Roll Call: Present Board Members Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Joanna Andros, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Alternates Travis Adams and Bill Carmody. 

Call to order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 6:58 pm. A full board was presented so he didn’t need an alternate to fill in.

Election of Officers: Mr. Harrington made a motion to appoint Jeff Miller as chair, Dennis Marcom as vice-chair and Jason Perron as clerk. Mr. Dalessio seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

Minutes of March 2023: Mr. Harrington made a motion to approved the minutes of the March as written. Mr. Marcom seconded the motion and the motion carried.

New Business:

Site Plan for Tractor Supply LLC, 8 Red Barn Lane, addition of 1600 square-foot space outside – a covered canopy structure for a garden center. Tax Map 12, Lot 13-2, commercial district. Request for a public hearing. Dwight MacKenny, project manager for Tractor Supply, was the presenter.

It was explained to Mr. MacKenny that the reason he was here tonight was because the structure for the garden center would cost more than $10,000 and site plan regulations mandate that any structure costing that amount or over has to have a site plan.

Mr. MacKenny introduced himself. He said the outdoor project is on the north side of the Tractor Supply building and the gable architecture of the building will be facing toward the west where the parking lot is. It’s a gazebo look-alike and instead of being made of wood the building will be made of steel. It is 1600 square feet and there will be hookups for hoses to water plants. He was requesting a public hearing in May. 

Mr. Dalessio noticed that there was a propane tank in the area of construction and it was going to be moved from the area where the new structure is going to be built to some place else around the building. He told Mr. MacKenny that the new hookup had to be approved by Walpole’s fire chief, Mark Houghton, and Mr. Houghton had to write a letter to the Planning Board saying it had been approved. Mr. MacKenny said he would get in touch with him. The secretary will supply her Tractor Supply contact with Mr. Houghton’s email. The application, list of abutter and support documents, as well as the fees, has already been filed at the Town Offices.

Mr. Perron made a motion to hold a public hearing for the addition of a garden center to Tractor Supply. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion passed. 

Mr. Dalessio reminded Mr. MacKenny that the signage needs to be approved by the ZBA. Mr. MacKenny said that  the secretary’s contact, Beth Dorminey of OnPoint, would get the name of the company creating the sign. That would be a separate meeting with the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Workshop: Joint Planning and Zoning Boards workshop April 23.

Mr. Miller and current ZBA Chair David Edkins visited with Southwest Region Planning Commission’s executive director Todd Horner earlier in the month to discuss the updating/recodifying of the Walpole Ordinances this year. Mr. Homer sent Mr. Miller an outline and contract of their proposal. The proposal is for “a high-level audit of the Walpole, NH Zoning Ordinance” and the first item out of 8 items is “Recommend strategies for improving the organization and structure of the zoning ordinance so that it it better understood by Town Officials who are responsible for administering it and can be more intuitively navigated by the general public.” Both Mr. Homer and planner Carol Ogilvie will be at the first joint workshop of the Planning and Zoning Boards on the fourth Tuesday, April 23, in the main meeting room of the Town Hall.

Mr. Marcom asked if it has to then go to the town attorney. Mr. Miller said they’re (Southwest planners) not lawyers but they are the experts on this type of thing. We’ll let them do their thing and once we’ve had discussions about their outcome, we’ll make a decision on whether or not it needs to go to the town attorney.

Mr. Dalessio reminded the board that the Master Plan still has to be finalized. It’s basically all done except for one small item that needs confirmation from the Conservation Commission. It will need a public hearing.

Handout 

Planning board members received a copy of a four-color zoning map originally created by students of Peter Palmiotto’s at Antioch-New England. It was updated with Mr. Palmiotto and some zoning board members a year or two ago. Everyone was impressed with the color, its readability and information on the map.

Adjournment

Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn the meeting at about 7:30 pm. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion passed. The next meeting is May 14, 2024.

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the March 12, 2024 regular meeting for corrections.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

WPB Recording Secretary