Walpole Planning Board

Walpole Town Hall

September 9, 2014 Minutes

 

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

Alternate: Ed Potter, Alternate.

Absent: Jeff White, Alternate

Recording: Marilou Blaine, Recording Secretary.

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the October 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: All board members were in attendance so no alternates were needed to fill in.

Minutes: Mr. Aldrich made a motion to accept the minutes as written. Mr. Dennis Marcom 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. Tom Zhang brought new plans showing the interior of the storage shed and the layout of the Sears store. Mr. George Hurlburt, a building inspector with the Walpole Fire Department, said he had done the plans and the storage area now had a satisfactory secondary egress. He was going to check for proper Exit signs after the work was done.

Mr. J. Miller asked the board if the final plans satisfied their previous concerns. A motion was made by Mr. Aldrich and seconded to accept the final site plan of JR Development. The motion unanimously passed by the board.

Request for a Public Hearing by new owners of the American Legion building at 73 Main St., Map 30, Lot 52. This is in the Commercial Zoning District. The new owners are Ray Boas, Barbara Kasper and Lynne Rollins-Kinnier. Mr. Boas was spokesman for the group. He explained that the plans were to move the Costume Ladies into the building.

Mr. Boas said that Mr. George Hurlburt has been working on a safety program for the building and that other updates had been done to the building. Some of the changes are:

the kitchen will become dressing rooms

the large room down stairs will be retail

upstairs will be storage

the hard-pan driveway and parking lot will remain

the entrance for customers will be from the back of the building

the porch steps and a concrete pad will be removed and grassed

because of concerns expressed by neighbors regarding snow, the porch will be pushed back by almost two feet.

Mr. Boas continued. He said the existing porch is 48 square feet and they had hoped to expand it 5 feet toward the west with stairs. It is where the emergency exit and steps will be.  Based on the concerns of the neighbors, the owners are going to push the front back 1.83 feet so the space will be reduced from 83 to 59 square feet.

The lighting will be on a timer and go off when the shop closes.

The flagpole will remain.

Some abutters to the project were at the meeting and voiced these concerns:

Ms. Felicia Phillips of 69 Main Street said she was concerned about public safety – that the display window may distract drivers on an already busy street – lighting and aesthetics. She later added that she consulted someone who said property values would decline because of the changes to the building.

Ms. Carol Fabis of 15 Elm St. said that she had concerns about lighting and the plumbing – but the  plumbing had already been done.

Mr. Bill Borchers, who lives at 1 Rogers St., was concerned about aesthetics. It’s a white clapboard neighborhood, he said. The length of glass on the front and the glass panels on the side plus a roof that is now a gable looks like a horrendous addition architecturally.

Ms. Jeanne Ashton, who lives across the street from the American Legion, said the building should blend in with the overall businesses in the village.

Mr. J. Miller said that all the neighbors would have their say at the October Public Hearing, which was unanimously approved by the board.

Request for a Minor Subdivision by Steven W. Brode, Old Keene Road, Map 7, Lot 22 Mr. Brode wants to separate one acre from his lot. This is in the Rural District.  Ms. Myra Mansouri was representing Mr. Brode and explained where the subdivision would be. Mr. Miller told her she needed to have the paper work and maps ready by September 19, 2014, to give to the secretary.

A motion was made by Mr. Aldrich that a hearing be held in October and seconded by Mr. R. Miller. The board voted unanimously for a hearing.

Request for a Lot Line Adjustment at 37 North River Road: Richard Drew of Richmond, N.H. is requesting a Lot Line Adjustment for a property owned by Albert Fontaine Revocable Living Trust. No one showed up at the meeting to discuss the Lot Line Adjustment.

Request for a Public Hearing by Liberty Utilities:  Liberty Utilities wants to cut trees on the east and west ends of Farnum Road. No one came to request a public hearing.

Mr. Miller also canceled this month’s workshop meeting because the Horse Thieves Society was having its meeting the same evening. However, in October the workshop topic will be Wellhead Protection, a concern about public wells. The group working on the proposal will make a presentation at the October Planning Board meeting. At the workshop the Planning Board members will have plenty of time to discuss and review the proposal before it is put on the ballot as an amendment to the Zoning Board and voted on in March. Mr. Miller said there will also probably be a public hearing in which the Planning Board can state its views on the amendment.

Mr. Aldrich made a motion to adjourn at 7:40 p. m. Dennis Marcom seconded the motion and unanimously approved by the board.

 

cc: WPB, ZB, Town Offices, Walpolean

 

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine