Thank you Marilou Blaine for being so prompt (and I didn’t even have to ask) with these minutes! – Lil

TOWN OF WALPOLE

PLANNING BOARD MEETING

AUGUST 12, 2014 

Presiding: Jeffrey Miller (Chair), Robert Miller (Vice-Chair), James Aldrich, (Secretary), Dennis Marcom, Jason Perron, Kelley Hicks, Chas Street (Selectboard Representative).

Alternate: Jeff White.

Absent: Ed Potter, Alternate

Recording: Marilou Blaine, Recording Secretary.

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the September 9, 2014 meeting for corrections, additions and/or omissions.

Meeting Opened: Mr. J. Miller, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7 p.m..

Roll Call: Mr. J. Miller asked Alternate Jeff White to sit in for Jason Perron..

Minutes: Mr. Aldrich made a motion to accept the minutes as written. Mr. Robert Miller seconded the motion and the board approved the motion.

Old Business: Public Hearings 

Public Hearing No. 1. JR Development LLC – Site Plan Review: Cont’d – Add a 2030 square-foot unheated building to be used as cold dry storage behind the existing building in North Meadow Plaza – Town Tax Map No. 12, Lot No. 55. This is in the Commercial Zoning District. It is a wood building with metal siding and a sloping metal roof that goes from 11 feet to 8 feet.

Mr. Jeff Miller asked for updates. Mr. David Zhang, an engineer representing JR Development, brought a new plan showing the interior of the storage shed. Mr. Zhang said that two gas meters on the interior wall were eliminated. The one at the end of the building will remain. Mr. Zhang said he has already coordinated this with Suburban Propane.  He also said an extra door has been added from the store to the storage shed.

Mr. George Hurlburt, a building inspector with the Walpole Fire Department, said he didn’t see any differences in the new plan as far as the means of emergency egress. The plans show exits from the store to the storage area. But people would be leaving a sprinkled area and going into a wood construction that’s unsprinkled, he said. There must be a secondary means of egress in the storage area.

Mr. Zhang said he didn’t understand exactly what Mr. Hurlburt was looking for. Mr. Hurlburt said an architect should understand a secondary means of egress.

Mr. Hurlburt said the concern is that people in the store could be compromised if they couldn’t get to the front exit. He explained that two double doors in the front are fine but a secondary means of egress doesn’t exist on the plan from the storage area. Those three doors to the storage area are not secondary egress.

 

1. Mr. Miller added there must be a secondary egress from the store to the storage and the storage to the outside.

 

Mr. Hurlburt gave an example. If you wanted to take that first door that’s closest to the gas meter and make a two door enclosure – make one door enclosed and make an outside exit – have emergency lighting and emergency hardware, that would be considered emergency egress. And Mr. Hurlburt said the door should be a minimum of 36 inches.

 

Mr. Marcom said I think it would be in your interest to check that code. I’m puzzled why you didn’t do that before coming to the meeting.

 

Mr. Zhang said the developers wanted to get the site plan through so they didn’t include construction -level documents. They wanted to let everyone see the first concept.

 

1. Hurlburt said normally a code compliance officer would point all this out and and give him a shopping of list of what has to be done. The town does not have a code compliance officer.

 

Mr. J. Miller said that the Planning Board was always interested in what the fire and police had to say so this is typically in the purview of the Board. He tabled the hearing until next month. Mr. Zhang asked if it was possible to get conditional approval. Mr. Miller responded no.

 

Public Hearing No. 2: Henry Fletcher, March Hill Road, Minor Subdivision: Town Tax map No. 9, Lot 4. Subdivide 70 acres into two lots of 5 and 65 acres in the rural agricultural district.

 

Mr. Miller asked the secretary if the application was complete. She replied it was. Mr. Aldrich made a motion to accept the application as complete.  The motion was seconded.

 

Mr. Fletcher presented the board with maps showing that Lot 1 would be 5.01 acres: Lot 2 will be 65.79 acres. There is no proposed change in use of the property. He wanted to separate the farmhouse and the barn.  There is access for Lot 2 at the circle at the end of the driveway.

 

Mary Lou Montgomery, an abutter, said she was here just because she wanted to see the map and it wasn’t accessible at the Town Offices. Pointing to the map, Mr. Fletcher explained what he wanted to do to Mrs. Montgomery. Mrs. Montgomery was satisfied.

 

Teregram LLC – Lot Line Adjustment – RN Johnson property.

 

Two members of the board signed the Mylar on July 10 after they revived assurances from Alan W. Johnson, treasurer of R.N. Johnson, and Erick Kruger of Deconstruction Works that the work would be completed before Friday, July 18, 2014.

 

The Planning Board received a letter on July 21 that the work on the Northern Section had been completed and that all the material for work on the Southern Section was on the site and that Deconstruction Works of East Dummerston, VT was to be back on property on Monday, July 18 to finish the work before the end of the week.

 

New business:

 

The requests for a public hearing from Liberty Utilities to cut on a Scenic Road and from Mr. Richard P. Drew for a lot line adjustment at 37 North River Road on property owned by Albert Fontanel Revocable Living Trust were continued to next month because no one representing these requests came to the meeting.

 

Mr. Chas Street had a question. He had never heard of scenic byways.  Is there a list?

 

Mr. Miller said the request for a hearing to cut on scenic roads is a state statute. Farnun Road and one other road in Walpole are designated N.H. Scenic Roads.

 

Decision on the Fletcher hearing:

Mr. Aldrich made a motion to accept the application as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Robert Miller and the board agreed. Mr. Miller said that he and Mr. Robert Miller would sign the Mylar.

 

August workshop: Mr. Miller said that since it is still summer the workshop on the fourth Tuesday would be canceled. A motion was made and seconded and the board agreed.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.