the sub-division road. He said a bond being in place is a condition of his sub-division approval and State Law.

Mr. Scalley said he had a bond and gave it to the Secretary.

Dr. Karpf said, on April 7, 2011, Ms. Foster offered a motion to remove Provan & Lorber as the third party reviewer and to name Horizons Engineering as the third party reviewer as was requested by the applicant, Mr. Scalley.

Mr. Bergum asked if the Board could issue a stop work order. Chairman Foster said no and Mr. Nelson said no. Dr. Karpf said, Town Counsel said yes.

Discussion continued regarding third party review, deficiencies in the work on the sub-division road and the bonding.

Mr. Bergum said he was very tired of discussing this issue as it has gone on for months. He said, without any side admitting anything, since this is a very confusing issue, he suggested splitting the billing down the middle to put an end to it.

Mr. Scalley said he would be willing to split the bill but only if he doesn’t have to have a third party review.

Ms. Karpf said, speaking as a long time land use board members, the applicant has the right to appeal any Planning Board decision to the court. Mr. Scalley said he appealed to the Selectmen.




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Planning board
May 2, 2013


After prolonged discussion and debate:

Mr. Nelson offered a motion to change the conditions of the Hunt Properties Sub-division to delete the third party review condition, have each party (Town and Hunt Properties) pay one half of the Horizons Engineering bill, have the applicant’s engineer, Headwaters Hydrology, submit monthly inspection reports to the Planning Board, and have the Highway Department, Water Department and Code Enforcement Officers sign off on the project. Mr. Hogan seconded the motion.

Discussion – Mr. Mills said it’s important to follow the rules and he is not certain that this motion will put the issue to bed. He said the Board should be careful and deliberate and make sure. He said he wants it to be clearer. He said he wants more information.

The vote was 5 – 0 (Mr. Bergum and Dr. Karpf opposed). The motion carries.

Appointment of Alternate Member
Ms. Moroney said since the Planning Board is elected, it is up to the Board members to vote to appoint an alternate member. She nominated Bill Smalley as an Alternate member.

Dr. Karpf offered a motion to appoint Bill Smalley as an alternate member of the Board. Mr. Mills seconded the motion. The vote was 7 – 0. The motion carries.

Mr. Bergum offered a motion to adjourn. Dr. Karpf seconded the motion. The vote was 7 – 0. The motion carries.

9:30 PM Chairman Foster adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,
Linda J. Dowling
Secretary
Carroll Planning Board

Town of Carroll, New Hampshire ®2024