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12-03-09 Minutes PLBD

December 31st, 2009

Minutes
December 3, 2009


“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, Bonnie Moroney, Donna Foster

Member of the Public present: Leslie Bergum, Kelly Chase, Frank Maturo

Minutes taken by Rena Vecchio, Secretary

Pledge of Allegiance

Meeting called to order at 7:00 PM

Chairman Birknes declared there was a quorum and asked the board to review the minutes of:
• November 5, 2009-page 2, first paragraph, in the motion, “Evan Karp made a….” add the letter “f” to Karpf
Bonnie Moroney made a motion to: accept the minutes as presented with the correction on page two. Connie Oliver seconded and the motion passed with Charlie Cohn abstaining as he was not at the meeting.
• November 19, 2009-no corrections
Bonnie Moroney made a motion to: accept the minutes as presented. Connie Oliver seconded and the motion passed with John Birknes and Donna Foster abstaining as they were not at the meeting.

Next on the agenda was correspondence for the Planning Board.
• The first item of correspondence came from Laura Spector, town counsel for the
Town of Carroll v. William Rines. The court date is set for December 15, 2009.This a Service of Notice. The letter was dated November 13, 2009 and will be attached to the copy of the minutes in the office.
• The second item of correspondence also came from Laura Spector. It is a Petition for Preliminary & Permanent Injunctions, Civil Penalties & Attorney fees. The letter is dated November 23, 2009 and will be attached to the minutes in the office.

Chairman Birknes said that Laura Spector emailed him and asked what the Planning Board would want to do if the Rines operation does cease and desist on Dec. 1st. There is concern, because of the letter from the Selectman giving him until Dec.1st. Chairman Birknes told Attorney Spector that he had been given the vote of the PLBD to deal with her on this and we have already expended money on legal fees and thus far we have nothing filed as far as a bond or anything of that nature. He then turned to the secretary and asked if that was correct and she confirmed. Because this issue has become rather notorious in the community, he feels that we should recover legal fees and fines. Chairman Birknes said he would recommend to the board to settle if Attorney Marshall, counsel for William Rines, agreed to pay the legal fees and fines. He said he did not believe that would happen.

• The third item of correspondence was a General Inspection Report on the Rines Pit from Stan Borkowski, dated December 2, 2009. This report told of no activity and included pictures of the pit taken by Stan. The report will also be attached to the minutes in the office.

Next on the agenda is the Site Plan Review for Mark Catalano/Kelly Chase, Map 208, Lot 5, Route 302E. This meeting is for the rental of new or used OHRV’S and is in Residential-2 zone. Chairman Birknes explained that this is unusual to have the Site Plan Review for the PLBD before the ZBA grants a Special Exception. However, the ZBA was unable to have a quorum at the last meeting and therefore could not render a decision for another month. The PLBD decided to have the meeting for the Site Plan Review so as not to hold up Catalano/Chase in getting there business going for the winter season. The Christmas vacation week is very important and they had tried to get everything in on time. The problem they faced was because the ZBA could not get a quorum to give a decision.

At this point, Evan Karp said he would recuse himself from this issue as he rents to Kelly Chase for Snowmobile rentals out his property on Route 3S in Twin Mountain. Chairman Birknes asked if he would be participating in the Public Hearing. Evan said yes as part of the public. Chairman Birknes told Evan if he wanted to partake in the hearing, he would have to remove himself from the table and sit in the audience. Chairman Birknes said it gives a conflicting appearance when a board member recuses himself and then sits on the board and takes part in the hearing. After the prompting, Evan Karpf removed himself from the table as he wanted to participate in the hearing.

Charlie Cohn referenced back to the minutes of February 13, 2009 and the decision that was made to allow the limited time for the trailer. The trailer look was an issue with Pat Curso from the Mount Washington Resort. Mr. Cohn wanted to know what was being proposed now or was it the same old thing that was proposed last year. Kelly Chase said that they would again this year be having a trailer, but it would be white. She also brought copies of different trailers off the internet with fencing and Christmas trees/pine trees around them. There are different models available. All of the trailers would be on wheels and not a foundation. There is a possibility of adding a skirt to the trailer and Kelly said if she has to, she will add one.

Chairman Birknes said that one of the primary concerns of the Site Plan Review is for public safety. Location of the restrooms and trying to eliminate careless snowmobile jumping is a concern and that is why he is trying to make sure Kelly is in touch with the right people at the Omni MWH. He wants to make sure that the people in charge of the hotel are aware of what is going on. The fact that two notices had been sent to them about the Public Hearings and there had been no word at all, made him wonder. The Chairman then asked the secretary if the abutters notices had gone out and come back. The secretary confirmed both. The other is egress and regressing in the area. He wants to know about parking. Kelly said they get a kind of “valet parking” from the hotel as they shuttle the guests down to her. Plus she said she does not believe that there have ever been more then four cars in the parking lot that are actually there for rentals. Bonnie Moroney said that last year Mark Catalano had a diagram of the parking spaces and there appeared to be adequate parking at the time. Chairman Birknes and Charlie Cohn said that they would like Kelly to arrange a relationship with the hotel management. Connie Oliver said her issue was not so much in parking but the fact that a gas delivery truck arrived and it seemed to be very crowed and dangerous. Kelly said that the position of the trailer was going to different this year and would eliminate that. Also, the trailer will be smaller this year and they have gained a good 10 feet. Connie asked how much smaller the trailer was going to be and Kelly said the trailer would be approximately 28 to 30 feet instead of 40 feet. Charlie Cohn said he felt the fencing and trees will help a great deal. Connie also said the smaller size will also be better.

Chairman Birknes said he would entertain a motion. Charlie Cohn made a motion to: approve the Site Plan Review contingent upon the ZBA approval with these conditions attached:
• the trailer is not to exceed 30 feet
• they are to keep safely away from the delivery trucks and gas trucks and not encroach upon their space
• they are to use suitable decorations to disguise the look of the trailer (fencing, Christmas/pine trees)
• make every effort to discourage the jumping of the snowmobiles on the septic system on the side
• the trailer will actually be on site from December 15th thru April 15th
Bonnie Moroney seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

The Public Hearing ended at 8:00.

Next on the agenda was a letter from Steve Messina looking for consultation on a change of use for his motel, Above the Notch, to condominium units. He owns a plot of land that has a 13 unit motel, a 2 bedroom home and another 2 bedroom home on approximately 2 acres. He would like to put the 13 unit motel on 1 acre, one home on ¼ acre and the other home on a ¾ lot. The Chair feels there are problems with this. First, the lot appeared to be in Residential-2 but it looks like it could be under Residential-1 for zoning purposes. He said the last paragraph of the zoning ordinance, 303.1, reads that any land within the Re-2 zone that is not presently part of an excepted concept plan may be subdivided or developed upon approval of the PLBD in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 303.2 Residential -1 Twin Mountain. And there would be a need for a Special Exception, which would require going in front of the ZBA. He would need provisions for water, sewer and waste disposal. Also there are covenants, municipal and residential law that would need to be dealt with. There are many issues and too much legal advice for the PLBD to deal with. He does not feel the board can maneuver thru this. Evan Karpf said he also feels that there would be a change of use.

The next item is Zoning Regulations. There are definitions that need to be addressed and wording that Stan Borkowski had highlighted in the regulations that he felt were confusing or conflicting. We are looking to get everything in line so we could have a Public Hearing. Evan Karpf made a motion to: submit the regulations to town counsel for review and input on the recommendation on what we are to do and then have a Public Hearing. Bonnie Moroney seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

Next, Leslie Bergum spoke on the suspended Dartmouth Brook construction. She said she has contacted DES and is waiting for a call back. She said she did not enter the property but stood outside and looked in. There has been a lot of rain lately and there appears to be some flooding. She was not sure if it was just because of the recent rains. The board had asked at one of the previous meetings to have the Conservation Committee look into the area. The board wanted to make sure that things were done properly because of the sensitive area it is in.

There being no further business Charlie Cohn made a motion to: adjourn. Bonnie Moroney seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The meeting ended at 8:25.

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