Ed. Note: Planning Board vice-chair Ben Daviss passed along these minutes of the October 28 working session. These public sessions are especially important because they are seeking to rewrite the town's Master Plan. CCB
Walpole Planning Board
Work Session, October 27, 2009
Attending:
Jeff Miller, Chair
Bob Miller, Vice Chair
Sheldon Sawyer, Select board
Eric Merklein
Ben Daviss (recording)
Jeff White, Alternate
Donn Lounsbury, Alternate
Steve D’Alessio, a citizen volunteer co-chairing the economic development effort, facilitated the discussion.
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.
Mr. Sawyer made a prepared, eloquent statement about Walpole’s history of small business development. He noted than in 1945, Walpole had 56 producing dairy farms and in 1958 was the state’s largest poultry producer. Zoning was implemented in 1967 and the town now has eight square miles of forest. Over time, more land has been protected through conservation easements and the Fanny Mason Forest has grown in size. He noted that the select board is always looking for ways to promote entrepreneurship and small business in Walpole.
Most locally owned businesses in Walpole, including Pinnacle View Equipment and Bensonwood Homes, began in out-of-the-way locations where property prices were low, he noted, and moved to more prominent locations after the businesses had become established. By restricting the kinds of businesses that can be operated in non-commercial areas, we stifle entrepreneurship and do not allow local businesses to take root; and, by restricting commercial activity to a small area -- such as the Route 12 strip -- we drive up property prices so that small, locally-owned businesses cannot afford to take space there. Mr. Sawyer said that by over-regulating small business, we risk creating a situation that rich retail chains find more hospitable than local businesses do.
Mr. D’Alessio noted the difference between guidelines and regulations and that special exceptions can be sought in order to allow businesses to operate in areas outside of the commercial or industrial zones.
Carter Lake pointed out that towns can offer developers different levels of development rights. Under these negotiated arrangements, the greater the scale of development, the more control a town can exert over the nature and character of a project. A “development agreement” is the highest level of control, a contract that can spare a town the brunt of the cost of the infrastructure needed to support development.
Chairman Miller noted that only a small amount of land in town is zoned for commercial and industrial use.
Mr. Sawyer remarked that Bob Jasse would not have been able to establish Alyson’s Orchard, which has become an enormous asset to our town, if he had been forced to locate it in the commercial zone because land prices would have been prohibitive. He added that the 250-foot commercial zone on the west side of Route 12 is very restrictive.
Chairman Miller said that development in town has been somewhat haphazard but that the result has worked well enough.
Mr. Merklein commented that most of the land in the Route 12 strip is vacant and that developers are not beating a path to Walpole. He asked why, under these circumstances, should we proactively rezone land from rural-agricultural to commercial or industrial use if no one is asking for it. Instead, Walpole should focus its attention on recruiting or fostering high-quality businesses that have less impact on land and traffic.
Chairman Miller suggested that more industrial development could be accommodated by expanding the definition of “commercial” as it applies to the Route 12 strip.
Mr. Merklein asked how much leeway the Zoning Board of Adjustment has in changing land use. Chairman Miller said that land use can be changed through petition or by special exception. The town must vote in order to change zoning designations.
Mel Schupack noted the importance of infrastructure -- such as three-phase power and public water and sewer lines -- to industrial development. He suggested choosing the land where the town wants to concentrate new industrial development and creating the infrastructure there to support it. There was a discussion about the cost of extending infrastructure. Mr. Daviss suggested the reverse -- looking where the infrastructure is now, then deciding if that is an appropriate place to zone for industrial use.
Chairman Miller noted that Tim Traynor of Berkshire Development had commented that Walpole was fortunate in that the village was clearly separated from the commercial and industrial districts. Chairman Miller suggested changing the zoning along Route 12 in a way that expands the land area available to industry. Mr. Sawyer added that the area along Route 12 from Homestead Farms to North Meadow Plaza also could be zoned for light industry.
Mr. Lounsbury asked about zoning the strip of 123 from Route 12 toward Fall Mountain Regional High School. Mr. Schupack noted that the area has three-phase power but does not have public sewer or water service. Mr. Schupack emphasized that development needs to be planned for carefully to ensure that industrial growth comports with the goals set forth by the town in its master plan.
Mr. Merklein expressed a preference for the special exception process, not rezoning, to retain greater control over growth. He noted that industrial development brings commercial development and, unless the board and the town anticipate such ancillary development, growth could take place in ways that the town would later realized was deleterious.
Mr. Schupack added that industrial development is tax-positive for a town only up to a point. He distributed a chart created by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue that supported his assertion.
Mr. Lake said that the more attractive towns put light industry in a particular place that is not a prominent area of town, such as the main highway gateways.
Chairman Miller urged that, before proceeding with detailed discussions about rezoning land, the board should complete its revision of the master plan’s land-use section to see how the final result might bear on ideas about rezoning or expanding land for industrial development.
Michael Kreek asked what specific problems Walpole faces that industrial development would solve. Mr. Daviss replied that the idea is that industrial development will raise a property’s tax value to the town and moderate the continual rise in residential property taxes.
A member of the audience asked about setting aside some additional portion of land in town in exchange for tighter controls on development in other parts. Mr. Daviss concurred with this approach. Mr. Lounsbury added that a certain amount of leeway should be granted for businesses operating in the rural-agricultural zone.
Mr. Daviss asked what the next steps in the process should be. Chairman Miller suggested that the board receive a draft of the completed land-use plan from Lisa Murphy at Southwest Region Planning Commission. At a work session, the board then could compare the land-use draft with suggestions gathered at this meeting. The board then could decide whether to amend the land-use section to accommodate current suggestions regarding economic development. Chairman Miller suggested that the board also develop a budget for technical assistance from SWRPC to create a final version of the master plan’s economic development chapter.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:30 pm.
Please note: comments on these ideas and additional suggestions on the subject are welcome. They can be posted on the planning board’s website at www.walpoleplanningboard.com. If you have problems gaining access, e-mail comments to bdaviss@comcast.net and the comments will be posted for you. If you wish to be included in future discussions and notices about industrial and other aspects of economic development in Walpole, please send your e-mail address to bdaviss@comcast.net.
