Walpole Planning Board November Minutes
Joint Meeting with the Zoning Board of Adjustment
November 11, 2025
Town Hall
7 pm.
Role Call: Planning Board members: Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Jeff Harrington, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Alternates: Travis Adams, Bill Carmody. Absent: Jason Perron, Joanna Andros.
Zoning Board of Adjustment members: Chair Tom Murray, Clerk Pauline Barnes, Alternate Don Sellarole.
Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 6:55 pm. Mr. Miller asked Mr. Carmody to fill in for Mr. Perron. He agreed.
Minutes: Review minutes of the October 2025 meeting. Mr. Adams made one correction to paragraph 5. His first name Travis was printed instead of his last. Mr. Harrington made a motion to approve the amended minutes. Bill Carmody seconded the motion and the motion carried.
Josh Perry letter
Mr. Miller referenced a letter from Josh Perry regarding the comments about the inspection of if his gravel pit on Old Drewsville Road. Mr. Perry wrote that the bottom of the salt shed is asphalt and it has been there since 1996 and he is “planning on replacing it with a concrete floor, hopefully this year, but if not, the year after. Regarding the bank for the fill sand. Per the MSHA regulations the bank can be half again in height as the largest piece of equipment that is on the site. The loader reaches 20 feet to 22 feet, so the face of the bank be 30 feet.” This fill is being removed as this is where the new salt/sand shed will go.
New Business:
Lot Line Adjustment: Jay M. Landry, 100 Wentworth Road, Town Tax Map 17, Lots 5-5 and 5-4, Zoning District Residential A.
No new lots will be created but three lots will be tweaked. The plat shows .49 acres bordering Old Keene Road to be annexed to Cynthia Reeves Tax Map 17, Lot 12. It will remain open land and nothing will be built on this land. On Tax Map 17 Lot 5-4 and .01 acres will be annexed to Lot 5-4 to square off that corner to create enough room for the 20 feet needed between lot line and the building of a potential barn. The driveway to the Timothy Kelly Worth property on Wentworth Rd, Tax Map 17 Lot 5-2 will get .04 acres making it easier for him to access the road. This is what Mr. Landry presented to the board.
Mr. Marcom made a motion to hold a public hearing in December for the Lot Line Adjustment and Mr. Harrington seconded the motion. The motion carried.
Joint meeting with ZBA:
Pauline Barnes and Tom Murray talked about the latest legislative changes to Detached Accessory Dwelling Units and compared it to our current Zoning Ordinances.
Our ordinance says the accessory dwelling must be 150 feet of the principal dwelling. They both thought 100 feet would be enough because it would create more green space.
Occupancy limited to family members but No. 7 already says renters can be unrelated to family members.
Parking: Our ordinance says ample parking for both the principal and DADU dwellings but legislative dictates adequate off-street parking? However, In Walpole no cars should be parked on the street during a snow storm. Our standards don’t harmonize with state standards.
Raise basic standards from 900 to 950 square feet,.
The state allows two bedrooms compared to our three bedrooms.
Limit of one driveway.
Aesthetics: Legislative aesthetics don’t matter to legislature. Walpole suggests that accessory building have some continuity with the main building.
Both state and Walpole prohibit multi-family uses.
Mr. Miller said he eventually would like the town’s attorney, Jeremy Hockensmith to take a look at both documents. Mr. Dalessio suggested that maybe someone from Southwest Community Services should look at it first – either Todd Horner or Carol Ogilvie.
Changes to Planning & Zoning Laws in 2025: A Guide for Municipalities
Mr. Miller brought up a concern in these updates about building on a Class VI road. Currently our ordinance says you have to get Select Board approval and also sign a liability waiver about keeping up the road open and not expecting emergency services.
But the state ordinance says:
“The statute does not prohibit municipalities from establishing separate road frontage requirements for new construction. Therefore, a municipal zoning ordinance can require frontage (of a certain length) on a Class V or better road. However, the municipal ordinance must clearly state this requirement by defining the road a “Class V or better.” If the zoning ordinance does require frontage on a Class V or better, a variance from the ZBA would still be required to build on a Class VI road. Because the statute is not effective until July 1, 2026, municipalities have time to amend their zoning ordinances if desired.”
Currently Walpole does not have such an ordinance.
Old Business
Takeaway from presentation about the PB on the Town Web Site.
The purpose of going over the web site was to tweak it so it would be more user friendly. One thing the board did was to put together major categories. For example, under one click there is a list of all the things one must do to complete a site plan application – file out the check list, fill out the application, attach a plat, fees, rules for parking, lighting, etc.
The one hiccup is on the left hand side of the site, which is where the “menu” is, and at this time items cannot be changed.
Gravel pit inspection due. Jeff Harrington and Jason Perron did not get a chance to connect with Mr. Tim Graves about an inspection on Wentworth Road.
Adjournment
Mr. Harrington made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Marcom seconded the motion and the motion carried. The time was 8:17 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Marilou Blaine
Recording Secretary
The Walpolean 
Recent Comments