SECTION 1.00:  GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.01        PURPOSE.  The general purpose of this regulation is to guide the character of non-residential and multi-family development, re-development, expansion, and change of use in order to implement the policies of the Master Plan, providing for the public health, safety, convenience, prosperity and general welfare.  Throughout this Regulation, the Board seeks to balance the process of growth, development and change with the need to preserve and enhance those qualities, which make Newmarket a safe and desirable place to live, work and visit.  In keeping with this general purpose, the following are specific objectives:

(A)       Promote the harmonious and aesthetically pleasing development of the Town, ensuring visual harmony of the sites with their surrounding neighborhoods, establishing site designs consistent with and/or complimentary to traditional New England designs, providing adequate green space and open space, providing for proper building location to ensure adequate sunlight and air circulation, and protecting the natural beauty of the Town;

(B)     Enhance the downtown village area and waterfront by providing an appropriate mix of uses, improving appearance, maintaining traditional New England character, enhancing pedestrian orientation, and promoting mixed use mill re-development;

(C)       Protect the public from undue hazards, disturbances, and nuisances;

(D)       Promote commercial development, including opportunity for home-based work, to broaden the tax base and employ residents;

(E)        Protect environmental quality by means such as controlling erosion and site run-off;

(F)        Ensure that land is of sufficient character to be used for building purposes without danger to health, and additionally ensuring that development does not exceed the capability of the land to safely provide on-site water supply and sewage disposal in areas not served by municipal water and sewer systems;

(G)       Guard against such conditions as would involve danger or injury to health, safety, or prosperity by reason any one or more of the following:

(1)        inadequate drainage

(2)        conditions conducive to flooding

(3)        inadequate protection for the quality of groundwater

(4)        undesirable and preventable elements of pollution such as noise, smoke, soot, particulates, or any other discharge into the environment which might prove harmful to persons, structures, or adjacent or neighboring properties

(5)        inadequate provision of fire safety, prevention and control;

(H)       Facilitate adequate provision of public facilities, utilities and services; and

(I)        Provide for adequate transportation by requiring appropriate provision and arrangement or roads, driveways, sidewalks, traffic aisles, parking, loading areas, bicycle facilities, emergency vehicle accesses, transit amenities, and off-site connections.

1.02        AUTHORITY.  Under authority of RSA 674:43 and authorization from Town Meeting, as amended, the Planning Board repeals the previous Site Plan Review Regulations and hereby adopts this new Regulation on August 22. 1995.

1.03        DEFINITIONS.  Definitions shall be those provided in the Newmarket Zoning Ordinance adopted February 14, 1996 in Zoning Ordinance §1.11, and the additional definition as follows:

Disturbed Area.  The area of land covered by parking areas, driveways, sidewalks, and other such paved or gravel areas.  It does not include area, which is vegetated or covered by a building.

1.04        COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TOWN AND APPLICANT.  There are many people involved in the processing of each application, and communication problems develop quickly if great care is not taken from the start.  To prevent communication problems from developing, it is important for both the Town and the applicant to designate one person each to coordinate all communications.  This prevents repetition of questions, prevents two people from giving different answers to the same question, and should help to keep interpretation of opinions consistent.

(A)       Applicant's Authorized Representative.  The application form shall designate one person to act as the "authorized representative."  All communication to the applicant shall be made through this person, and this person shall be present at all meetings with the Board.  In the text of these Regulations, references to the applicant shall also imply the authorized representative.

(B)        Town.

(1)        All communications to the Town shall be directed to the Planning Board Secretary unless otherwise directed by the Chairman of the Board.  This may be more likely during larger applications, such as when an engineer reviewing the road design needs to talk to the design engineer to clarify issues.

(2)        Individual Board members must exercise care when discussing application matters with the applicant, abutters, or other parties outside the forum of the Board's meetings.  Care must be taken to keep an open mind throughout the entire process, not drawing conclusions until all relevant information has been received at the public hearing.  Additionally, Board members should tell the Board and the public the substance of any information they have received from the applicant, abutters or other parties so that all can benefit from this knowledge, and to provide an opportunity to challenge any information provided.

1.05        APPLICABILITY.  There are three possible applications of this Regulation to the development or change of a non-residential or multi-family site.  The following criteria specify the level of review necessary:

(A)       Not Applicable.  Upon receipt of a written letter of acknowledgment from the Code Enforcement Officer, this Regulation is not applicable for the following:

(1)        Temporary Events which require no permanent alterations to the site and which function safely within the approved configuration of the site, as determined by the Code Enforcement Officer;

(2)        Special Events approved by the Town Council;

(3)        Home Occupations;

(4)        Within the M-2 district, change of use, from one non-residential use to another non-residential use, which involves not more than 500 square feet of gross floor space; and

(5)        Commercial excavations as regulated pursuant to RSA 155-E.

(B)        Minor Review.  A Minor Review by the Planning Board shall be required for the following:

(1)        change of use of a non-residential site, for which no change in floor area is proposed, and which either:  maintains or decreases the intensity of use on the site with respect to parking demand and traffic generation; or for a site with 2,000 square feet or less of gross floor area;

(2)        expansion of non-residential floor space by 500 square feet or less, with no change of use;

(3)        within the M-2 district, any change of use of an existing non-residential building which will be accompanied by a renovation of the facade of the building which, in the opinion of the Planning Board, will enhance its aesthetic contribution to the heritage and visual qualities of the village;

(4)        site improvement alterations without new development, re-development, expansion or change of use; or

(5)        establishment of a bed & breakfast.

(C)       Major Review.  A Major Review by the Planning Board shall be required for the following:

(1)        establishment of non-residential uses where no non-residential use currently exists;

(2)        establishment of multi-family use where no multi-family use currently exists;

(3)        any other development, re-development, change of use or expansion of a multi-family or non-residential site, and not addressed in the §1.05(A) or (B).

1.06        ABOUT TOWN REGULATIONS.  

(A)       Related Town Codes.  The Town has other regulations, which may affect an application.  The following is a list of related codes:

Chapter I:                                Planning Board Bylaws

Chapter II:                               Conservation Commission Bylaws

Chapter III:                              Zoning Board of Adjustment Bylaws

Chapter IV:                              Zoning Ordinance

Chapter V:                               Subdivision Regulations

Chapter VI:                              Site Plan Review Regulations

Chapter VII:                             Excavation Regulations

(B)        Organization and Cross-references.  To fully understand this code, it is important to understand how this Regulation is organized and cross-referenced. 

(1)        Organization of this Regulation.

(a)        Sections.  This Regulation is divided into six Sections.  Each Section is simply a grouping of related issues or requirements, and readers should identify the article in which an answer is likely to be found.  The six sections are:

§1.00    General Provisions.

§2.00    Application Procedures.

§3.00    Design Standards.

§4.00    Plat Standards.

§5.00    Administration.

§6.00    Application Forms and Checklists.

(b)        Sub-sections.  Each Section is divided into sub-sections, each of which may be further divided as needed.  It is easiest to use the Table of Contents to locate the major sub-sections.

(2)        Cross-referencing System.  Within this Regulation, there are many references to other Sections of this code.  These cross-references are provided to help the reader find needed information, and to inform the reader of related provisions.  The reference for this Section is written as follows:

§1.00

The symbol "§" means section.  In all cases, the information following the "§" starts with the Section, then the sub-sections in descending order.  The reference for this subsection is written as follows:

§1.06(B)(2)

The number to the left of the decimal point refers to the Section, the number following the decimal point is the sub-section, and so forth.  Additional levels of hierarchy would be shown as follows:

§1.01(B)(3)(c)[2][e]

The reader should note that only the first letter is capitalized, and that the rounded parentheses are used before the square parentheses.  Also, the text of each level is indented farther than the previous level.

(C)       The term "shall" requires a mandatory action in all cases, while "should" implies that the action is appropriate in most cases.  The Board is responsible for deciding, on a case-by-case basis, how to apply the "should" provisions.

(D)       State Laws.  State laws are referenced frequently in this Regulation.  In New Hampshire, State laws are known as Revised Statutes Annotated, which is abbreviated as, "RSA," and are followed by the appropriate chapter and section references.

1.07        GENERAL GUIDANCE.  The following advice is offered to assist the applicant, especially if the applicant is unfamiliar with land development processes.

(A)       All applicants will need to hire professionals to prepare part or all of the application.  A NH Licensed Land Surveyor and/or licensed Professional Engineer are required.  In some cases, other specialists will be needed, possibly including an attorney, a soil scientist, or others.  While such assistance does cost money, their skills and abilities are essential to ensure that the Town and applicant have sound information on which to base their decisions.

(B)        The Board is concerned about processing all applications fairly and quickly.  To accomplish this, the applicant shares certain responsibilities.  The applicant must be properly prepared.  This includes reading this Regulations to understand the issues that must be addressed, and includes dealing with all the significant issues up front.  Incomplete submittals, or failure to properly address issues will result in unnecessary delays in obtaining a final decision from the Board.

(1)        All applications follow this basic process:

•           Preparation.  The applicant prepares the application, usually done by hired professionals.  This may involve some discussion with the Board through preliminary conceptual consultation or design review meetings. (note: amended 11/18/97)

•           Application Acceptance.  Upon submittal of the application materials to the Town, the application is placed on the next available Planning Board agenda for consideration.  By State law, there is a minimum lead-time of 15 days.

•           Public Hearing.  All applications will have a public hearing.  This is the official opportunity for the public to ask questions about the application, to raise issues, offer suggestions, or indicate their support or opposition.  The Hearing may be interspersed with periods of deliberation by the Board, and may be continued to future dates.

•           Decision.  In the end, the Board must decide whether to approve or deny the application.  In the majority of cases, the Board approves the application with conditions, which means that there are additional administrative or technical requirements, which must be satisfied to obtain the full approval.

(2)        Timing.  Perhaps the most commonly asked question about an application to a planning board is "how long will it take?"  There is no standard answer.  At a minimum, there must be a meeting with the Board, and this alone requires at least 15 days lead-time.  Simple applications are often approved at a single meeting, while more complex applications may take two or three months to complete.  However, this general answer is all based on the assumptions that the applicant is properly prepared, and that no unusual circumstances arise.  Without the applicant's consent, however, it is very unlikely that an application process can take longer than six months.