Minutes
of Meeting
Held upstairs in Town Hall Tuesday – February 13,2007
Regular members attending: Chairman Fred Emerson, Vice Chairman Steve Young, Claude Reed, David Rexford, Les Hilton and Ann Dubreuil.
Alternates attending: Aurore Hood, Joe Hoey and Leon Rideout.
Excused: John Brooks and Leo Enos
Others attending: Town Manager Edward Samson, Town Administrative Services Manager Becky Newton, Mr. & Mrs. Mark Morel and Mr. & Mrs. John Paquette, Jim Durbreuil and Surveyor Mark VanderHeyden.
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 P.M. by Chairman Fred Emerson. He welcomed all those present to the meeting and Roll Call followed.
Initial Business:
To review and approved the minutes of the December 12, 2006 meeting.
A motion was made by Les Hilton and seconded by Steve Young to accept the minutes as written. A vote was called for and the motion carried.
Public Hearings:
A public
hearing was being held as to the tree trimming/removal on Town Scenic and
Non-Scenic Roads: The notice of public
hearing was pursuant to RSA 231:158. Tree trimming, removal, culvert replacement and ditching on Town of
Becky
Newton addressed the Board and said that letters had been sent to all of the
people on these roads and told them what was to be done. She said that the comments that she had gotten
back were positive. There were letters
from Mr.’s Davidge and Mr.Bagley in the packets siting concerns that they
had. Mr. Bagley is going to meet with
the road agent and walk the property due to the fact that he is putting in a
new driveway. It was mentioned that the Davidge corner is a lot better than it
was. Becky said that all of the work
will be inspected by FEMA when it is done.
We were able to get a grant for the work due to the roads washing out
and gravel going into the fields. It was
asked if Mr Bagley owned both sides of
Chairman Emerson asked if there were any abutters there to speak on the issue – there were none. He then asked if there was any member of the public there who would like to speak on the issue – there were none.
Noting that
there was no further discussion on the hearing a motion was called for.
A motion was made by Steve Young and seconded by
Claude Reed to accept the notice of the Tree Trimming/Removal on the designated
An approval form was cirulatead for signatures by the
Planning Board.
Other Business:
Dredge and Fill Application for Mark Morel.
Mr. Morel represented himself and said that he had added 500 square feet to the additional footage required for the installation of a culvert, as one was destroyed when doing the hammerhead turn at the end of the driveway. He said that Linda Magoon of DES considered it an extension but had to request a revised site specific permit.. He said that the area of disturbance it is still under minimum standards. All of the necessary paper work has been sent to the state and they are reviewing it. He also said that there has been a lot going on with the sub-division but the road is complete to the top.
He said that one of the requirements that the Planning Board made was that he could not sell any lots until the road was done and they had an engineers certification. Mr. Morel asserted that the engineers report cannot be done until after a thaw. He has someone who wants to buy a lot but not build on it for 2-3 years. He wanted to know is he could make the sale even though there would be no building on the lot. Could he have a condition stating that on the permit? He said that the road is not just ledge pack, it is a combination of ledge pack, gravel and asphalt. It is 12 inches instead of 3. He said that DOT and his contractor said that it would stand up well in the road.
He again asked about finalization. Chairman Emerson told him that he needed to have the road done and inspected by the engineer and a report given to the Planning Board. Mr. Morel said that the engineer had checked the grade, rip-rap etc.. He was again told that he needed to have it inspected and report given to the Board. The board felt that the road was not done without the engineers report. It was suggested that maybe he could sell the lot and turn the money over to the town until everything is in order and then the town would release the money to him. Joe Hoey asked if all of the corrections that needed to be done were done. Mr. Morel said that the pond was not done because due to the weather he could not get to it. He has been fined by DES for some things but the weather has been a big factor in it. He had letters and pictures that he showed the Board from DES. Les Hilton asked if the engineer was involved with the actions of DES. The answer was yes and things are being done according to what DES is asking.
It was asked about Wetland Permitting Review. Chairman Emerson said that to get approval for wetland everything has to be in compliance.
It was asked if there were any abutters who wished to speak to the issue.
Mrs. Paquette got up and said that there had been a shared well that was cut when the sub-division started. They were without water for the month of July and have since drilled their own well. She also had a plan with how they felt the water should run off of the sub-division and with pictures. There was a lot of discussion between Mr. Morel and Mrs. Paquette as to who was responsible for what and what was and was not done as should have been. Mrs. Paquette stated that Mark Morel told her some “minor road modifications” had to be made. When Mrs. Paquette questioned him as to why there was a culvert so near her property, Mrs. Paquette said the road plan presented to the Lancaster Planning Board did not include this culvert. Why was this culvert installed?
Mr. Morel said they made a greater cut at this location – this caused the road grade/slope to be changed all the way to the top of the road. Mr. Morel mentioned guardrails as well.
Mrs. Paquette questioned if all these changes were approved by the Lancaster Planning Board.
Mr. Morel went on at length about how he felt the problem with the Paquettes well was due to an air locked line.
Chairman Emerson told them that the Planning Board does not have anything to do with the water lines. As for the changed brook, that is a DES/Wetlands problem
Steve Young said that it is out of the Boards hands, it is a DES problem.
Les Hilton said that our concern is that the road be done properly and he sympathizes with the abutters but it is up to DES to make the decision about the brook.
Mr. Morel said that DES told the Paquettes that they will get the brook back
as soon as Linda Magoon approves it.
Mr. Morel said he does not want to re-align or remove the work he ahs done to the culvert. In order to fix the problem, in Mr. Morel’s opinion, the Paquette’s will get all the water from the culvert.
Mr. Paquette said that he still doesn’t feel good about getting all the water, but right now he can’t do anything about it.
Aurore Hood said that she sold the property to the Paquette’s and there was a stream there at that time, there was a spring.
Leon Rideout said there is nothing the Board can do it is a matter for DES.
Becky Newton said that the Planning Board should try to learn something from each case that they hear. When a plan comes before the Board look at it VERY carefully and see if the development setbacks are adequate, or should they be back further. When this plan was reviewed, there was a lot of concern about the road being so close to the Paquette’s property pin. Perhaps one way to prevent this in the future is to require all roads be setback from the property lines. (for example 50 feet) Gravel roads shift in locations overtime due to maintenance such as grading etc. Leon Rideout said how much setback is enough, you never know.
Chairman Emerson called for a vote of the case.
A motion was made by Steve Young and seconded by Leon Rideout to dismiss the case. A vote was called for and the motion carried.
A permit from Jude Gessel who owns the Evan’s building. He is planning to redo the three apartments in the building according to all regulations. The Fire Chief has signed off on the permit. There will be hardwire smoke alarms installed and each apartment will have 2 means of egress. Mr. Gessel represents that he has 3 on-site parking locations for vehicles.
A motion was made by Steve Young and seconded by David Rexford to approve the permit. A vote was called for and the motion carried. The Board signed the necessary paperwork for that.
Noting that there was no further business to come before the meeting a motion was called for to adjourn.
A motion was made by Claude Reed and seconded by Les Hilton to adjourn. A vote was called for and the motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 7:45 P.M.
Respectfully submitted: Approved:
Sandra E. Doolan – Clerk Fred Emerson
Chairman