Littleton, New Hampshire

Approved Planning Board Minutes Jun 19, 2012

LITTLETON PLANNING BOARD HEARING
COMMUNITY HOUSE HEALD ROOM
TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2012
DRAFT
6:00 P.M.


PRESENT: Chairman Charlie Ryan, Vice Chair Linda MacNeil, Mell Brooks, Tony J. Ilacqua, Val Poulsen, Jim Daly, Marghie Seymour, and Joanna Ray (recording secretary)

EXCUSED: Bruce Ralston and Ed Boynton

OTHERS: Darin Wipperman, Michelle Schafer, Mary Edick, Ron Bolt, Cary Clark, Dawn Lambert, Mike Young, Robert Blechl, and Chris Hodge (Zoning Officer)

Chairman Ryan called the meeting to order at 6 PM. Chairman Ryan informed everyone to talk one at a time.

Marghie Seymour made a motion to approve the minutes from May 1,2012 as written. Vice Chair MacNeil seconded the motion. The motion passed by all.

Chris Hodge had been asked by Richard Gould to present an update to the Board regarding the Houston-Littleton excavation. Chris informed the Board that Mr. Gould is thankful to the Board for their time and patience. Mr. Gould has a letter of interest from a large retailer. The retailer plans to purchase the whole parcel after it is developed. Mr. Gould has proposals from two environmental engineers. The potential retailer also has their own engineer. Mr. Gould plans to have the monitoring wells within 60-90 days.

Chris Hodge moved on to the status of the conditions set by the Planning and Zoning Boards. Some of the conditions are still 60-90 days away from being completed. Mr. Gould is looking into an irrevocable letter of credit in place of the bond. As stated in the ZBA decision letter, dated Sept. 2010, a letter of credit will be in place for five years following the cessation of the site blasting.

Chairman Ryan asked Chris Hodge if the State driveway permit has been obtained. Chris said it has not.

Chris Hodge informed the Board that if the deal goes through with the potential retailer, the design would be less invasive and not as much material would be blasted and removed. Approximately 90% of the blasted material will stay on site.

Marghie Seymour pointed out that when a developer changes their plans, the change needs to be presented to the Board. Vice Chair MacNeil stated that the change is to move less material. Chris Hodge said Mr. Gould presented a proposal to develop a site. It was not a plan with a final design. This is less invasive. Vice Chair MacNeil said the request from Mr. Gould was for an excavation permit. How much material is moved off-site is irrelevant. Chris Hodge also stated that the original amount of material to be moved or removed from the property was an estimate. The amount Mr. Gould is talking about now is also an estimate. Chairman Ryan said the permit is for blasting and we will not know how much until a final design. Tony J. Ilacqua reminded the Board that this information was just an update and there is nothing solid to discuss at this point.

Mell Brooks stated he was glad to hear a letter of credit was being considered. Mell described the difference between a bond and a letter of credit. The letter of credit is drawn on a bank and a bond is through a bonding company. Mell also cautioned the Town when reviewing the terms. Val Poulsen stated he was glad to hear this and that the Board is aware of the difference.

Chris Hodge moved on to discuss the completed conditions for Chris Crowe’s mobile home park that the Board approved on August 16, 2011. Vice Chair MacNeil read the letter into the record. The letter will be part of the case file (PB11-06). All of the conditions have been met and the plan may be recorded. Mell Brooks asked if the recreation area was flat. Chris Hodge stated it was. Chris also stated the he met with Mr. Crowe, Ed Parker, and Kelly Butler to discuss the driveway situation. Kelly Butler is the new Highway Manager and she will be keeping an eye on the driveway progress. Chris informed the Board that there is bound to be a mess during the construction. Silt fence erosion has been repaired. Marghie Seymour pointed out that the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) takes care of storm water runoff into the river.

Chairman Ryan informed the Board that the Planning & Zoning office received a letter from the Board’s attorney, Jae Whitelaw, regarding a recent request from Attorney Scott Hogan. Attorney Hogan’s clients, the Edicks, would like the Planning Board to decide to re-open its consideration of the Houston-Littleton LLC excavation application in order to hear the Edicks’ experts testify some more since the Edicks claim they were not given a full and fair opportunity. The letter also included Attorney Hogan’s opinion that the appeal period on the conditional approval does not begin to run until the PB issues its final approval after all conditions precedent are met. Attorney Whitelaw disagreed with Attorney Hogan’s analysis and believes the Edicks waived their right to claim that the appeal period did not attach when conditional approval was granted by their filing of the appeal and prosecuting it through a final decision of the Superior Court.

Jim Daly stated that things are changing and we do not know what is going to happen. Val Poulsen made a motion not to reconsider the case. At this point, Chairman Ryan appointed Tony J. Ilacqua and Mell Brooks as voting members for the night. Ed Boynton and Bruce Ralston were excused from attending the meeting. Tony J. Ilacqua seconded the motion.

Vice Chair MacNeil stated that there were many hours spent on the case, everything was covered, and it went to court. MacNeil also stated that she did not see any value for anyone involved in reopening the case. Chris Hodge noted that the appeal period for the ZBA has expired. Chairman Ryan said the appeal was made on the PB decision and the PB decision was upheld in court.

Mell Brooks stated that there were some people that did not get a chance to speak at the hearing, but the judge said they did. Closing the meeting at 9:00 stopped the meeting before they could submit their testimony. Vice Chair MacNeil said documentation was presented at the meeting and not before. When MacNeil had the chance to read the material, she realized that all of the information submitted was actually discussed during the hearing.

Marghie Seymour stated that she could not vote without doing a legal analysis of the issue. With the motion on the floor and not more discussion, the motion passed 6-1. For the record, Marghie felt she was voting without sufficient information.

Chairman Ryan informed the Board of his conversation with Attorney Whitelaw regarding the difference between a meeting and a hearing. A public meeting is meeting in which the members of a particular committee participate to exchange their ideas on a particular issue like launch of a new service, on a development plan and also to make associations and increase their networking. It is different from public hearing (open meeting), which includes the participation of any person from the public. A public hearing is a special meeting that allows the public to comment on proposed plans and projects before officials make a final decision. Public hearings are generally divided into two categories legislative and quasi-judicial. Legislative hearings are conducted to seek citizen views on land use plans and ordinances, while quasi-judicial hearings deal with individual property.

Cary Clark disagreed that a meeting and a hearing are exclusive of each other. A hearing can be conducted during a meeting.

Chairman Ryan updated the Board on an excavation by the town of Lyman. Lyman has a gravel pit near Partridge Lake. Material will be removed for use on their roads.

Chairman Ryan also produced photos of the new bridge on Redington St. The photos show where some rainwater comes off the bridge to cause the ground to erode. The pictures were taken a couple weeks ago. Val Poulsen said it would be up to the contractor to take care of that. Marghie Seymour said she would inform the Town Manager.

Ron Bolt asked Chairman Ryan about the CIP subcommittee status. Chairman Ryan said the committee still exists, but they have not looked into next year yet.

Ron Bolt also asked what the sense of the Board was regarding site plan review. Ron pointed out that it is not too late if the Board wants to bring it to the Town to vote on. Chairman Ryan said he liked site plan review, but he realized that there was a majority of tax payers that did not agree. He would rather have the Towns people say they want it and present it for vote. Vice Chair MacNeil said there were enforcement issues when it was in place. Chris Hodge said the Town is still healing and this would not be good at this time. Jim Daly said there was nothing wrong with site plan review, but the previous reviewer was misguided. Chairman Ryan repeated his comment about the citizens needing to want it.

At 7:00 PM, Val Poulsen made a motion to adjourn. Tony J. Ilacqua seconded the motion. Michelle Schafer asked when Attorney Hogan contacted Attorney Whitelaw. Marghie Seymour said June 7, 2012. The motion to adjourn passed by all.

Submitted by,
Joanna Ray

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