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10-06-2011 DRAFT PLBD Minutes

October 20th, 2011

Carroll Planning Board
Meeting Minutes
October 6, 2011

DRAFT

“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: Vice-Chair Evan Karpf, Donna Foster, Bill Dowling, Erik Bergum, Frank Maturo

Members of the Public present: Joyce Charrette, Dave Scalley

Minutes taken by Rena Vecchio, Secretary

Pledge of Allegiance

Vice-Chair Evan Karpf declared a quorum and called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. The Vice-Chair asked if all of the board had the opportunity to read the minutes and if they were ready to approve them or not. Bill Dowling said he had not had a chance to read the minutes and would like them to be tabled. The board agreed.

The first item on the agenda was Dave Scalley for consultation. The Vice-Chair told Mr. Scalley this was a non binding consultation and we are here to answer your questions and facilitate you. David said he wanted to float some questions to the board about the property listed as Hunt 2, LLC or commonly known as Shakespeare’s Restaurant & Motel/Apartments. He said he would like to take some of the motel units and slowly make apartments out of them. This would not be done all at one time but as they desired or as they could afford to do so. He said he had two apartments now.

Evan said first of all they would have to look at the Zoning Regulations for R-B, (Residential-Business). He then told Dave that the secretary would give him the Zoning Regulations as it would help to make things easier to understand. He went on to say that under the R-B permitted uses, restaurants and motels are allowed. Under Special Exceptions, apartments are allowed. However he would have to go before the Zoning Board to have that approved. So the Vice-Chair said that would be the board’s recommendation and that it was a change of use. Mr. Scalley asked if it really was a change of use because of the motel units. Vice-Chair Karpf said he thought Dave may be going in that direction and so he called Bernie Waugh’s office and talked to Sean to ask questions about this. He felt the correct path would be to go before the Zoning Board. Evan said this is an easy and not an involved process.


October 6, 2011 PLBD Page 2


The Vice-Chair said Dave would need to go before the ZBA for a Special Exception for the apartments. Once the ZBA approves the Special Exception, then you would need to go before the Planning Board for a Site Plan Review. Then we would be looking at things like the Fire Chief and Code Enforcer signing off on it, meet the parking requirements, etc.

Donna Foster asked how many apartments are already there. Dave said there were two (2) existing apartments. So Donna said you would be adding apartments. Dave said there are approximately 17-18 units and he would like to slowly change them over as there is a great need for them. Donna said they are constantly getting phone calls on rentals. There are very few available in the town. Evan said that the only problem he can see is that the emails he had with the previous owner Yvonne, states that there was only one apartment. He also contacted a manager of the business under Yvonne, Mr. Kelly, and he stated there was only one apartment also. Mr. Scalley said when he purchased the property there were:
• 2 apartments
• Units in between (the restaurant & apartments)
• A couple of units outback
• A cottage/s
• A restaurant
• Rooms above the restaurant
He said he has taken Stan (Code Enforcer/Building Inspector), Jeff Duncan (Fire Chief) and State Inspectors thru the building to fix any code violations. He said he is trying to make this a better place. Evan said that he is only looking for the truth. And that is why he contacted the previous owner as she should know how many apartments were there. There was a debate between Dave and Evan about when the emails to the previous owner of Shakespeare’s, Yvonne, were actually sent. Dave wanted to know what the dates of the emails were. Evan then read one of the emails dated September 16th. (The hard copies of the emails between Evan Karpf, Yvonne and (Mr. Kelly will be attached to the minutes in the office.) Dave said it should be noted that in both Yvonne’s email and Mr. Kelly’s they stated they “thought” there was one apartment.

Evan went on to say the process to deal with this and to achieve what you want is very simple. Evan said we just want you to come into compliance. The Vice-Chair said his personal feeling is that there was only one apartment based upon the emails to Yvonne and Mr. Kelly. Dave Scalley said that he purchased the property with two (2) apartments, pulled building permits in January and thought he was doing everything right. He has had the building inspector and the fire chief there checking things out as he goes along. He just doesn’t understand not being in compliance.

The secretary asked to speak after looking at the emails that the Vice Chair had given her. She said the statement that she was reading really bothered her. In the email Evan had stated “Thought I would just try to confirm the truth with you.” She said it sounded to her like Evan was saying that someone had lied to him. And if he was looking for the truth why didn’t he go to the owner, Dave Scalley, or the building inspector, Stan Borkowski? Evan said he was looking for the truth because the truth is important to him. He asked the secretary if that was not important to her. She stated she thought the manner in which the truth was sought was very
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important also. He said some people in town felt that there were not two (2) apartments in the building when it was sold to Dave, but one and so they went to him. Evan said that at
the PLBD meeting in April, Dave had said there were 3 apartments. When he contacted the previous owner and the manager, they thought there was only one. The secretary said the meeting in April was for the subdivision and had nothing to do with Shakespeare’s. She said he could have told the board, there were 65 apartments and it would not have mattered. And even at that she said, if there had been a question, she would have gone right back to Dave Scalley and asked how many apartments there really were before emailing the previous owner. So the fact that it was stated there were three (3) apartments, did not matter. Evan said that is right. What matters said Evan is that there is only one apartment and the fix is very easy. The facts are important. Dave said that Jim Covey was involved with the emails too. David did not find out that there was anything going on with his property until he heard it at the Post Office. That upset him and wanted to know why he was not contacted before. He felt it was not handled professionally. He felt he should have been contacted by Evan or thru the secretary. (The emails will be attached to the copy in the office.)

Bill Dowling stated he needed to speak. Bill said, “Rena, all you do is take the minutes, please.” She said she is a taxpayer and has the right to speak also. He said she is a taxpayer but she is a secretary right now and does not have the right. She said again that she has asked LGC and she has the right.

Erik Bergum said he did not know if it was important what the previous owner said on the emails about the apartments. He said he wanted to know what Shakespeare’s was zoned for. Dave said that was the question he came here to ask also. Erik asked if there were building permits that would go back and maybe show the okay from the Town on those apartments. Dave said he looked into that and there does not seem to be any. Erik said then this seems to be a “paper work clean-up” matter and he would not expect the ZBA to give him any hassle. Erik said he wanted Dave to know that when you get the building permits or the Site Plan Review approvals, there are time limits on those. He said he is only telling him this because Dave had mentioned doing new apartments when he could afford it. Dave said he understands that he may have to come back a few times if the renovations stretch out.

Donna Foster said she just wanted the board to know that what one person calls an apartment may be different from what someone else calls an apartment. She said having been in the hospitality business most of her life, sometimes because an area with a kitchen, living room and bedroom was not rented long term, it would not be considered and “apartment”.

Evan said when this came to him he turned it over to the Code Enforcer, Stan, he did not make it public. He said he followed the protocol. And the Code Enforcer told him tonight, and this is just verbal, that he felt there was one apartment. Evan also said Stan wanted the Planning Board to make the determination on how many apartments there were when the property was bought. Once again this was only verbal. Evan said in his mind all this could be resolved by going to the ZBA. So Evan said his recommendation to him would be to go to the ZBA for a Special

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Exception. Dave was still arguing the point that he would not need a Special Exception for the two (2) apartments that he has as they were existing.

Evan replied that he would be happy to make a motion that there was only one (1) apartment. Dave said there were two (2) apartments that had 2 refrigerators, 2 stoves, 2 kitchens, 2 bedrooms and 2 living rooms. He said he also has two (2) cottages out back where the kitchen help lived with heaters in the rooms.

Evan said he felt they should move along. If Dave decides to go to the ZBA for the Special Exception, then the PLBD would want a Site Plan Review from Dave. If you do not go to the ZBA for the Special Exception, then the PLBD would take action and make a determination on whether there were one (1) or two (2) apartments.

Evan made a motion to the Board: as it regards the second apartment at Map 207, Lot 036, if the applicant and owner applies to the ZBA for a Special Exception for greater then one (1) apartment, then the Planning Board would considered the second apartment a mute issue and of no importance. However if the applicant chooses not to go for the Special Exception within one (1) year, then the applicant is to return to the Planning Board to address the second apartment. Frank Maturo seconded the motion. Evan told Dave that as long as he goes thru the process there probably won’t be an issue. Dave said it makes me uncomfortable to hear you say “probably”. Erik Bergum said he is inclined to believe that there are two (2) apartments. The problem is that the property is not zoned for the two (2) apartments. So, by going for the Special Exception you have taken care of the two (2) existing apartments and then you can go for apartments three (3) and four (4). He said because of the monetary costs;
• discuss with the Fire Chief, thru email, so you can get an answer in writing, what his requirements are
• if you do not agree with the requirements from the Fire Chief or the Code Enforcer, you will be entitled to a Third Party Review

Evan Karpf called the motion to a vote. The motion passed with 4 ayes and Erik Bergum abstained.

Dave said he just wanted to say again that this is not why he came before the board. He wanted to know how to proceed with new apartments. He was not aware that the board was going to have an issue and a motion on his old apartments.

Next on the agenda was the Bretton Woods Subdivision that was approved in December of 2010. The applicant never recorded the mylar. The Vice-Chair said he emailed Bernie Waugh, Town Counsel, to see what he had to say about the situation. In our town zoning regulations, page 8, 3.12 states that if the mylar is not submitted within 60 days, the subdivision is void by a vote of

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the board. Bernie replied by email on September 19. He said his recommendation is not to allow the board to do this. Bernie said one of the reasons for revoking (RSA 676:4-a, l(a), is “at the request of, or by agreement with, the applicant or applicant’s successor in interest.” Thus he said to use this procedure in 676:4-a to take a vote to revoke the subdivision. (Copies of the emails and suggestion will be attached to the copy in the office.

Evan told the secretary to:
• contact the current owner of the land
• have them certify that no construction has taken place on the parcel
• do they want us to revoke the subdivision
If the current owners want to revoke the subdivision, it is a simple process Evan said, and to quote RSA 676:4-a. We will need to contact the abutter’s and place an ad in the local papers for a Public Hearing at the cost of the applicant.

Evan said that will we are trying to clean up the regulations, we should put the language the Bernie suggested into the town’s regulations for 3:12.

Erik Bergum made a motion to: Remove the wording in the Town’s Regulations, page 8, of the Subdivision regs, 3:12,
• “Failure to submit the mylar within 60 days after the Board’s approval shall void the approval.”
to read:
• “The Board is permitted to void the approval by way of revocation under RSA 676:4-a.”
Frank Maturo second and the motion passed unanimously.

Now we will deal with the PLBD/ZBA Regulations. The first one dealing with the advertising, that reads, …..posting in at least two public places in the town….” should read, “…..posting in at least two public places in the Town of Carroll….”

Jim Murn was contacted to go over the Chester driveway regulations. Evan told him the board wanted his opinion on the selected numbers below. He sent his recommendations to read:
• 4.7.8.4. 1.5’ minimum cover over HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) or CMP (Corrugated Metal Pipe) culvert for residential driveway, 2.0’ for commercial.
• 4.7.8.6. Minimum 12’ width.
• 4.7.8.8. Minimum 6’ bank run gravel for residential. Commercial minimu base 12-18’ depending on soil conditions.
• 4.7.8.9 Minimum 6’ crushed gravel
Evan told the secretary to make sure to refer to the RSA also.



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Evan told the board that he, Joan Karpf and the secretary had gone to the Legal Law Series at the Mountain View Grand. He stated that he would like to purchase the books of the law series for all the members and for Stan.

Erik said there is a workshop coming up October 21st, “Protecting the Water Supply for Your Business or Community” offered by North Country Council. It is being held at the Lincoln Town Hall from 9:00 – 3:00. (A copy will be attached to the minutes in the office.)

Bill Dowling said he has a copy of Hard Road to Travel by the Local Government Center. He said should put in writing that when the PLBD approves streets for subdivisions, site plans, etc, it does not constitute acceptance as a highway or guarantee that the Town will ever take over responsibilities of the road.

Vice –Chair Karpf said the board is going to have to look at roads in terms of the regulations. He said he also believes that an engineer should be looking at the acceptance of roads and not the road agent. He means not offense to the road agent, but accepting these roads could lead to big expenses for the town.

Another thing Evan wanted to bring up was there is not suppose to be any approving of buildings on Class VI roads. Any buildings have to be on Class 5 or better roads. He said that there are forms that are supposed to be filled out. Evan said he is going to talk to Provan & Lorber about the town roads in a couple of months.

Evan said he wanted to make a procedural rule that all paper work, decisions, actions or issues will be filed by the map and lot not the names. He thinks this would make finding things much easier. The board agreed that going forth and as far back as time allows. Start changing the file folders to map and lot instead of by name.

Bill Dowling said he would now like to bring the minutes of September 1, 2011 to a vote as he had time to read them. Bill Dowling made a motion to: accept the minutes of September 1, 2011 as written. Donna Foster seconded and the motion passed with 4 ayes and Frank Maturo abstained as he was not present at the meeting.

Erik Bergum made a motion to adjourn. Frank Maturo seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

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