Minutes
NEWMARKET PLANNING BOARD MEETING
SEPTEMBER 15, 2015
MINUTES
Present: Eric Botterman (Chairman), Diane Hardy (Town Planner), Ezra Temko, D. Diane Germanowski (Alternate), Dale Pike (Town Council ex officio), Rose-Anne Kwaks, Janice Rosa
Absent: Val Shelton (Vice Chairman), Jane Ford, Peter Nelson (Alternate)
Called to order: 7:00 p.m.
Adjourned: 7:27 p.m.
Agenda Item #1 – Pledge of Allegiance
Agenda Item #2 – Public Comments
None.
Agenda Item #3 – Review & approval of minutes
None.
Agenda Item #4 – Regular Business
Eric Botterman welcomed D. Diane Germanowski to the Planning Board and appointed her to replace Jane Ford, who was absent.
Milton Elm Street, LLC, and Cammar Properties, LLC – Continuation of a public hearing for an application for a Boundary Line Adjustment and Subdivision, at 1 Elm Dr., Tax Map U2, Lot 248; 2 Elm Dr., Tax Map U2, Lot 243; and 2 Elm St., Tax Map U2, Lot 249, all located in the M2A Zone. The proposal is for a boundary line adjustment involving the three lots, then the subdivision of five lots on the revised Lot 243.
Eric Botterman stated they had received a letter from Bill Doucet, Doucet Survey, who represents the applicant requesting a continuance to the October 13, 2015 meeting.
Action
Motion: Rose-Anne Kwaks made a motion to continue the application to the October 13, 2015 meeting
Second: Janice Rosa
Vote: All in favor
Worksession: Final review of Vision Statement: Matt Sullivan was present to review the changes he made since the last meeting and to facilitate any further discussion. It is suggested that the Planning Board schedule the Vision Statement for a Public Hearing with possible adoption in October.
Matt Sullivan, Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC), walked the Board through the new version and reviewed minor changes.
The forward has been moved to its own page. They tried to make it clearer, on page three, so the comments are future-oriented.
On page five, there are three topics. They made some slight adjustments to reflect comments that were brought up during the public outreach session and tried to integrate them into the text. The edits are minor in nature.
They moved the three page outreach process section to the appendix.
The new vision statement is about seven pages long.
On page five, where it discusses smart growth principles, it continues on to talk about green building techniques and sustainable site design, but that is all they added. That was a reflection of Peter Nelson’s comments at the last meeting. Diane Hardy stated he also spoke about the use of renewable resources and having an energy policy. There is language in the RSA that allows the Planning Board to do that. She would like to have Peter comment to Matt Sullivan directly about it.
Dale Pike asked about the energy policy. It came up before the Council in the past. If they ever brought more natural gas capacity to New Hampshire, then Newmarket could try to advocate for it. Eric Botterman stated that is at the Council level though. The state statute helps to define what kinds of items would be considered under that element of the plan. Diane Hardy read the RSA, which is 674:2, which enables Planning Boards to adopt a Master Plan. In the RSA it talks about mandatory sections ie. Land Use, Vision Statement, and under the Options section it lists other sections that could be added. Other communities have adopted similar sections. She asked if Matt Sullivan could add something to reflect this in the Vision chapter.
Diane Hardy stated she would like to put this on the October agenda, if the Board was comfortable with that. Eric Botterman stated he was comfortable with that, if they could have a draft a week prior to the meeting.
Action
Motion: Rose-Anne Kwaks made a motion to have the Visioning statement public hearing at the October 13, 2015 Planning Board meeting
Second: Janice Rosa
Vote: All in favor
Agenda Item #5 – New/Old Business
Rose-Anne Kwaks stated she would still like to look into design standards for the town.
Rose-Anne Kwaks stated she was going to bring up to the Town Council that, according to the State RSA, they are supposed endorse the junkyard ordinance. She had brought this ordinance up to the Town Council, when she was on it. It just got waylaid. She still has the changes they made. She can get the information and it can explained on the Town website.
Chairman’s Report
Eric Botterman had nothing new to report.
Committee Reports
CIP Committee
Rose-Anne Kwaks stated they met with all the department heads. They did tours of the departments’ facilities. She stated the departments brought their requests in and the Committee will review them on September 29 at 3:00 p.m.
Conservation Commission
Ezra Temko stated a memo was sent to the Planning Board regarding the Elm Street project. It talked about their interest in providing a take-out point for canoes and boats in the vicinity of the dam and the possibility of the public access easement.
He stated Laura Byego had come in and made a presentation to the Conservation Commission. She talked about stormwater runoff. They would like to promote the use of rain barrels and rain gardens. There is a meeting at Schanda Park on September 26, at 9:00 a.m., where people can show her what is there and discuss what possibilities there might be for a future project.
Town Council
Dale Pike stated the most relevant item was the Council needed an emergency addition to the bonding capacity, so they could put the MacIntosh Well in. The Town Council approved it and DRA approved it within twenty four hours.
He stated coming up is the question of whether to approve the purchase of granite for Bennett Way sidewalks.
Planner’s Report
Diane Hardy stated the Law Lecture series is going to be in Newmarket on October 14, 21 and 28. Several people have signed up from Planning and Zoning.
She also mentioned the Town sent out a Request for Proposal for the Macallen Dam project. The RFP will ask the consultant to look at the stability of the dam and it’s ablility to withstand the 100 year flood. Hopefully this will go to the Town Council in November.
Agenda Item #6 – Adjourn
Action
Motion: Janice Rosa made a motion to adjourn at 7:27 p.m.
Second: Rose-Anne Kwaks
Vote: All in favor