Present: Board members: Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Absent: Board member Joanna Andros and alternates Travis Adams and Bill Carmody.

Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 6:57 pm.

Minutes: Review minutes of August 2023 meeting and workshop minutes. Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the regular August meeting minutes and the August workshop minutes as written. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Old Business:
Public Hearing: Site Plan: Adam Naeck, owner of Alyson’s Orchard, application for up to seven campsites and a future two-story, 56-foot-by-40-foot-addition to the farm store. Tax Map 4, Lot 33, Rural Agricultural District.

Mr. Naeck did not come to this public hearing. Abutters will be notified if and when there is a new public hearing date. 

Public Hearing: Subdivision: Robin Sanctuary, two lots into three lots. Tax Map 8, Lots 8 and 8-1. Residential A District. Old Keene Road and Hooper Road.

Surveyor Joe DiBernardo presented the subdivision. He said that Lot No. 1 will have 334.01 feet frontage on Old Keene Road and will now be 1.01 acre. The driveway will come in from Hooper Road. Lot No. 2 will now be 3.01 acres with 200 feet of road frontage on Old Keene Road. Lot 3 will be 3.83 acres with 265.03 feet of frontage on Hooper Road.

A couple of people commented on the steepness of Hooper Road. Mr. DiBernardo said that according to John Tarmey Hooper Road is a town-approved road. 

Abutter Lucy McVitty Weber said her property abuts Lot No. 2 and she was concerned about the back of the property and the drainage of water onto her property. The land there is quite steep and she wanted it noted that if the new owners planned to place a house there they should be aware of and sensitive to a potential water problem on her property. The land runs straight down toward her house and she already has a huge concern about excess water.  She also said she remembers when this property was originally divided into two lots, there was a promise not to divide the property again.

Mr. DiBernardo said he did not find any covenant in the deed stating that was the case. 

Abutter Mr. Richard Paul said he was concerned about the size of the lots being proposed. Lots in that area are at least 2 to 5 acres, Mr. Paul said. His house abuts Lot No. 3. He assumed the old house on Lot No. 3 will be torn down and was concerned about where a new house would be situated on the lot. His house is up on a hill and didn’t want a home built right in front of his place. Mr. DiBernardo said this hearing was a request for a subdivision and had nothing to do with a site plan.

The public hearing was closed and the board discussed the subdivision. Board members’ concerns were the steepness of the road and the concerns about water and drainage.

A motion was made to approve the subdivision contingent upon approval of all the driveways by Walpole’s road agent.  Also, that contingency would be placed in the approval letter as well as concerns and sensitivity of drainage of water onto other properties. The motion passed unanimously.

New Business:

NGP Management, LLC Site Plan for a Dunkin coffee shop, Town Map 12, Lot 56, Commercial District. 

Jason Hill of TFMoran, an engineering and surveying company in Bedford, NH, presented the Dunkin site plan. The property is located at the intersection of Route 12 and Upper Walpole Road. It is currently undeveloped with a baseball field on the property. The Dunkin building will not affect the  baseball field at this time. The building, parking lot and supporting land will be on one to one and a half acres. He requested a public hearing for October.

Mr. Hill said the proposed coffee shop would be 1815 square feet with an entrance to the building on the north side of the building and two drive-thru windows on the south side. There is full-length bypass lane along side the drive-thru lane. 

Access is proposed by two full-access driveways, one located on Route 12 and one on Upper Walpole Road. Access to the coffee shop is via Route 12. There will be a regular right-turn lane into the property a well as a new left-turn lane making the road at that the entrance point three lanes plus 4 foot shoulders on both sides of the road. Once on the Dunkin property there is a left turn into a parking lot for employees and the public with two-handicapped parking spaces or drivers can continue in the lane for the drive-thru.

To mitigate any increase in stormwater runoff generated by the additional pavement and building, an infiltration basin is proposed at the south end of the property. The infiltration basin will detain and recharge captured runoff, Mr. Hill said. Any discharge of captured stormwater will be directed in the same manner as in the existing condition with no increase or impact to off-site properties.

Mr. Hill showed a drawing of the building that was gray and black. The building was of no particular style of building and no mention of its siding. Mr. Hill was reminded that the first time he was before the board a drawing of a New England Colonial style building was submitted. Mr. Hill received a copy of that building again. Mr. Perron suggested Mr. Clifford look at the Dunkin in Claremont. Mr. Miller also pointed out that the landscaping was sparse.

Mr. Miller was most concerned about the traffic and safety. He said that across the road is a pizza restaurant. In-house seating dining is no longer available, so all customers go through a drive-thru. Mr. Miller said from about 4 pm to about 8 pm customers are in a line on the shoulder of the road waiting to turn into the parking lot. Mr. Hill said the new 11-foot middle lane should mitigate that issue. This will require restripping Route 12 in front of the Dunkin site. Mr. Hill said the permitting from the NH Department of Transportation will be submitted this week.

Mr. Dalessio asked about tractor trailer parking. Mr. Hill said that the parking at the top left is where a tractor trailer delivering Dunkin supplies would unload there. There is room for two tractor trailers there. There was concern about how it was going to work with cars passing the trucks. Mr. Clifford said trailer truck drivers would never deliver in the morning when it’s busiest and only deliver once or twice a week and during off-peak times

When asked if the project had the required 30 percent green space, Mr. Hill said based on it being a five-acre property, there was plenty of green space. 

Mr. Miller also reminded Mr. Hill to contact Fire Chief Mark Houghton to have him check the building.

A motion was made and seconded to hold a public hearing for the Dunkin project in October. The motion carried unanimously.

Alyson’s Orchard

Mr. Robert Miller, an abutter to the Alyson’s Orchard property, spoke for a group of people who were at the meeting for the orchard public hearing. He said there are a lot of changes going on at that property and he wasn’t sure if they were following zoning and planning regulations. He recommended the planning and zoning boards make a site visit to the property. The concerns were about the camping sites and other changes to the property. Mr. Dalessio said Mr. Naeck is aware of all the rules, regulations and codes on this type of camping as well as on the restaurant that is open on weekends. He’s following them and there are no health and safety issues at this time. Abutters will be notified if and when there is a for a new public hearing.

Adjournment

Mr. Marcom made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Workshop this month: Tuesday, Sept. 26: Carol Ogilvie – Discuss draft of Natural Resource section of Master Plan. There is a new draft.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

WPB Recording Secretary