DRAFT
MEETING MINUTES
SANBORNTON PLANNING BOARD
FEBRUARY 15, 2007
The meeting opened at 7:05 pm with the following members in attendance: Helmut Busack, Chairman; Don Bormes, Vice Chair; Dick Gardner, Member; Carmine Cioffi, Alternate and Bob Ward, Town Planner.
1. Role Call
As listed above. Absent were Andrew Livernois, Selectman’s Representative, Ralph Carter, Member and Alternates Cindy Merchant and Sandy Leighton.
2. Seating of Alternates
Carmine Cioffi was seated for Ralph Carter.
3. Action on minutes
a. Regular meeting of January 18, 2007.
Carmine Cioffi made a motion to accept the minutes of January 18, 2007 as amended, 2nd by Dick Gardner. Motion passed unanimously.
b. Workshop Meeting of February 1, 2007.
Carmine Cioffi made a motion to accept the minutes of February 1, 2007 as amended, 2nd by Dick Gardner. Motion passed unanimously.
4. Old Business
a. Review and signing of NH DOT MOU on access management.
Bob Ward explained that he had a chance to go over the NH DOT MOU at greater length since the last meeting. He found some mistakes regarding references to the RSA and also has some suggestions as to verbiage in the document to clarify it in regards to regulation of subdivision of land. The Board agreed that some changes are necessary and requested that Mr. Ward draft a letter to be sent to NH DOT in regards to the MOU amendments. Carmine Cioffi made a motion to send the document back to the NH DOT for their review of the suggested amendments, 2nd by Dick Gardner, all in favor. Motion passed. Mr. Ward will draft a letter for the Board’s signatures to be sent to DOT.
b. Discussion concerning Planning Board Budget.
Bob Ward explained that the Board of Selectmen had not recommended Line Item 7191.910, Master Plan Update of $3000 in their proposed budget. This budget still needs to go before the Budget Committee on February 20, 2007 at 8:00 pm. Mr. Ward feels that this needs to be better explained to the Budget Committee as there is an apparent misunderstanding with the Board of Selectmen regarding this item. The Master Plan should be updated at least every 10 years and the last revision to the Sanbornton Master Plan was in 1995. Dick Gardner pointed out hat the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Committee have done a lot of research into this already. Chair Busack and Board member Cioffi stated that the CIP Committee and the Planning Board need to work together on
this. The report of the CIP Committee is necessary for the plan to be updated. Discussion followed regarding the proper way to present this to the Budget Committee. It was agreed that Chair Busack and Town Planner, Bob Ward would attend the Budget Committee meeting on February 20, 2007 to clarify the need for this item.
c. Review and adoption of revised Subdivision Regulations.
Bob Ward stated that this is an ongoing process of updating the Subdivision Regulations to ensure that they are consistent in wording and reference. The first section discussed was Section 7.0, C. Preservation of Natural and Manmade Resources. This section was previously discussed and questions arose as to whether manmade features should be included. It was decided to remove the word “manmade” from the section but to add stone walls as a feature that needs to be preserved. The next section discussed was Section 8.0 C., Road Layout and Design. Mr. Ward stated that this is a lengthy and very important section. Several items have been moved to other locations within the document as they did not fit into this category.
The question of not permitting dead-end roads in new subdivisions was revisited. Mr. Ward stated that he feels eliminating dead-end roads is a good idea as it concerns the public health, safety and welfare of the Town. Dead-end roads are difficult for emergency vehicles to access as there is little room for vehicles to maneuver and it is possible for residents to become trapped due to road wash out, flooding and other natural disasters. Dick Gardner asked if any other Towns have eliminated dead-end roads in their communities. Mr. Ward explained that he is not aware of any but that it is certainly appropriate and defendable. The Board decided that further discussion regarding dead-end roads will take place at a later date when there is more representation from other members and alternates.
The issue of Road Intersections, Section 8.0, C-5, was discussed. The current intersection angle is permitted down to 60 degrees. There was discussion of changing this to 90 degrees and it was decided to revisit this at a later date also so that there is more representation on the Board. Section 8.0, C 7 and 8 were discussed and accepted.
d. Review and acceptance of revised Subdivision Application. (Page 4)
Carried over.
5. New Business
a. Discussion concerning extra workshop on March 8, 2007.
Bob Ward explained that in order to meet the requirements of postings and hearings on Zoning Regulation changes there will need to be an additional Planning Board meeting in March. The proposed date of this meeting is March 8. Chair Busack stated that there may be a need to hold more than one public hearing on these matters and feels that the schedule should be adjusted to compensate for that if the need arises. He also stated that it would be good to hold the public hearing on the Zoning Regulations and the amendments to the Subdivision Regulations at the same time. Bob Ward stated that the current proposed schedule is tight but he will look into adding an additional hearing date to ensure that needs are met.
6. Other business
None
7. Planners Update
a. Correspondence
Bob Ward stated that he had received an e-mail from the attorney for Steele Hill Resort, requesting research to be done dating back to 1977. He asked the Board for their input and stated that this work could be done by the Planning Board Secretary during off hours and can be billed to the requesting attorney. Dick Gardner stated that the request is excessively broad and a substantial burden on the Planning Board. Discussion followed. The Board instructed Mr. Ward to respond to the request stating that the research would be billed to them and requesting that the spectrum be narrowed so as to have a better idea of how they would like to proceed.
8. Meeting adjourned
Chair Busack made a motion to adjourn, 2nd by Carmine Cioffi. All in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 9:21 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carole Chase
Recording Secretary
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