PLANNING BOARD

Walpole, NH  03608

Work session – Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall

MINUTES

Presiding:  Jeff Miller, Chair

Members present:  Ben Daviss, Henry Fletcher, Eric Merklein, Bob Miller, Vice Chair, Jeff White, alt.

Members absent:  Pamela Aslinger, alt./sec’y, Dave DeCoste, Donn Lounsbury, alt., Sheldon Sawyer

Also present:  Steve D’Alessio, Andrew Dey, Ed and Terri Houghton,  Bob Kimball, Merry Lake, Mel Schupack

Recording:  Ben Daviss

The meeting was called to order at 7:08 to discuss the creation of an economic development plan for Walpole.  Mr. Daviss reminded that groups in town often come into conflict when a new commercial or industrial building project is proposed.  He said that there are two significant reasons to create an economic development plan as a chapter in the town’s master plan.  One is that the series of public discussions underlying the plan’s creation gives town residents the chance to discuss contentious development-related issues outside of the context of a specific project.  This can allow for more thoughtful reflection and the chance to negotiate and build consensus around certain principles.  The second is to guide a review of zoning and site-plan regulations if the planning board decides that these should be reconsidered in light of the principles and economic development plan that result from the public discussions.

Mr. Daviss introduced Steve D’Alessio, who has volunteered to help the board organize and lead the series of discussions.  Mr. D’Alessio stated that he moved to Walpole three years ago after living in Charlestown.  Mr. D’Alessio is the general manager of a manufacturing company in Claremont and is a graduate of the Walpole Leadership Academy.

The members of the group then took turns mentioning issues of interest or concern to them related to economic development in Walpole.  Among the points raised:

• Mr. Daviss noted that home-based businesses can attract entrepreneurs who earn middle-class or higher incomes and create jobs, enabling the town to strengthen its economy without losing existing greenspace to new industrial or office buildings or adding cars to rush-hour traffic.
• Several agreed that the town needs a grocery store with better selections and lower prices.  It was pointed out that grocery stores need to be at least 40,000 square feet in size and have a proportionately large customer base to be profitable and still offer low prices.  Mr. Daviss mentioned that the development arm of North Meadow Plaza’s current owner has gone out of business; therefore, if the shopping center is to be improved or expanded, it probably will need a new owner willing to make an investment in improving the center.
• Chairman Miller noted that there is little unused land remaining in town that is zoned for commercial or industrial development.  He suggested that the town could consider rezoning some of this land for light industrial use and implement nodal development to minimize traffic congestion and the appearance of development along Route 12.
• Vice Chairman Miller urged the town to seek clean, light industries similar to Chamberlain Machine.
• Mr. Dey agreed that home-based businesses are a growth area and suggested that the town seek ways to add value to agricultural products, especially to strengthen the financial viability of Walpole’s existing farms.

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• Mr. Kimball suggested that the town consider rezoning land along Route 12 for light industrial use.
• Mr. Merklein said that Walpole needs to balance commercial and industrial development, with a moderate emphasis on light industry.  He noted that as residential development grows, so will retail and commercial development.  Walpole must anticipate this connection, be prepared for growth to occur when the economy recovers, and be ready to pace and manage growth consciously and carefully.
• Mr. Fletcher suggested that an effective way to deal with residential growth could be to reduce frontage requirements for new homes.  Instead of 200 feet of road frontage per lot, a smaller frontage could be allowed for access to a building lot farther off the road.  This would allow farmers and other landowners to sell smaller lots, maintain more land for nonresidential use, and solve the problem of carving out a relatively large piece of land for a building a single house.
• Mr. Schupack cited a variety of innovative zoning and land-use techniques are available to manage residential development while minimizing sprawl.  He emphasized the need to protect Walpole’s rural character by being proactive, anticipating and preparing for growth.  Similarly, industrial and commercial development should be welcomed but also directed by the master plan and the wishes of the town, not by the repeated use of special exceptions or a developer saying, “I want that.”  Mr. Schupack urged the board to adopt a set of guiding principles or vision statement to guide its choices regarding economic development.  He also showed the results of a study by the New Hampshire State Department of Revenue Administration that shows that a town’s property taxes increase with higher population and with higher percentages of commercial and industrial development.

Ms. Lake asked how we go about recruiting the businesses we decide we’d like to have locate in Walpole.  Mr. Miller replied that the town doesn’t have the resources to recruit businesses but instead should work with organizations such as the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation and the New Hampshire Department of Resource and Economic Development to promote Walpole to businesses.  Mr. Kimball noted that Charlestown has a very active and successful economic development group.

Mr. Miller noted that Walpole isn’t facing the same kind of growth pressures that boomtown areas of New England have.  Instead, Walpole’s growth tends to be much slower.  Mr. Schupack replied that, before the economic crisis, New Hampshire was the fastest growing state in New England and that the population curve for our region was beginning to rise in an exponential way.  He urged the board to prepare for the return of this trend when the economy recovers.

Mr. Daviss asked if the group wished to discuss a particular subtopic or if it would prefer to end the meeting here.  The consensus was to end the meeting and discuss specific subtopics at subsequent meetings.

It was agreed that the next meeting will discuss industrial development in Walpole and will be held on October 22, 2009, at 7 pm at the Walpole town hall.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m.