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Minutes of 03/06/08

March 14th, 2008

Town of Carroll Planning Board
Minutes
March 6, 2008


“These minutes of the Town of Carroll Planning Board have been recorded by its Secretary. Though believed to be accurate and correct they are subject to additions,
deletions and corrections by the Planning Board at its next meeting when the Board votes its final approval of the minutes. They are being made available at this time to conform to the requirements of New Hampshire RSAS 91-A:2.”

Members of the Board present: Chairman John Birknes, Evan Karpf, Connie Oliver, Charlie Cohn, Donna Foster, Rena Vecchio, Ernie Temple

Member of the Public present: Edith Tucker, MacMcQueeney, Sue McQueeney, Pat Corso, Mike Brunetti, Bruce Rollins, Cindy Rollins, Walter Elander, Steve LaFrance, William Rines, Colin Sutherland, Jere Eames, Dana Bisbee, Matt Dieterich, Leslie Bergum, Jeff Duncan, Erik McMurray, Alex McConnell

Minutes taken by Maryclare Quigley, Secretary

Pledge of Allegiance

Meeting called to order at 7:05 PM

Chairman Birknes declared there was a quorum and opened the meeting with the review of the minutes from the meeting on February 7. Charlie Cohn made a Motion to: accept the minutes as written. Rena Vecchio seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Correspondence was briefly reviewed by Chairman Birknes. First was concerning a proposal for grant money for looking at housing in the area. Mr. Birknes explained about the grant and that the Town would be required to come up with an amount of money for their portion. Mr. Birknes had sent this to Mr. Brunetti at Bretton Woods Development Co. with the thought that because of their pending projects, it would be of particular interest to them, the ad for which was written by Stacy Doll, also at BW Development Co. The deadline for receiving these proposals is March 21, so it was noted that we must act quickly if we want to try to get the ad in the newspaper, etc. Chairman Birknes said he would entertain a Motion to: Put an ad in the paper. Ernie Temple moved and Charlie Cohn seconded. The Motion passed unanimously. It was stated that this may be quite competitive as several area towns were already in the process for it.

Next, Chairman Birknes spoke of the annual planning and zoning conference in Manchester on April 26, and said he had attended in the past and it is quite informative. He noted that space is limited, so any who wish to attend the meeting should let the secretary know as soon as possible.
Chairman Birknes advised that Bernie Waugh, Town Counsel, has been in touch with Robert Hillier regarding the letter of credit for the various road and building construction for the Mount Washington Hotel Spa and Conference Center.

Colin Sutherland, representing Laurie and Lee Boisvert, Old Cherry Mountain Road, Map 405, Lot 023.002.002, for a lot line adjustment was next. Mr. Sutherland pointed out where the adjustment was located and explained that it basically was a .79 acre swap to allow the Boisverts to move the lot line away from their house. It was deemed the application was complete and all fees were paid. Evan Karpf made a Motion to: accept the application and Ernie Temple seconded. It was approved unanimously.
As this simple lot line adjustment did not require a public hearing, Evan Karpf made a Motion to: accept the lot line adjustment. Rena Vecchio seconded and it was approved unanimously.

The Dartmouth Brook Subdivision was next and as they are abutters, John Birknes and Connie Oliver left the table and joined the public. Evan Karpf took over as Chairman and at 7:26 p.m. declared there was a quorum and commenced the continuation of the Public Hearing. Dr. Karp received a letter from William Rose with the North Country Council March 5, and read the part which pertained to this Subdivision. Charlie Cohn asked who had asked for an opinion from NCC. There was discussion when it took place and Dr. Karpf said that Mr. Cohn had made the Motion and he thought it was at the meeting in the fall when it was deemed, and the Board voted, that this subdivision would have a regional impact. Mr. Cohn was doubtful about the details as he couldn’t recall having made this Motion. Mike Brunetti said it may have come because they were advised a while ago by the Board to get together with NCC and go over the plan regarding the economic stimulus for economic opportunities for this region. He met with Mr. Rose in January and went over the whole plan and process from the beginning in August. Mr. Brunetti believes this is follow-up from that meeting in January.

Dr. Karpf finished reading Mr. Rose’s comments (letter attached) and Mr. Cohn took exception with the statement that the Subdivision is located on Route 302. Mr. Cohn wanted it made clear that it is off the Base Road and as a result traffic will not empty directly onto Route 302, but will go first to the Base Road.

Dr. Karpf reminded that conditions and waivers had been gone over at the February meeting with both Counsels present, Attorney Waugh for the Town and Attorney Bisbee for the applicant. The Attorneys have been in contact with each other since that meeting and a chronological listing of all the aspects of the Subdivision has been made.

Matt Dieterich requested time to give a brief overview of some minor changes that have been made in the time since the February meeting, which Dr. Karpf agreed would be prudent. It was noted previously that they were still working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and this has been completed. The relocation of some of the trail system, particularly in the wildlife corridor areas, (referenced on and consistent with the map dated February 1, but not shown) are shown on the plan used at this meeting (copies attached) and they will be on the final plat that comes to the Planning Board for signature. Everything has been agreed with verbally by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and they have placed one condition on their release back to the SPGP permit process, which is that they explore a potential easement area shown on the map attached. The developer has something in front of the US F & W now that they are reviewing to say they have a period of time to find the right easement holder to put it in place. The State has also notified them that they are ready to write the permit for the wetlands which they expect to have in a week or two. The alteration of terrain application has also been accepted and they expect to receive that approval in about thirty days.

Due to discussions with the Fire Chief and working through the E911 process, some of the streets had to renamed because they were too close to existing ones. There have been no changes to streets or layouts, just the name:

FROM TO
Dartmouth Brook Drive Whittier’s Lane
Whittier’s Lane Belknap Street
Chiswick Court Remains as Parking Loop Only
Access to (new)Chiswick Court Fisher Way

It is requested that this be entered into the record as these names are shown on the waivers, etc. and while they believe it is not appropriate to go back and change all of those, they want to have a clear record of the name changes for reference purposes.
Dr. Karpf reiterated that this is to avoid conflict with names that may be similar and also said he had spoken with Chief Duncan and he is in agreement with these name changes.

Discussion of the easement area showed that it had actually increased from its original 31 acres to about 56 acres. Leslie Bergum asked if the easement line reaches to the White Mountain National Forest land and Mr. Dieterich acknowledged that it does and stated that it represents the main corridor for animals.

Dr. Karpf read the draft by Attorney Bernie Waugh entitled “Town of Carroll Planning Board Draft subdivision Decision for Bretton Woods Land Co., LLC – Dartmouth Brook Residential Area.” After section A, Dana Bisbee asked about making comments either after each section or at the very end. It was agreed that making them after each section was appropriate. Mr. Bisbee then said there were a few typographical things that should be addressed; namely: First paragraph, line three “case file” a period missing; 4c) “letter to from Fire..” “to” should be deleted; k) add the word “letter” between “2008” and “from Fire Chief” and at the end of same after “Waiver Requests” add “from Horizons Engineering.” p) “…document entitled” should be “Site Development Cost Estimates, Town of Carroll Performance Bond” rather than “Cost Estimates…….” Mr. Bisbee also wanted to include in the record an additional document, that being q) “Set of three plans submitted March 6, showing rerouted trail system, street names and conservation easement.”

Dr. Karpf went on to read section B and noted that this says the application meets all the guidelines, subdivision regulations and zoning regulations of the town, which it would have to for the board to proceed. Mr. Bisbee said as the voluntary merger will not be effective until final approval, he would like to add that to the end of paragraph 3 in section B. It would read “…depicted in the plans which shall take effect upon final approval of the plat.” Mr. Bisbee commended Bernie Waugh on his writing this draft from all the information gathered, etc., but he was curious why Mr. Waugh singled out specific parts of Article 4, in the first paragraph of B when all of is actually met. With the Board being in agreement with the change, it should read “….Subdivision Regulations (Article 4), except where explicitly waived.” Eliminate “including……of Existing Features.”

Dr. Karpf read section C, to which Mr. Bisbee commented that the Minutes from the previous meeting did a good job of capturing the discussion at length of the waivers and Mr. Waugh’s incorporating the Horizon Engineering’s letter listing the waivers in details, but felt reference to correspondence from both Provan and Lorber and from Chief Duncan were missing. He believes by adding a sentence used in B would show in the record that these pieces of correspondence are also being relied on. The Board was in agreement with this; therefore, the sentence “The Board specifically adopts all reasoning expressed in the correspondence from its Fire Chief and its consulting engineers Provan & Lorber (the more recent comments replacing earlier ones to the extent of inconsistency), and incorporates that reasoning by reference as part of this decision.” will be added to C, after “…of this decision.” “The Board………”

Dr. Karpf read the first paragraph of section D, which was left as written, and went on to Conditions Precedent: 1. Discussion ensued as to the reasoning for leaving this in as all permits are enforceable by the State. Attorney Bisbee wondered why the Town should need or want to have the authority to be the enforcing power which brought further discussion about who would be qualified or have the ability to do this. It was stated that the Town could hire a professional which would entail further costs. With Attorney Waugh unable to be present, and therefore unable to explain why this was added, the Board was uneasy about making changes and agreed that they would leave it as written.

Paragraph 2. and sub sections were read in their entirety. 2, (a) and (b) were left as written. To specify the property being referred to, Mr. Bisbee asked that the word “the” be replaced with “such” at the beginning of the sixth line under (c). Also, at the end of this same section, for the protection of the developer, the sentence “For safety and security purposes during the construction phase, the applicant must be notified prior to entering such property.” With regard to (d), it was asked if the open space was still the same amount, which it is. It was noted that sub section (f) should actually be (e) and that in (ix) just above this section, the words “right to” should be deleted as there are two sets.

Regarding Paragraph 3., Dr. Karpf asked if the bond will be by phase or for the whole project and was told it would be by phase.

Discussion took place regarding Paragraph 4. and the interpretation that the way it is written, they must come to the Board for every small/minor change, which would be very impractical for both the developer and the Board. Mr. Brunetti suggested that perhaps it could be qualified by the total amount of material not being reduced. It was pointed out that the Board would certainly want them to come back for a major change. It was finally agreed that 4. should be written with the addition between “modified” and “at a later time…” of “by a substantial change or reduction in landscaping or lighting materials”
Jeff Duncan asked if changes are made would a plan be submitted showing these changes. Mr. Brunetti said from a utility standpoint there will be, but not for plants, shrubs, etc.

They moved on to the Conditions Subsequent, and Dr. Karpf read through each and discussion ensued. 5. and 6. will remain as written. Mr. Bisbee spoke to 7. in that this deals with the Charter and the vast majority has nothing to do with the town, he feels the wording should reflect which portion this refers to. Mr. Bisbee recommends the following wording be included on the fifth line of paragraph 7 after “approval of the Planning Board.” “Only new or amended covenants and other provisions of the Community Charter for the Bretton Woods Residential Community that affect those provisions explicitly required in Conditions 2 (a)-(e) above require Board approval.”

Dr. Karpf pointed out to John Birknes that 8. covered his concerns regarding payment for maintenance of the private roads. However, Mr. Birknes questioned if was broad enough for what is actually done and suggested it be changed to denote that. It was decided to continue the last sentence with the wording: “….those roads, roadside areas and street lights.”

Regarding 11., Mr. Bisbee requested that it be changed to “marked as one-way as shown on the plan.” and eliminating “in a downhill direction.”

12., 13. and 14. will remain as written. Steve LaFrance said while 15. is somewhat standard for the alteration of terrain, he asked that it be modified at the beginning of the paragraph “To the extent practicable”. He explained there is always some disturbance of earth when constructing the diversions or sediment basins, and he was concerned about how literal this language might be taken.

Dr. Karpf suggested adding 16. and that it read “The Developer shall comply with the Town of Carroll Subdivision Regulation 5.03 regarding the Performance and Inspection of Work. Expenses shall be borne by the Developer.”

The Board accepted these revisions.

Mrs. Bergum asked if the 113 acres of open space differed from the Conservation Easement and Attorney Bisbee answered that it is. He also reiterated that the Easement as requested by Fish and Wildlife is nearly complete and noted that all open space is protected anyway by covenant.

As there were no further questions from the public, Dr. Karpf declared the public session closed for the Dartmouth Brook Subdivision.

Dr. Karpf said he would entertain a Motion to: accept the Dartmouth Brook Subdivision which would be all that was discussed in terms of inclusion of all the correspondence, findings, all the conditions, the waivers, any changes and additions.
Charlie Cohn moved, Ernie Temple seconded and it was approved unanimously.

With everything over, Mr. Brunetti wanted to take the time to thank everyone for all their help, time and guidance. He said it was a lot of hard work and a learning process for all involved. Attorney Bisbee wanted to put in a word also for Bernie Waugh, who persevered in completing the draft for Subdivision Decision in spite of being ill. Dr. Karpf joined with wishes for a speedy recovery.

Jeff Duncan asked about requirements regarding bringing utilities into a subdivision, if the developer is responsible for this. There is a subdivision in town that does not have phone lines. Mr. Duncan pointed out these lines now include fire and security alarm systems, etc. so it is not just a phone and cable issue. He suggested it might behoove the Board to send a letter to the developer asking when he plans to install these lines. Dr. Karpf noted he has been trying to research this particular item and will try to locate something to bring to the next Board meeting. Discussion followed about what is considered in utilities, as stated in the Regulations. Dr. Karpf noted that there are a number a so-called “housekeeping” items that the Board needs to take care of, this to be included, and perhaps they will be able to have a working session at some point.

There being no further business, Charlie Cohn made a Motion to: adjourn the meeting. Ernie Temple seconded and it passed unanimously. Dr. Karpf declared the meeting ended at 8:55 p.m.

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