October 6, 2009 Planning Board Mintues
Chairman Kevin McKinnon called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Board members present were Sandra Riendeau, , Danny Lyons, John Jolles, Selectman Mike Ouellet and alternate Charles Baldwin.
Others present were Roland Cotnoir, Claire Lynch, Justin Falconer, Colin Sutherland, Robert Hodge, Lula Brown, David Brooks, Aime Poulin, Rick Bagley, Walter Neuman and Sheila Beauchemin.
Driveway Permits:
Rick Bagley – Construct a driveway access road entrance to his property located on Fish Hatchery Road (227-11). The public works director had indicated that the line of sight is acceptable in both directions. Mr. Bagley stated he had placed a culvert, even though it was not found to be necessary by the Town. Mike Ouellet made a motion to approve the application as presented; Danny Lyons seconded and all present agreed. #2009-53
Phil Lambert, Jr. – Construct a driveway access road entrance to his property located on Titus Hill (246-21). The public works director had indicated that the line of sight would be acceptable as long as the brush is cut on the east side of the entrance. A 15” culvert is also necessary. Danny Lyons made a motion to approve the application; Sandra Riendeau seconded and all present agreed. #2009-54
Lott Connell – Construct a driveway access road entrance to his property located on East Colebrook Road (234-40). The public works director had indicated that the line of sight is acceptable and a culvert is not necessary. Miek Ouellet made a motion to approve the application; John Jolles seconded and all present agreed. #2009-55
Building Permit:
David LaPrell – 4’ x 5’ privy to be placed on his property on Piper Hill Road with access off Hodge Road (211-23). This application had been tabled last month due to the lack of setbacks from the left and right property line. Mr. LaPrell had also submitted a plan with his application which appeared to create 0.6 acre lot. After careful review, it was noted that the plan was a current use map for Mr. Laprell’s property and not a subdivision map. John Jolles made a motion to approve the permit and Danny Lyons seconded the motion. The vote was in the affirmitive with three ayes and one nay (MO). APPROVED - #2009-56
Rick Bagley – 20’ x 20’ camp with finished attic space to be placed on his property on Fish Hatchery Road (227-11). A letter from a licensed septic designer indicated a design had been completed. Mike Ouellet made a motion to approve the permit, conditional on receiving an approval for septic system from the State of NH; Danny Lyons seconded and all present agreed. CONDITIONAL APPROVAL - #2009-57
Carol A. Gregory – Four-foot picket fence in the back of her residence at 39 Pleasant Street (109-17). John Jolles made a motion to approve the permit; Sandra Riendeau seconded and all present agreed. APPROVED - #2009-58
James & Kim Bennett – 12’ x 16’ pole barn to be placed on their property at 691 Diamond Pond Road. John Jolles made a motion to approve the permit; Sandra Riendeau seconded and all present agreed. APPROVED - #2009-59
Sarah Gagne / Maxime Letourneau – 40’ x 40’ concrete slabe with footing to be covered with clear span to store farm equipment. John Jolles made the motion to approve the permit; conditional on receiving the full fee necessary. Danny Lyons seconded the motion and all present agreed. CONDITIONAL APPROVAL - #2009-60
Lott & Leighann Connell – 25’ x 40’ two-story residence on their property on East Colebrook Road (234-40). John Jolles made a motion to approve the permit; Danny Lyons seconded and all present agreed. APPROVED - #2009-61
Larry Hartlen – 16’ x 17’ barn on sonar tubes to be placed on his property at 23 Hartlen Avenue. It was noted that Hartlen Avenue is a private road; therefore, an agreement and release must be signed by the property owner and the Board of Selectman before the permit can be approved. It was noted the application meets the zoning requirements in all other respects. Mike Ouellet made a motion to deny the permit until the agreement and release has been signed. DENIED
On October 13th, Mr. Hartlen returned a signed and notarized Agreement and Release for Private Roads.
Nash Equipment Inc. – 14’ x 19’ storage shed for parts on their property at 331 Route 26 (245-1). Mike Ouellet made a motion to approve the permit, conditional on the second page being completely filled out. Danny Lyons seconded and all present agreed. CONDITIONAL APPROVAL - #2009-60
Christopher Fife – 24’ x 26’ two-bay garage to be placed on his property at 58 Bridge Street. Mike Ouellet made a motion to approve the permit; Danny Lyons seconded and all present agreed. APPROVED - #2009-63
Kevin McKinnon removed himself from the Board during the consideration of the next application.
Brett McKinnon – 12’ x 16’ storage shed to be placed on his property at 28 Stoney Hill Road (233-18). Mike Ouellet made a motion to approve the permit; John Jolles seconded and all present agreed. APPROVED - #2009-64
Kevin McKinnon returned to the Board.
Bryan Collins – 10’ x 18’ unattached back deck with stairs on his trailer located at 23 Third Street in the Windsor Park Estates trailer park. Landowner Dominic Casteldi gave written permission. Sandra Riendeau made a motion to approve the permit; John Jolles seconded and all present agreed. #2009-66
Sign Permit:
MMI – Jacobsma Associates – 4’ x 8’ sign to be placed over the entrance on the building located at 23 Gould Street. The sign will not be illuminated and will state “Awesome Boat & RV Storage…” Sandra Riendeau made a motion to approve the permit; Mike Ouellet seconded and all present agreed. APPROVED - #2009-65
Subdivision Public Hearing:
Robert Hodge – Chairman Kevin McKinnon read the application for a proposed three-lot subdivision of property owned by Robert Hodge on East Colebrook Road, identified on the Colebrook Tax Maps as 234-42. Included was a waiver request for test pit data on proposed lot #2. The reason stated was due to the fact this lot, consisting of 6.85 acres, was being created for view easement purposes only.
Kevin McKinnon stated that he was not aware of any situation where a waiver for test pits had been granted. John Jolles agreed that the Board has always asked to have test pit data on any subdivision to protect future developers. Mr. Hodge stated it was his intention to merge this lot with the farm house across the road; thereby giving them “view protection”. Mike Ouellet remarked that the subdivision plan indicated that Lot #2 was being created for view easement purposes only and that the parcel was not to be used as a building site. John Jolles questioned if the wording should be “cannot be used” rather than “is not to be used”.
Mike Ouellet made a motion to accept the subdivision as presented and to accept the waiver as written. Danny Lyons seconded and all present agreed. Mr. Hodge was asked to present a copy of the deed that contained the statement that Lot #2 is not to be used as a building lot. #674
Site Plan Public Hearing:
Christopher Bean – Chairman Kevin McKinnon opened the public hearing for Christopher Bean’s proposed site plan for a fuel oil bulk plant on the property located at 31 Haynes Drive. This property is currently owned by the Bruce Haynes’ family and has a commercial truck garage on site.
Mr. Bean explained that the engineering for the fuel facility will be completed by the State of New Hamsphire. The old trailer on site will be removed with the placement of the bulk tanks close to the existing garage. The containment area will be approximately 100 feet from the boundary line. It is estimated there will be one tanker trailer truck three times a week with smaller trucks entering at least twice a day. This traffic will amount to less than is currently accessing the site. The chip truck traffic will lessen as the operation is being moved, however, the dumpster is staying.
Abutter Aime Poulin stated she really did not want to live across from a fuel facility, further remarking that it had not been a pleasure living across from the truck yard. She provided a letter from the owners of her property, Wayne and Paula Chapple, which the Chairman read into the minutes. They also expressed concern regarding this site plan being granted, citing the fact that past businesses, once started or approved, have changed things by simply doing them first and asking for permission later. They expressed concern regarding the noise generated by the chip yard day and night. Safety and the lose of property value were also concerns for the Chapples.
John Jolles questioned if the Board should consider time limits on the traffic to alleviate the noise, whereby the abutters could call the Town Hall if traffic occurred after hours. Aime responded that the hours on the current business were never policed and she did not want to have to be bothered with calling in if the hours were set. Mr. Bean responded that the normal hours of operation would be 7 to 5, with the majority of the fuel truck traffic at that time. He also stated that a fuel oil operation is very regulated by the State. It is usually cleaner than a regular garage as there cannot be any trash around. He continued that, naturally, accidents can happen; however, the fuel storage tank would have a dike so that any spillage is contained.
Mr. Bean continued that the tanks he would install would be approximately 30 feet high. Kevin McKinnon questioned if Mr. Bean would be agreeable to putting in a buffer of trees along Route 26 to hide the operation. Mr. Bean responded that he saw no problem with that and he had been considering painting the tanks green to have them blend in with the surrounding vegetation. He further remarked that the only noise will be from the pumps running which are not very loud.
Mrs. Poulin stated she was afraid that Mr. Bean could do whatever he wished once this site plan was approved. She felt intentions were one thing and what could happen would be different. It might be a small operation proposed now and she was concerned if she would get a chance to speak if it should grow in the future. Mr. Ouellet stated that Mr. Bean is proposing three tanks at present. Should he decide to put in a fourth tank, he would have to come back before the Board and have another site plan reviewed. Mr. Bean welcomed neighbors to come to him if they had a problem.
Mike Ouellet questioned drainage control for melting snow and reminded Mr. Bean that snow removal must be kept on his own proerty. Mr. Bean remarked that the State had recommended he place a catch basin at the end of the drive. He continued that the bulk tank will be gated, however, the entrance off Route 26 will not be. Lighting will be utilized at night for security and will close to the building so they do not interfere with the neighbors. Both abutters present stated the street light up by the garage does not bother them. State inspections are conducted once a year. Mr. Bean plans on using the existing garage to park his trucks. No mechanic work will be done on site and the garage will not be open to the public as it is currently. The office space will
continue to be used as an office. He will utilize the sign already on the property, just change the name, and might approach the Board for one on the building later.
Mrs. Poulin asked if the board felt this operation would decrease her property value, wondering why anyone would want to live across from a fuel plant. Chairman McKinnon stated that, without zoning, anyone can start a business anywhere in Colebrook and the Board was not cognizant of property value assessments. Sandra Riendeau questioned if the houses on Colby Street are assessed differently due to the two fuel plants on that street. Aime remarked she is more concerned about the selling price, rather than assessment.
Abutter Justin Falconer questioned if the dumpster would be moved once Mr. Haynes had removed his business. He also questioned what would happen to the cement wall as that is all he can see when he looks out his living room window at present. Mr. Bean stated the dumpster would be removed and they could level the wall, although that had not been planned. It was agreed that removal of the dumpster alone would make the area look better. Mr. Falconer also questioned if Mr. Bean would allow skidoos to cross his property to reach the snowmobile trail as has been done in the past. Mr. Bean remarked that he is not opposed to skidoo travel on his property, but he must have a secure area per state regulations.
John Jolles remarked that zoning has been growing and the Board is more aware due to abutters attending meetings and speaking out. However, because the Town is not zoned, the Board must follow the guidelines set out in the site plan regualtions. He continued it was evident everyone would be happier if the new project had as little impact as possible. The fact the commercial truck garage traffic would be leaving and the dumpster removed should help. After discussion, it was agreed that there would be no restrictions placed on the hours of operation until a year had passed and the matter was reviewed. Mr. Bean remarked, once more, that his normal business hours would be seven to five; however, trucks might leave the plant later if required for an emergency delivery.
At this point, John Jolles made a motion to accept the site plan with the following provisions:
Lighting will be focused and unobtrusive;
A buffer zone of trees will be placed along Route 26;
Tanks will be painted green;
Dumpster will be removed and the area landscaped once the lease is no longer in affect;
Snowmobile access will be provided.
Danny Lyons seconded the motion. The motion passed with three votes in the affirmative and one abstention (SR). A copy of the notice of decision will be sent to Mrs. Poulin and Mr. Falconer.
Bills:
Mike Ouellet made a motion to approve the invoice of $92 from the News & Sentinel. John Jolles seconded and all present agreed.
New Business:
Titus Hill Access – David Brooks appeared before the Board to ask about the access which was recently constructed off Titus Hill by Mike Grandmaison. Mr. Brooks had been in to speak with the Selectboard earlier and was “touching base”. Kevin explained that he subdivision had indicated an access to be built across from High Street. Mr. Grandmaison contends, however, that he was given a driveway permit for the location he has utilized. Kevin has asked for a copy of this paperwork and will meet with Mr. Grandmaison this week.
Sheila asked permission to place the Planning Board Rules and Procedures on the internet. There have been numerous requests for them lately. Permission was given.
Capital Improvement Plan - The revised Capital Improvement Plan paperwork should be here by October 15. The Board agreed to meet on Tuesday, October 20, to review the changes prior to Carol Bont from North Country Council being at the November meeting.
Correspondence from the Local Government Center regarding building permits, certificates of occupancy and Modular Home Building Code were passed out for review. The issues will be discussed at the November meeting.
The Board reviewed correspondence from EBI Consulting regarding the Board’s invitation to comment on the telecommunication tower to be placed at 30 Bill Bromage Drive in regards to the Historical Preservation Act.
Mike Ouellet made a motion to approve the minutes of September 1, 2009, with the correction that he was in attendence. John Jolles seconded and all present agreed.
A review of the veteranian clinic site plan on Route 26 will be conducted at the next meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Sheila M. Beauchemin
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