Town of Fitzwilliam, NH - Planning Board Minutes 11/06/07

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

Public hearing: Gordon/Heikkinen application for a two lot subdivision of property located on Templeton Turnpike, Map 3, Lot 02, Rural District.

Attorney Joe Hoppock was present to represent the town. Attorney Tom Hanna, representing Mr. Gordon and Mr. Heikkinen, presented the redrawn plat. He said the case was again before the Planning Board as ordered by the Superior Court following an appeal of the Planning Board denial of the original subdivision application. Parties reached a settlement and changes were made to the plans regarding drainage of stormwater runoff, preservation of stone walls, and the shared driveway.

The Board reviewed Mr. Hitchcock’s engineering report on drainage and his plan to mitigate it with grading and pitch changes on the shared driveway. His recommendations are memorialized in notes 7, 8 and 9 on the new plat. Mr. Hitchcock opined that residential development of this property would not adversely affect Templeton Turnpike. Mr. Hanna outlined the stone walls that will not be disturbed during or after construction. The section of stone wall at the curb cut for the shared driveway will be disturbed.

Silverman asked for public comment. Grant Foisey noted that the condition of Templeton Turnpike at that point in the road is not good. He said the road honestly could not take any more traffic on it, adding that he is not willing to pay more taxes to upgrade it so it can support more development there. He asked if the town was ready to keep the road maintained.

Silverman noted that the judge in this case did not agree with the Board about the condition of the road. Pini suggested residents address their comments to the Road Agent. Mr. Hoppock said that the judge did not think the development was scattered and premature because development has happened incrementally along this stretch of Templeton Turnpike.

Silverman recalled that the town changed the ordinance regarding hammerheads in 2007 to limit further development in previously subdivided tracts.

Gray asked if the shared driveway would be paved. Mr. Hanna responded that no decision has been made about that. There was some discussion about the pros and cons and impact of paving. Mr. Hanna said the engineer’s recommendation regarding sloping and crowing of the driveway will work with any surface. Gray asked if the road will be maintained. Mr. Hanna wasn’t sure. Mr. Parker suggested treating the road surface with hardpack as the best option in the long run.

Mr. Hanna said he will be drawing up a maintenance agreement for the shared driveway, along with an easement for the front lot to use the shared driveway.

Mr. Hoppock suggested that to give the town some enforcement authority over the road maintenance, the Board could make the driveway engineering a condition of approval, and it would be included in the maintenance agreement as well.

Mr. Hanna said he would represent to the Board that there will be a provision in the maintenance agreement that the recommendations of the engineering firm will be followed. Mr. Hoppock said that two levels of enforcement would work best; one in the conditions of approval and one in the homeowners maintenance agreement. Mr. Hanna felt his representation about the maintenance agreement would be sufficient.

Silverman moved and Pini seconded a motion to approve the subdivision as presented on condition that recommendations in Notes 7, 8 and 9 on the plat addressing drainage are implemented, and further stating that all water draining off the property is the responsibility of the property owners and shall be corrected at their expense. The following Board members voted in the affirmative – Pini, Schott, Gray, Haynes, Parker. Silverman did not vote.

Preliminary consultation: Mr. Walsh to discuss a retail business in the Green, LLC building, Map 32, Lot 38, Village Business District and in the Crossroads.

Mr. Walsh has been in town for a year and has storage space for oriental rugs in the Fitzwilliam Green LLC building in the village center business district. He is interested in retailing the rugs from the storage space and from a space in the Crossroads. He believes the Crossroads space will be the primary retail space. Silverman noted that retail use is an allowed use in both sites. He added that if Mr. Walsh was to have a sign at the village site he will need a permit from the Selectmen.

Appointment: Ramen Patel to discuss proposed exterior lighting changes in the parking lot of the convenience store on NH Route 12 S., per site plan review notice of decision.

Mr. Patel explained that the parking lot is very dark and in the interests of safety for his customers, he would like to have a street light for the parking lot. Public Service NH has been out and located a site for the pole in the ROW of Route 12 about 45 feet from the highway. Mr. Patel said the light will shine down.

Silverman said that if the lighting plan was approved the Board would require the light to be shielded to protect the night sky, adding that this is not the traditional street light. Silverman noted that it had come to the Board of Selectmen’s attention that certain conditions of the site plan approval have not been completed, like the stockade fence, the lower entrance blockade, the lighting for the existing sign. He said he wanted to see these items completed before Mr. Patel returns to the Board.

Silverman noted there were several sign ordinance violations as well. Neither banners nor neon signs are allowed; interior lighting is limited to security lighting after closing and exterior lights must be turned off one half hour after closing.

Silverman asked for public comment. Mr. Niemala expressed surprise that this project had been approved. Silverman explained the circumstances.

Sandra Coburn said she thought the conditions of site plan approval had to be met before the store could open. Silverman said they needed to be planned and in progress.

Grasewicz said the store was so poorly lighted at night that he almost missed it. He thought it could use more lighting or a motion sensor.

Silverman said he would like to see more lighting options explored for lighting the parking lot. Pini noted that when PSNH puts in a light there are no options. Silverman confirmed with Mr. Patel that PSNH is putting in the light. He agreed they were. Silverman said that putting up a street light in a neighborhood that hasn’t had one before has an impact. Pini said that once the fence was up there could be better lighting of the parking lot without burdening the neighbors. She added that the store across the street has a blinding street light, Gray agreed.

Mrs. Coburn asked if the Board could suggest that a different light be put in there too, something that didn’t shine into her yard. Schott suggested the site plan for Bottoms Up should specify the exterior lighting. Pini said they could revisit that lighting only if it was in violation.

An abutter asked if there wasn’t a statement by the owner that there would be no exterior changes. Silverman agreed, but said circumstances have changed and that is why Mr. Patel has come back to the Board. Gray said she wanted to see options for Mr. Patel’s store that contained the light.

An abutter suggested that Mr. Mike’s exterior lighting was pretty good, adding they had worked out a solution that was cost effective.

Preliminary consultation: Paul Grasewicz to discuss a proposed boundary line adjustment between properties located on Fullam Hill Road, Map 8, Lot 28 and Map 8, Lot 43-1, Rural District.

Paul Grasewicz presented a drawing of the BLA. Melinda Johnson, owner of Map 8, Lot 28, is purchasing 31 acres from Mr. Smith and the lot line adjustment will reflect that addition to her property. Mr. Smith plans to sell the remaining 68 acres of his property. No new lots will be created by this BLA.

Pini asked if a voluntary merger was made for the lot line adjustment Ms. Johnson completed last year, and if she planned to do another one this year. Mr. Grasewicz didn’t know.

Silverman asked what the functional frontage was for the piece to be added to the Johnson property. Mr. Grasewicz said he hadn’t surveyed it yet, but noted there are wetlands on it.

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.

Mr. Filipi and Mr. Grasewicz presented redrawn engineering plans to incorporate recommendations of Mr. Sandford, the reviewing engineer.

The road entrance has been changed resulting in a significantly smaller area of disturbance, which will be largely confined to the road right of way. It will have a closed drainage system and no swales. Curbing will continue up 300 feet on the left and 400 feet on the right. Two catch basins and two manholes have been added to the plans to catch water along the roadway and two catch basins were added to capture water at a higher elevation. They will replace the original swale system along the roadway and decrease wetlands disturbance to 1500 feet. Water proceeds from the manholes through a pipe to a grass swale.

An infiltration basin has been modified to catch water at a higher elevation. Stone check dams will be installed at 200 foot intervals on both sides of the road higher up. Two ponds could be classed as dams and would need state permits. These ponds and adjacent ones have been redesigned, reducing the height on several of them. New analyses have been run and the post development runoff is still less than pre development. The hydrology report is being updated.

Pond 8 would have required grading in wetlands and the new grading plan is adjacent to but outside of the wetlands, providing additional storage area.

The Tc calculations Mr. Sandford questioned have been reworked and corrected as necessary. Typos have been corrected. Modifications have been made to the easements making access easier for maintaining the drainage systems.

Mr. Filipi updated the subdivision plat and will bring the plat with topography, house sites, soils, etc. to the next meeting. He described the easements and acknowledged that the lots have enough area outside the easements to place a good size house. Variances may be necessary if accessory buildings or facilities are proposed in the future on some lots. He said this issue will be addressed in the covenants.

Pini asked about the ownership of the aquifer protection area. Mr. Filipi said the common Lot A will be deeded to the Water District and another easement may be needed to move water from the proposed town well to the road. The homeowners association will probably own the easements related to the drainage systems. No determination has been made yet for ownership of the large common lot in the back. He asked the Board their opinion.

Pini confirmed that Mr. Filipi’s intention was for the road to be owned and maintained by the homeowners association. He agreed saying all the documents for the association, maintenance and conservation easements will be prepared to reflect responsibilities.

Pini referred to Nancy Roehl’s letter about the distance of the road entrance to her property and asked for clarification of the buffer from the road to the Roehl property. (Her 11/5/07 letter is on record and a part of these minutes.) Mr. Grasewicz said it was hard to measure because the road and the property line are not parallel, but he estimated that her home is 140 feet from the road ROW at that point and the new grading plan brings construction within the ROW. Pini clarified that the new grading plan will minimize the area to be cleared. Grasewicz agreed.

Gray asked if there were state guidelines about intersections, where roads meet. Mr. Grasewicz said town regulations require two roads to meet directly opposite one another, or a minimum of 125 feet offset from one another. The plan calls for the subdivision road to be offset by 135 feet from Robbins Road. Pini asked if the Road Agent had seen this plan and commented about the intersection. He hasn’t but will be contacted to put his observations in writing.

Mrs. Roehl commented that the road so near to her driveway entrance is too dangerous, especially since the subdivision may generate up to 81 trips a day. She wondered if the plans made any provision for groundwater levels in the spring since in the spring there is flooding on Upper Troy road. Mr. Grasewicz said the drainage system will handle a 50 year storm event and all the pre and post development calculations indicate less water post development. The soils on the property are hydrologic and he estimated them very conservatively for his calculations. He also ran site specific tests using site specific seasonal high water table measurements.

Pini asked if the subdivision plan complies with our regulations. Mr. Grasewicz said he would prepare a letter requesting a waiver for the length of the road, which exceeds our regulations. He and the surveyor certify, by their stamp, that the subdivision conforms to regulations.

Grasewicz commented on Mr. Sandford’s concern that one of the 4000 sf blocks for septic overlapped the aquifer protection area. He said while the rectangle overlaps the APA, the actual septic system will not be in the area – and it will require only 300 sf, not the 4000sf allowed.

Pini wondered if the Board needed to formally act on proof plan criteria. Silverman thought the Board had moved beyond that. He added that the Board needs a bonding agreement for the road, a plan for the disposition of common/conservation land, homeowners agreements and covenants, a plan for the disposition of the water resource, and the driveway waiver request letter.

Mr. Filipi pointed out the easement that will enable an abutter to access his well in the APA . Haynes wondered about how much water might be withdrawn from the well. Mr. Filipi said withdrawals are permitted by the state. Silverman said the water resource is to serve town and Water District needs.

Mr. Filipi returned to disposition of the 10.7a common lot in the back and the 2.5a lot in the front, which abuts conservation land and has a ski trail on it. Silverman said he’d like the public to have access to the lot in the back. Any land in common ownership can also have a conservation easement on it. He said these lots will be designated as unbuildable.

Silverman proposed the hearing be continued until December 4 so Mr. Filipi can get the documents in order. Mr. Filipi wondered if he would be asked to make more changes or provide more documents.

Carol Langer commented on the amount of water flowing onto her property, the amount of traffic on the road, and wondered how the amount of water can be predicted accurately. Silverman noted that the Grasewicz analysis is that the development will not exacerbate the current situation, that, in fact, it may ease the situation, adding it is not Mr. Filipi’s responsibility to fix Mother Nature. Ms. Langer asked if the abutters could hire an engineer to analyze the plans. Silverman said they could, and that Nancy Roehl had already hired an engineer to review the Grasewicz plans. Mr. Filipi has responded to that review. Pini noted that three engineers have reviewed the plans.

Ms. Langer said she is still not confident, especially since the development will be on top of this vital resource. Pini said the Board has tried hard to make sense of the drainage issue and the reports the Board has seen have not given the Board a reason to deny the subdivision.

Mr. Grasewicz reminded everyone that state engineers will review the plans thoroughly during the alteration of terrain permitting process. He added this will be an impartial, objective and professional review. Ms. Langer’s comments indicated doubt in this assertion. She also wondered that if the plan could go from seven lots to nine lots, where it will stop.

Silverman moved, Pini seconded and the Board voted to continue the public hearing on the Filipi subdivision to December 4, 2007 at 8 PM. Haynes asked if the deadline needed to be extended again. Silverman moved, Haynes seconded and the Board voted to extend the deadline another 65 days with Mr. Filipi’s agreement.

Preliminary consultation: Anna Barth to discuss opening a holistic animal care business located at 406 NH Route 119 E Map 12, Lot 35, Rural District.

David and Anna Barth described themselves as veterinarians who wanted to start a holistic veterinary practice in Fitzwilliam. They are interested in a house in the rural district in which to open this business. It will be a conventional and holistic small animal veterinary practice, not a kennel. If their services are needed for large animals, they would have to make house calls.

Silverman noted that this business falls under Section 127-11 which is not an allowed use in the rural district. He referred them to the ZBA for a use variance. They will need to come back to the Planning Board for a full site plan review if they are granted a use variance.

Tom Parker reported that the Selectmen are looking into a warrant article for improving drainage on Upper Troy Road. They are working with the police chief in drafting an ordinance to limit truck traffic on town roads. The Selectmen are reviewing complaints about signage at five locations.

Ordinances: Robin Haynes drafted a new livestock ordinance for the Board’s review. It incorporates the best management practices developed by the state, which Robin said meant the state would enforce them She feels the current ordinance is too restrictive and the wetlands ordinance manages the buffer to wetlands so it doesn’t need to be included in a livestock ordinance. This draft mirrors the Jaffrey ordinance. A public hearing will be scheduled in December.