The Walpolean

Walpole Planning Board Minutes

September 9, 2025

Town Hall

7 PM

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

Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. He asked alternate Mr. Adams to fill in for Trevor MacLachlan, one of the absent board members. Mr. Adams agreed.

Minutes: These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the October meeting for corrections.

Review minutes of August 2025. Mr. Harrington made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Marcom seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Old Business:

Site Plan: Public Hearing:  Andrew Pollock, Academy Lane LLC, 40 Main Street, Tax Map 21, Lot 13, Commercial District. Mr. Pollock intends to add a fourth apartment to the building on the Academy Lane portion of the property.

Mr. Pollock explained his plan. The biggest project is adding a 1600 square-foot apartment making it the fourth apartment for the Main Street complex. A deck from the kitchen is being added as an egress from the apartment and he is also converting the existing attic into apartment space. There being no questions, Mr. Miller closed the public hearing at 7:09 pm. 

Mr. Perron made a motion to approve the project as presented. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. Mr. Miller told Mr. Pollock to get in touch with Fire Chief Mark Houghton and have him look at the project. He suggested Mr. Houghton email Mr. Pollock and Mr. Pollock share that email with the Planning Board.

Gravel Pit Inspections

RSA 155-E states that gravel pits must be inspected yearly by the Planning Board. In Walpole, there are three remaining pits still operating: Cold River Materials on Brewery Road, Tim Graves gravel pit at the end of Wentworth Road and Josh Perry’s gravel pit, on the west side midway on Old Drewsville Road. Cold River Materials is actually a subsidiary of Eurovia SAS, which is located in Chantilly, VA.

For the last couple of decades the Zoning Board of Adjustment has been inspecting these gravel pits, but the authority is really with the Planning Board so they have reabsorbed that task. Mr. Tom Murray, chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment was at the meeting to discuss gravel pit inspections.  Mr. Murray has inspected at one time or another all the above gravel pits. He shared his experiences at each of the pits and answered questions from Planning Board members who asked questions about the inspection sheet. Planning Board members will contact the owners of the pits and arrange a date in September or early October when they can visit the pit. They will return the completed inspection sheets at the October meeting.

October Meeting

It was suggested that the Board revisit the site plan application and site plan submission rules that are on the town web site at the October meeting. Mr. Harrington will lead the discussion.

Adjournment

Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn at 7:40 pm. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

Walpole Planning Board Minutes

August 12, 2025

Town Hall

7 pm

Roll Call: Board Present: Chair Jeff Miller, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Joanna Andros, Trevor MacLachlan, Steve Dalessio, Select Board Representative. Alternate: Bill Carmody. Absent: Board member Dennis Marcom, alternate Travis Adams.

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the September 9th meeting for corrections.

Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 7 pm. He asked Mr. Carmody to fill in for the absent Board member. Mr. Carmody agreed.

Minutes: Review of the July 2025 minutes. Ms. Andros made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Harrington and the motion carried.

Old Business

Public Hearing: Lot Line Adjustment: Robin Sanctuary property on 5 Hooper and 00 Old Keene Road, Tax Map 8, Lots 8 and sub 2 in the rural agricultural district. Annex to Tax Map 8, Lot 8-15-1 owned by Alexander T. Allan and Allison M Hastings-Allan. Total after adjustment is 7.65 acres,

Mr. Miller held up a plat for the public to see. It showed the parcel of land that is being sold and being annexed by an abutter. He said he had a call from an abutter and he told her that the people were purchasing the property because they wanted more land. Ms. Sanctuary repeated that statement. With no questions from the public, Mr. Miller closed the public hearing at 7:05. Mr. Perron made a motion to approve the site plan as presented. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Signage at Blue Seal: Free-standing sign for Blue Seal, 334 Main Street, Tax Map 12, Lot 59-3, Commercial District, near Route 12. Presenter Justin Parker of Classic Signs Inc. LLC in Amherst, NH. 

Mr. Parker proposes a free-standing sign of 31 square feet.

Mr. Parker said this sign is 31 square feet and since the zoning ordinance states the maximum is 32 square feet., the sign is in compliance. Mr. Perron made a motion to approve the sign as presented. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried.

New Business

Signage: Sign for Rancho Viejo, a Mexican restaurant in the Walpole Village Store. Ms. Pschirrer, president of the Board of Directors of The Walpole Foundation, the owners of the property at 10 Westminster Street, said there will be one sign on the east side of the building. 

The dimensions are 20-inches-by-78 inches and it is single sided. Ms. Pschirrer added that the restaurant had had all the proper inspections. The selectmen have approved of the request to sell liquor but they are waiting on the state’s license. As soon as they get the license they plan to open. Opening Monday is hopeful but not certain.  All the tiles are from Mexico and the décor is quite colorful.

According to Tom Murray, the sign on the building, which says Walpole Village Store, is a registered landmark. 

Mr. Perron made a motion to approve the sign as presented. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Site Plan: Andrew Pollock, 40 Main Street, Tax Map 21, Lot 13, Commercial District. Mr. Pollock is increasing the number of apartments from 3 to 4 therefore he needs to get a site plan approval. He was requesting a Public Hearing in September.

Mr. Pollock explained his renovation of the apartment building. He cannot get a building permit until he has site plan approval but Mr. Miller said he was allowed to work on roofing and windows until he gets site plan approval.

Mr. Perron made a motion to hold a Public Hearing for a site plan for Mr. Pollock in September. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Trailers, Mobile Homes, Recreational Vehicles

Also, briefly discussed were the use of these types of vehicles for permanent use. The Board recognized that these types of vehicles are more prominent in the summer and fall as there is need for housing for seasonal workers and that residents are hosting family and friends. 

Adjournment

Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn at 7:40 pm. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine, 

Recording Secretary

Walpole Planning Board Minutes

 July 8, 2025

Town Hall

7 pm

Roll Call: Board Members: Present; 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 7 pm.

Minutes: Review of June 2025 minutes. Ms. Andros made a typo correction on page 1, second to last paragraph. Mr. Marcom moved to accept minutes as corrected. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion passed.

New Business:

Bevin Mitchell, signage at 32 Wentworth Road, Residential A district.

Bevin Mitchel made a request for signage for her B&B on Wentworth Road. Mrs. Mitchell said Matt Saxton was making the sign but it was not yet finished. She presented a picture of the shape of the sign. It is a 3-foot-by-2 foot free-standing sign and will be double-sided. It will be placed 10 feet from the road in the first of three driveways. She choose a shape similar to one that might have been used in the 1700s because that is the time period of when the section of her home she is using for the B&B was built. It will be on a post about 4 or 5 feet high.

Since the sign and placement conform to the Residential District Zoning Ordinance, there were no questions. Mr. Perron made a motion to approve the sign. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Lot Line Adjustment: Robin Sanctuary. Property on 5 Hooper and 00 Old Keene Road, Town Map 8, Lot 8-2 in the rural/agricultural district. 

Ms. Sanctuary requested a public hearing on this matter. She wants to annex 1 acre from Lot No. 2 and 2 acres from Lot No. 3  to the lot abutting her property to the south, 27 Hooper Road. Mr. Perron made a motion to hold a public hearing for the lot line adjustment in August. The motion was seconded by Mr. Harrington and the motion carried.

DADUs: Mr. Tom Aldrich was at the meeting to discuss DADUs or Detached Accessory Dwelling Units.

DADUs are defined as “a residential living unit that is with the same single-family lot and provides independent living facilities for one or more persons, including provisions to sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation on the same parcel of land as the principal unit it accompanies.” 

Adjournment

Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Marcom seconded the motion and the motion carried. The time was 7:45 pm.

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the August meeting for corrections. 

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

Walpole Planning Board Minutes

June 10, 2025

Town Hall 

7 pm

Roll Call: Board present: Chair Jeff Miller, Dennis Marcom, Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Joanna Andros, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Alternate: Travis Adams. Absent: alternate Bill Carmody.

Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 7 pm. A full board was present so there was no need to appoint an alternate to fill in.

Minutes: Review minutes of May 2025. Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

New Business: 

Signage at Blue Seal:

Free-standing sign near Route 12, with an Electronic Messaging Board. Internally Lit Wall Sign on building. Couple of smaller signs: on the containing propane silo and one near driveway entrance to the store. Presenter Justin Parker of Classic Signs Inc. LLC in Amherst, NH. The property is at 334 Main Street, Tax Map 12, Lot 59 in the commercial district. Blue Seal was formerly owned by Achilles Agway.

Mr. Parker said he was at the meeting to get approval for four signs: a wall sign on the building, a free-standing sign near Route 12, a sign near the entrance driveway to the store and a sign on a propane tank, which is 118 feet to the north of the doors to the building. The sign on the propane tank is 3.89 square foot, single sided vinyl. The entrance sign is 3 feet 1 3/4-inches. The size of these signs comply with Walpole’s Zoning Ordinances on signage.

 However, the wall sign on the building and the free-standing sign are larger than the 32 square-foot maximum spelled out in the zoning ordinance. So he is asking for a variance. He said he believes these signs should not be smaller because cars going by at 55 mph wouldn’t even notice the Blue Seal sign and reducing the size of the sign takes away from their intrinsic design. Actually the cars passing Blue Seal should be going 35 mph. Variances are decided by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The secretary will put him on the agenda for June 18.

The wall sign on the building has the Blue Seal logo and below it says FARM – HOME. Its size is 49.58 square feet, single-sided and internally lit. The free-standing pylon sign has the Blue Seal Logo and the words Farm – Home. Between the words FARM and Home is a tiny rooster on both signs. There is an additional space for a “reader” board of 2 lines of 6-inch copy on the Route 12 sign. This sign is double faced and the electronic reader board would change every couple of minutes to say something else. The choice of what goes on the message board is up to the owners.

 Mr. Harrington worried the message board might distract drivers. He read from sign provision No. 3 “oscillating, rotating flashing, neon, or other tubular gas signs are not permitted except when used for public safety purposed by a governmental entity?” Mr. Marcom also mentioned provision 3 but other Board members didn’t stater concerns about the message board.. 

Mr. Parker also submitted back-up renditions of the signage on the building and near Route 12 that comply with Walpole’s sign ordinance in case his request for a variance is turned down.

Mr. Harrington made a motion to approve the sign on the propane tank and sign at the entrance driveway. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

Phase 3 at Abenaki Springs

Mr. Miller said the Select Board recently had a discussion of Phase 3 at Abenaki Springs. He said given that there have been so many changes in that area over the last few years he thought Phase 3 would need go through a Site Plan Review. Mr. Dalessio said Avanru Development used the words “substantially complete” to indicate they might be ready. However, Mr. MacLachlan, who works in construction, said Avanru may have some of the infrastructure in place such as electrical, water and sewer but that doesn’t cover “substantially complete” in the construction industry. There isn’t even a draft of the building, he said. The Board will revisit this topic next month.

Adjournment

Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Marcom seconded the motion and the motion carried. The time was 7:35 pm.

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed on July 8 for any corrections.