Planning Board Meeting, April 12, 2016
12 April 2016 Planning Board Minutes
Members present: Robert Jones, Victor Smith, Peter Neill, Michael Rossney, David Carter, Peter Atherton and Patricia Egan. Others present: CEO Duane Ford, Robert Publicover, Nelson Grindal.
The minutes for the last meeting were read and approved and the chairman noted that there was a quorum.
Old Business: The question was asked whether the Planning Board had heard from the Selectmen about the email address or the new site plan. The chairman said he hadn’t heard and David Carter said he hadn’t heard either other than to be told that the email project was in the hands of the webmaster.
Peter Neill asked whether we had heard anything about permits from the Strong Brewery. Neither Robert Jones nor Duane Ford had heard anything.
New Business: Steve and Johanna Fill came before the Board to see about a permit for a garage they are planning to build on their property at 135 Reach Road. However, at this point, although they know they want to build a garage, they are unsure whether it will be used commercially for the repairing of cars. There was a lengthy discussion about what was needed for them to pursue a commercial permit versus a simple permit for a residential garage.
Robert Jones explained that obtaining a commercial permit would be a two-step process. Giving Steve a copy of the Site Plan Ordinance, Robert explained that they would need to appear before the Board at an informational meeting at which details of the project, as outlined in the Site Plan Ordinance, would be presented. When requirements of the SPO have been fulfilled, there would be a review of the project, including presentation of necessary permits, at a second Planning Board meeting. If there were no need for a hearing and all requirements were met, the project could conceivably be approved at that meeting.
Members suggested that, if the Fills foresaw a commercial use down the road, it would be wise to go through the steps for such a permit now. Johanna was concerned that the builders they had lined up might not be available by the time they went through that process. Still urging the Fills to consider going through the process for a commercial permit, Board members advised the Fills that they could begin the building as non-commercial, keeping in mind that, if indeed they decided on a commercial use in the future, they would have to follow the Site Plan Review process in the Site Plan Review Ordinance, recognizing potential risk of refusal should some of the issues not be addressed satisfactorily, i.e. septic or abutting neighbors’ concerns. The Fills concurred.
Michael Rossney went over areas of the Site Plan Ordinance that would be helpful for the Fills to study and Robert said they should feel free to consult anyone on the Board for assistance or to answer any questions that might arise.
Steve Fill received the building notification form from Duane and paid the fee.
Andrea and Dwight Brown came before the Board to request permission to double the size of their bus parking lot on Caterpillar Hill Road and put down the necessary dirt or gravel to do so. There was no reason why they shouldn’t and the Browns were encouraged to go ahead.
Mike Rossney brought up the subject of changes to a project after it had been approved as it appeared that the siting of Darryl Brown’s restaurant was not according to the plan he had submitted. The issue was discussed and the Board decided that compliance with an approved plan was the purview of the Coe Enforcement Officer and he was duly authorized to handle it. The Board considered that, since the new Site Plan Ordinance had yet to be approved in its final form, perhaps we needed to add something on this topic.
The meeting was adjourned until Tuesday, May 11th.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia Colling Egan