PLANNING BOARD
Walpole, NH 03608
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Presiding: Jeff Miller (Chair); Members Present: Bob Miller (Vice-Chair); Ben Daviss, Henry Fletcher,
Peter Kenney, Jamie Teague (Selectboard); Alternates: Steve Dalessio, Donn Lounsbury, Ed Potter
Recording: Regina Borden (Secretary)
These Minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the September 14, 2010 meeting for errors, corrections and omissions. There were approximately 33 people present in the audience.
I.Meeting Opened: Mr. J. Miller called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the Walpole Town Hall.
Roll Call – Mr. J. Miller noted the absence of regular member Dave DeCoste and asked Steve Dalessio to sit on the Board for him. Jamie Teague (Selectboard) is present at this meeting as Sheldon Sawyer was unable to attend.
Approval of Minutes of July 13, 2010 Regular Meeting and July 27, 2010 Workshop Meeting:
Mr. Daviss moved to approve the Minutes of the regular meeting of July 13, 2010, as printed. Seconded by Mr. Kenney. Vote called, all members were in favor with the exception of Mrs. Teague who abstained as she was not present at this meeting, motion carried.
Mr. B. Miller moved to approve the Minutes of the Workshop meeting of July 13, 2010, as printed. Seconded by Mr. Kenney. Vote called, Committee members present - Mr. J. Miller, Mr. B. Miller, Mr. Dalessio and Mr. Kenney were in favor, motion carried.
II. Review Applications Submitted:
Mr. J. Miller called this Public Hearing to order at 7:07 PM.
504 Main Street, LLC / Avanru Development Group LTD. – Site Plan Review on Route 12, Town Map #012, Lots #013 and #018 for Residential Condominiums in the Commercial Zoning District.
All abutters were notified, the notices were advertised and posted, and the fees were paid.
Mr. Daviss moved to accept this application from 504 Main Street, LLC / Avanru Development Group LTD. – for a Site Plan Review on Route 12 as complete. Seconded by Mr. Dalessio. Vote called, all were in favor, motion carried.
Mr. J. Miller acknowledged that a letter and map were received from abutters, Alicia Flammia and Seth Andrews, and they will be entered into the record.
Jedd Pellerin, Jack Franks, Jason Dunbar and Attorney Robert Kasper, representing Avanru Development Group LTD, were present.
Mr. Pellerin, licensed architect, advised that this development will consist of 48 adult, residential condominiums on a 5.96 acre parcel in a Commercial Zone on Route 12 behind the new Tractor Supply building. They are not asking for any Special Exceptions or Variances for this project. They have
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submitted the required application, checklists, along with supporting documentation from himself as a licensed architect, DiBernardo Land Surveyors, Tom Duffield, a licensed civil engineer, and Laurie Rauseo, a traffic engineer. Previously they submitted a letter of authorization from the current land owner to move forward with this. At this meeting they submitted a revised architectural Site Plan and revised Utility and Grading Plan with minor revisions following conversations with the Fire Chief and Mark Houghton. The first revision is locating where underground fuel tanks will be stored on the site and showing that they are more than 50-feet away from the dumpster locations. The dumpsters were relocated within the parking lot. There will be no change to the paved area or green space. They noted on the drawing where the sprinkler connections would be coming into the building. Also submitted was a Waiver Request letter for a Road Profile drawing; this road layout is the same as accepted and approved for the Tractor Supply Site Plan and Subdivision approval. Their request is to extend that. Mr. J. Miller asked Mr. Pellerin to repeat the process as presented at the last meeting for the people present who did not attend the meeting last month. Mr. Dalessio asked what will be done in the first phase and what will happen to the rest of the lot. Mr. Pellerin said it depends on the rate of sales; the minimum that would be built in the first phase would be what was shown on the plan; living units, central lobby and secondary egress. They are confident that a lot of the units will be sold pre-construction.
Tom Duffield explained that first they would do the basic Site Plan with the foundation for all 48 units. They would then start at the far end with 16 units and work their way out of there so that all the infrastructure for the water and sewer would be installed, the site and earth work, storm water, erosion control with the drainage improvements would be done; then they would work their way out of there with construction of other units as the sales go along. The traffic analysis done by Laurie Rauseo indicates that the first units will not warrant additional turning lanes or other changes beyond what was approved for Tractor Supply. Any additional development would need further review; they will address that in the future. Red Barn Lane is a private drive. They will run the new water line up into the development that Tractor Supply brought across the road; there will be underground utilities. The roof drains will go down into the ground; there will be gutters and a detention basin. There are wetlands in the back but because they have the deep water table they can infiltrate the storm water back into the ground. They will not increase the storm run-off. Some porous pavement will be used; the amount is unknown at this time. There will be concrete sidewalks and curbs; there will be carports. He displayed the drainage and landscaping plans. Downcast lighting will be in the common areas. There will be minimum lighting on the backside toward the abutters.
Mr. Pellerin noted that there had been a question about building height. In this zone they are allowed three stories but the units will be two stories with an attic; they are in compliance with the Town’s regulations. They are now looking at smaller individual units for the mechanical systems that might allow them to lower the roof pitch.
Mr. Daviss said because the building abuts wetlands what are they required to do. Mr. Pellerin noted that the Department of Environmental Services (DES) was contacted and a pre-application meeting was set up for them to assess what will be needed.
Mr. Basora, a resident, asked about the price range given the economy. Mr. Pellerin responded that they want to give people price information as soon as they can. Mr. Franks said they had a current market analysis done. They are still gathering information from contractors but hope to put this on their web-site within a few weeks as soon as it is available.
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Mr. Eric Merklein thanked them for the extra open space. He asked why the developers haven’t come back to this meeting with some restructuring on the design. Mr. Franks talked to at least 100 people and 97% liked the design. They felt it should look rural and fit into the community; it should look aesthetically well in the community. They did a lot of research on this.
Mr. Jeff White lives on Dearborn Circle behind the pumping station. He stated that never would he come before a Board with a survey based on hearsay without written results. At the last meeting they said they would have a price at this meeting. They also said that the entire parking lot would be paved with porous materials but now it is a cost issue. He feels they could break the rule about people residing there under a certain age with a one day gap in between. Deed restrictions can be circumvented.
Mr. J. Miller noted that Deed restrictions are not a part of the Planning Board’s purview or zoning but he asked if there will be an age limit. Attorney Kasper explained that the development will be marketed as active senior living residences. It will be for people over 50 with no children under 18 living there. It will be up to the Homeowners Association to set and enforce the rules and guidelines. The idea is to keep it quiet, but to give an opportunity for older residents to have a nice place to live.
A resident asked if the condos will be visible from Route 12. Mr. Duffield said they will be about 600 feet back behind the Tractor Supply building and behind an evergreen tree line that they intend to put in to screen the property. The ridgeline from grade at the building would be about 50-feet not including the cupola. Mr. Pellerin believes you probably wouldn’t see much more than cupolas from Route 12.
A resident stated that the plans look beautiful. She questioned the parking spaces. Mr. Duffield said there will be two parking spaces for each unit.
Mr. J. Miller referenced the letter from Alicia Flammia and Seth Andrews, dated August 9, 2010. Their concerns are the height and the wetlands. They determined that the finished project would be taller than the slope of the land and it will impact their view shed. Mr. Duffield noted that they did have the site surveyed. Mr. Pellerin explained that they do not want the height to be taller than it needs to be. They made a decision not put on a flat roof with the mechanical systems.
Mr. Daviss asked if they are willing to commit that the ridgeline of the property won’t be higher than the surrounding bluff. Mr. Pellerin does not believe they are but they will get more information. Mr. Daviss asked if the cupolas are decorative or do they have a mechanical function. Mr. Pellerin said they might be both but they serve a great purpose in breaking up the roof lines. They are 50-to-60 feet apart and will not have lights. A dormer would serve no purpose and be more expensive. Mr. Franks noted that barns do not have dormers.
Ms. Flammia asked why they chose to build the first set of units on the wetland boundary. Mr. Pellerin advised that a lot went into their planning; it involved retaining some front area to be used for retention and infiltration. They are within a few feet of the wetlands and will put in retaining walls.
Mr. J. Miller felt that the white pines that were planted between the North Meadow Plaza and the homes on Dearborn Circle should be maintained as that was important criteria of that proposal.
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Mr. J. Miller noted that the developers went to the Department of Transportation (DOT) with their three phase plan, Tractor Supply has a curb cut, is the DOT set up to do an amendment to the entrance on a turning lane, etc. in the future. Mr. Duffield said they had a scoping session on the entire project with DOT and are having a traffic study done by Ms. Rauseo; what is there will be adequate for now. With the traffic study the DOT knows there will be improvements later on for the intersection. They also talked to the Wetlands Bureau because there will be an impact on one corner. They hope to have feedback from the DOT within two weeks. The Wetlands Bureau asked for pictures, concept plans, etc. They will look at them and then determine if a site visit is needed.
Mr. Daviss questioned the experience of this group in terms of development. Mr. Pellerin, Mr. Franks, Mr. Dunbar and Attorney Kasper provided information on their development experience. Mr. Daviss asked about the financing of this project. Mr. Franks said a number of financial institutions are excited about the project and have contacted them; they are in solid financial shape.
Mr. J. Miller closed this Public Hearing at 8:10 PM.
Mr. J. Miller opened this Public Hearing at 8:18 PM.
III. REVISIONS TO THE MASTER PLAN’S LAND USE CHAPTER:
Mr. J. Miller advised that this Public Hearing was duly advertised and posted. Mr. Daviss explained that the Planning Board has been working on these revisions for a long time. Based on their study they put together a draft of Goals and Objectives that were submitted to the Southwest Regional Planning Commission for a review and analysis, a final draft was produced and posted.
Mrs. Teague appreciates all the hard work the Board did on this but does not agree with all the wording. She has concerns with the wording “to discourage” something and just hopes that we are not being too careful to discourage too much growth. She pointed out that this is an advisory document.
Mrs. Mansouri noted that the survey that is mentioned was done about three years ago. Things have changed. The Town does not have that much commercial or industrial land left.
Attorney Kasper feels that most people he talked to are comfortable with development on Route 12. They are tired of going out of town to shop. Mr. J. Miller did not feel this would discourage development on Route 12 but it should be done in a planned, attractive way. The character of the Village is preserved. Walpole still has a tremendous amount of agricultural land.
Mr. J. Miller closed this Public Hearing at 8:31 PM.
Mr. Daviss moved to adopt these revisions to the Master Plan’s Land Use Chapter and incorporate them into the Master Plan. Seconded by Mr. B. Miller. Vote called, all were in favor, motion carried.
IV. SITE PLAN REVIEW - Application:
504 Main Street, LLC / Avanru Development Group LTD – Site Plan Review on Route 12, Town Map #012, Lots #013 and #018 for Residential Condominiums in the Commercial Zoning District.
Mr. J. Miller advised that the Planning Board is not obligated to make a decision at this meeting. At the next meeting they should have additional information from DOT on the intersection and DES on the wetland area. Avanru might come back with an alternative design on the roof pitch. Mrs. Teague
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suggested that the Board members could view the area and because Mr. Sawyer has been present for past meetings on this he should be present for the vote. Mr. Franks said they were hoping for a preliminary approval at this meeting based on them providing the additional information.
Mr. Dalessio has concerns about the financing of the project; should there be a security deposit or bond. Mr. Franks indicated that they are prepared to submit a Bond and have done research on it. Mr. Dalessio would like to see something from the Department Heads on the impact of this development. Mr. J. Miller noted that they have been working with the Fire Chief and Mark Houghton. Mr. Daviss felt it would be nice to retain the view from the Upper Walpole Road.
Mr. Fletcher moved to grant approval for this Site Plan Review for 504 Main Street, LLC / Avanru Development Group LTD as presented with the following conditions: 1) Clarity of bonding on all the infrastructure; 2) DOT approval for the official curb cut and future use acknowledgement; and 3) approval from the DES. Seconded by Mr. B. Miller. Vote called, all were in favor with the exception of Mrs. Teague who abstained, motion carried.
V. NEW BUSINESS / APPLICATION SUBMISSION:
There were no new applications submitted at this meeting.
VI. PLANNING DISCUSSION:
Work Session: The next Work Session was scheduled for August 24, 2010, in the downstairs office.
VII. COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS:
Proposed Commercial Use of Two (2) Existing Buildings on a Single Lot: At the last meeting Bensonwood came in for a preliminary consultation on a proposal for commercial use of two existing buildings on a single lot. Copies of the legal opinion from Attorney Hockensmith had been distributed. Mr. J. Miller asked Mrs. Mansouri if the Zoning Board of Adjustment will give the Planning Board direction so they can move forward based on the recommendation. Mrs. Mansouri will discuss it with the ZBA members at their next meeting.
VIII. Adjourn Meeting:
Mr. Fletcher moved to adjourn this meeting. Seconded by Mr. B. Miller. Vote called, all in favor, motion carried. The time was 9:03 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Regina Borden, Recording Secretary
cc: PB, ZBA, WCC, BOS, Walpolean
Posted: Town Hall, Lobby, Burdick’s Market