Walpole Planning Board

Workshop Minutes

May 26, 2015

Present: Jeff Miller, Robert Miller, James Aldrich, Steve Dalessio (Selectboard Representative), Jason Perron, Dennis Marcom. Absent: Kelley Hicks, Jeff White, Ed Potter.

Background: In April someone approached the Planning Board about building some small rental cabins on land in the Timberland District. Currently the town has no ordinance for this type of project. So if the town were going to have an area where this were permissible, what might the regulations be? The topics for this and future workshops are:

Definition of the project,

Density: how many people on how many acre.

District.

Lots of ideas were tossed around. Most of them were tied to zoning ordinances that were already in place. But there were still a lot of questions.

Mr. Perron brought up that tourist cabins were already permitted in the Commercial District. Article VI, Part B, Number 2 states that “Lodging houses, hotels, motels, inns and tourist cabins including such retail businesses within these buildings as is conducted for the convenience of the guests herein.”

But is there any commercial property that could accommodate several cabins? How much land would be needed? What about along the Connecticut River? Suppose someone along Route 12 sold off a large tract of land?

Then what about the Timberland District? By definition these tracts of land are eight square miles. There are large tracts of land in the Timberland District and buildings may be constructed provided a permit is obtained from the Board of Adjustment. One of the problems, a board member brought up, would be the lack of roads already in this district. Another problem was that some board members would like to keep the Timberland District the way it is.

Mr. Miller asked how Applewood came into being? Appleword is in a Retirement Community Overlay District.  When was Applewood approved? The concept of multiple housing is already defined so the board could take some guidance from these ordinances in the Overlay District and apply it to the new concept of rental cabins or homes on one piece of property. Someone remembered a field being where Applewood currently is because he delivered papers in that neighborhood. Another board member thought it had to be approved when Hugh Gallen was governor. Mel Thompson, who succeeded Gallen, would never have used money for that type of project.

There were discussions about the Rural/Agricultural District. What if a couple of the dairy farms ceased to exist. What would happen to that property?

Two things were established:

It would have to be a new Overlay District and

It would have to be one lot or parcel of land on which there were year-round rental properties.

Many conditions or standards may be taken from the  Retirement District Overlay and other parts of the Zoning Ordinances. But the board is still a long way from presenting anything to Walpole residents and still considering whether or not this is a good idea.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine, secretary