Town of Fitzwilliam, NH - Planning Board Minutes 10/16/07

Members present: Terry Silverman, Suzanne Gray, Robin Haynes, Mac Landy, Carlotta Pini, Diane Schott and Tom Parker, Selectmen’s representative.

Public hearing: Thomas and Lucille Decatur application for a five lot subdivision, creating three new building lots, on property located at 117 East Lake Road, Map 11, Lot 29, Rural District.

Pini noted the Board had conducted a site walk of the property on October 9, 2007. Grasewicz distributed plats of the subdivision to the Board. Landy clarified the location of the leach field for the Decatur home. Grasewicz said the old quarry road provides access if any heavy maintenance of the leach field is necessary.

He stated that the test pit on the small lot (2.95 acres) indicated sandy loam with a perc rate that exceeds the state minimums for the lot size. The house will be built up-gradient of the septic system as will the well. The state will have to approve the septic system on this lot since it is smaller than 5 acres; the remaining building lots are more than 5 acres.

Pini stated that there were lingering concerns over the proposed easement on the old quarry road that will become a driveway for the largest lot. She asked if there were alternatives. Gray expressed concern that the easement runs with the land affecting people in the future when the current family no longer lives there. Haynes asked Parker if the town had any problem with easements. Parker said no, the town doesn’t get involved in issues between neighbors.

Grasewicz said there is nothing to prevent Mr. Decatur from privately placing an easement on the road when the property sells. Gray said that at least then the town wouldn’t be seen as sanctioning the easement through the subdivision process. Landy said he sees a problem only if heavy equipment uses the easement and perhaps damages the road. Silverman, speaking from the floor, noted that the roadbed is granite and heavy equipment won’t damage it, adding the road is a long way from the house site. Grasewicz suggested changing the notes on the plan to indicate the road easement is to be used for access to the leach field only.

Landy noted some brush should be cut to improve the lines of sight for the driveways. Mr. Decatur suggested the brush is in the town’s ROW and should be maintained by the town.

Haynes moved, Gray seconded and the Board approved the application for a five lot subdivision, creating three new building lots, on property located at 117 East Lake Road, Map 11, Lot 29, Rural District, with the following conditions:

Paul Kotila and Barbara Green, Conservation Commission representatives, are ready to begin developing an aquifer/groundwater protection ordinance and wanted to discuss various aspects with the Board. They have reviewed other towns’ ordinances and the state model ordinance and found them to be similar to one another. Mr. Kotila said their purpose is to limit potentially dangerous development in those sensitive areas. Mrs. Green said ordinances usually address stratified drift aquifers. Mr. Kotila said stratified drift aquifers are easy to identify, whereas other types, like fracture or bedrock aquifers are harder to identify and hydrologic testing may be necessary to see if water is present.

Gray wondered if an ordinance would have benefited the Filipi subdivision. Mr. Kotila said it would not necessarily have applied in this case. Pini suggested identifying the maps that would apply in the ordinance. Mr. Kotila said there are different approaches; groundwater protection, wellhead protection, aquifer protection. He asked what the Board wanted the Commission to tackle first.

Silverman asked what kinds of things are restricted in an aquifer protection district. Mr. Kotila read a list, which included salt storage, underground tanks, animal feed lots, covering more than 20% of the land with impervious surface – anything that could contaminate water quality.

Mr. Kotila suggested seeing if the stratified drift aquifers in Fitzwilliam coincided in any way with the wetlands because SDAs are usually associated with wetlands. Silverman asked them to check wetlands coincidence with SDAs and indicated the Board was interested in a stratified drift aquifer protection ordinance. The Board will meet with the Commission again in December.

Preliminary consultation: Nancy Carney and Warren Hall to discuss opening a retail shop in the red house at the Crossroads on NH Route 12 S, Map 34, Lot 26, General Business District.

Nancy Carney and Warren Hall plan to open a retail store to sell bird seed, wildlife photographs, bird feeders, wildlife themed gifts, etc. and conduct wildlife related workshops. Open hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 12- 6 PM, Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM – 5 PM. A sign will be located in the same spot as the previous sign; no changes to lighting or parking.

Silverman noted it is an allowed use in the general business district. The consensus of the Board is that no site plan review is necessary. They will need a sign permit from the Board of Selectmen.

The New England Power/National Grid high voltage line passes through eleven NH towns as it runs from Fitchburg MA to Rockingham VT. It was constructed in 1927 and the project is for repair and maintenance of the poles, adding a new high capacity line and adding new poles to tie into the new PSNH substation. The project will be completed in two stages.

May 2008 is the completion date for the first part: Five of the towers in Fitzwilliam will have concrete collars added below grade to stabilize the towers. Structural members will be replaced on all towers and three of the six wires will be replaced with the higher capacity wire.

They assured the Board all work will be conducted according to best management practices outlined in a National Grid Environmental Guidance document that was distributed to the Board.

Wetlands were flagged by a licensed surveyor. Four towers on which structural members will be replaced are in jurisdictional wetlands. A dredge and fill application has been submitted to the state. Access to towers in the wetlands may be by helicopter or by using swamp mats. The contractor will make that decision. None of the five towers that will get the new concrete collars are in jurisdictional wetlands. One of the new towers will be in wetlands.

Mr. Glenning said an outside environmental firm will be hired to monitor construction progress once a week, sooner if a rainfall of ½ inch is received.

Public hearing continued: Steve Filipi application for a nine lot subdivision of property located on Upper Troy Road, Map 15, Lot 6, Residential, Rural and Historic Districts.

Chris Covel, hydrologist, and Earl Sandford, engineer, presented their reports to the Board. They each reviewed the engineering plans for the proposed subdivision and the reports from Geosense, a hydrology engineering firm hired by an abutter.

Mr. Covel summarized his report. It is his opinion that drainage problems experienced in the neighborhood of the Pinnacle will continue because water in the brittle fracture zone in the bedrock is being forced to the surface. He does not think the subdivision development will exacerbate the problem; in fact the engineering may alleviate it. He noted that the developer voluntarily put the aquifer area identified by Mr. Covel in a protection zone, causing the complete reconfiguration of the original subdivision plan.

Mr. Covel emphasized that the subdivision engineering plan still has to go through a rigorous permitting process to obtain an Alteration of Terrain Permit from DES. He assured us that any problems will be flagged by DES.

In his opinion much of the research cited in the Geosense reports involving studies on parking lots and in estuaries on the seacoast was not applicable or relevant to the Filipi project. Mr. Sandford noted that many of the low impact development concepts referred to in the Geosense report are not in the regulations today and noted that they may not be of benefit on this site. Mr. Covel concluded that the area surrounding the bedrock fractures on the site has been voluntarily protected by a large buffer zone, adding that he is confident that DES will insure the application meets all requirements.

Pini said that the Board wanted his report because they were concerned that the subdivision may make the drainage situation worse. Mr. Covel said the situation may actually improve because the development will decrease sheet runoff from the hill by trapping water and allowing it to infiltrate more slowly.

Gray asked if the new development will create impervious surfaces that will increase water runoff. Mr. Sandford reviewed the engineering calculations and found them to predict an improvement in runoff post-development – less water will get to the bottom of the hill. He added that the hyrodCAD models used to predict pre-and post- development runoff tend to be conservative. It’s been his experience that while a hydroCAD model may predict an overrun of water, none actually exists when he does a field visit. He said the state will require mitigation of any post-development runoff. His report recommends some minor changes regarding pond sizes.

Mr. Sandford agreed with Mr. Covel that many of the studies Geosense referred to were not applicable, adding that low impact concepts are not on the books now and engineers need to follow existing regulations.

Mr. Sandford suggested that any restrictions on activity within the aquifer protection area be spelled out and incorporated in the plan itself. He noted that the concentration of houses in a cluster on this plan is the trade-off for protecting a large area in conservation easement. He said that the plan will have to go through the state subsurface subdivision approval process but in his opinion even the smallest lot exceeds DES requirements.

Regarding whether the plan addresses concerns raised by Geosense, Mr. Sandford said it was hard to say. There was a lot of material presented by Geosense that didn’t apply. He said Mr. Grasewicz has used best management practices and that addresses any concerns the engineering community may have.

He reiterated that in his 15 years of experience in designing subdivisions, he’s verified that hydroCAD tends to overdesign for water management. He hasn’t found a better way of managing stormwater runoff than detention ponds. He recommends easements to access the retention ponds for maintenance in the future. Detention ponds are the standard methodology.

Regarding road length concerns, he said the length of the road actually benefits the subdivision by getting the housing units out of the aquifer protection area.

Regarding swales at the road entrance, he said open swales are more environmentally friendly than drainage pipes which decrease infiltration. Silverman asked if the plan controls runoff from the development itself. Mr. Covel said yes, if it’s built the way it is planned.

When asked about the unrelieved slope of the road, Mr. Sandford said there wasn’t much choice on this site. There is a very narrow corridor for the road and it can’t wander back and forth. The ideal is to follow the terrain as much as possible but this site doesn’t allow much flexibility.

Pini asked if the proposed 2:1 entrance slopes were reasonable. Mr. Sandford said that this plan calls for a drainage pipe and there is less opportunity for treatment if water is diverted into a pipe. Gray asked him to elaborate on his preference for capturing water higher up on the hill. He said his firm likes to limit roadside drainage to 300 – 400 feet, saying it is harder to control long runs of water. He felt Mr. Grasewicz was aware of the issue and the site may not allow for a shorter run. The roadside ditches could be strengthened with rip rap over fabric to prevent undermining.

Mr. Sandford said that the biggest threat to drainage ditches is exposed soil during construction and good erosion control measures are critical. He said bonding the road during construction is common but if the road remains private a homeowners association should be formed and charged with ongoing maintenance and upkeep.

Silverman invited public comment. Mrs. LaFond asked how much water the ponds will contain. Mr. Sandford and Mr. Grasewicz agreed that these ponds are usually dry basins except for the fire pond which is dug below the water table so it will always have water in it. Grasewicz added that the ponds are no more health hazards than the existing wetlands or spring houses. Ponds are sloped 3:1 and are 3-5 feet deep - anyone can walk into and out of the basin. The fire pond will be fenced for safety.

Mrs. Roehl asked if any basins were over the aquifer protection area and if so, would they trap contaminants that could then infiltrate in to the aquifer. Mr. Covel said any contaminants would be filtered out before reaching the aquifer.

There was some discussion about a municipal water supply and where the water comes from. Mr. Covel suggested a public water supply would probably best be located at the intersection of the two major fractures, which is up-gradient of most of the subdivision development. The water probably would come from the north along the major north-south fracture.

Pini asked about the road crossing the aquifer and Mr. Covel said the crossing was located to have the least impact on the aquifer. Several crossings were eliminated when the subdivision was reconfigured to protect the aquifer. He recommends a ‘no salt’ restriction on the road except when ice storms threaten safety.

Mrs. LaFond asked if her dug well across Upper Troy Road could be contaminated by runoff. Mr. Covel assured her that it couldn’t be – her well is in the overburden area and there is no chance anything could get beyond the fracture. He added that if there was a negative impact on her well or a town well from wells in the fracture the draw down would have to stop.

Silverman read a petition signed by 90 individuals opposing the subdivision, 13 of whom were abutters and 14 of whom were neighbors. The petition is part of this record.

Mr. Filipi asked to comment on the petition. He said it would have been nice if the petition had acknowledged that an aquifer protection zone had been created voluntarily, that the developer was working with the Village Water District to develop a municipal well on the property, and that 48% of the land was being put under a voluntary conservation easement. He clarified that no development was going to take place in the ski area. His property is not the ski area site.

Pini thought someone shouldn't comment if they haven’t attended any meetings or even read the minutes. (She added that her mother had signed the petition.) She said she originally thought the development might be scattered and premature but those issues have been addressed to her satisfaction. And further, the town has a growth management ordinance in place and Mr. Filipi will only be able to get a maximum of five building permits in any given year. She believes that scattered and premature would be a hard argument to make.

Preliminary consultation: Paul Grasewicz to discuss a boundary line adjustment on property located on Scott Pond owned by Michael Chase, Map 16 Lot 9, and William Flynn, Map 36 Lot 2, Rural District.

Mr. Grasewicz distributed a plan for the boundary line adjustment. Mr. Flynn would like to purchase a small strip of land from Mr. Chase to straighten his back boundary line and add some space to his back yard. The lot is currently nonconforming and will become less so following the boundary line adjustment. Mr. Grasewicz will return with a plat.