February 3, 2021 ~ Historic District Commission

2021-02-03 · Planning Board · 57:33 · watch on YouTube →

The recording is of a Planning Board meeting, though the metadata files it under the Historic District Commission. The board took two roll-call votes closing out the Granite Hill Farm subdivision, finding the approval expired because the infrastructure was never completed within 36 months and directing that a notice of developer default be recorded at the Androscoggin County Registry of Deeds. It then heard a sketch plan presentation for a six-lot subdivision at 1334 Royalsborough Road and gave the applicant's engineer a list of things to work on before the preliminary plan: a copy of the DOT entrance permit, sight distance at the Route 136 entrance, well and groundwater questions, a fire-protection water source signed off by the fire chief, a vegetative buffer for the abutting house, and road ownership. The chair also reported that a firewood and materials-recycling application dormant for more than a year had expired and the applicant had been told to reapply as a conditional use. The board closed with reminders about the February 8 public hearing on land use ordinance changes and adjourned.

What was discussed

1. 0:02
   Granite Hill Farm subdivision: background

   The chair opened with the Granite Hill Farm subdivision, approved in October 2017 off Bowie Hill. The developer died, the road and other infrastructure were never completed, and one lot has been sold and built on. Bob (?) confirmed the details from his site visits.

2. 0:02
   Ordinance provision on completion time limits

   The chair read out the section on time limits for completion of subdivision improvements, given as 6.10.10.I: failure to start required improvements within 12 months or to complete the subdivision's infrastructure within 36 months of approval and signing renders the plan in violation, and the board is to record a notice of developer default barring development permits for unsold lots until the subdivision is re-approved.

3. 0:02
   Letter to the estate and the realtor

   The chair said she and Kathy had written to the personal representative of the deceased developer's estate and to the realtor listing the property, sent around January 22, inviting them to the meeting to argue why the notice should not be recorded. Bob had heard nothing back and no one appeared for the subdivision.

4. 5:15
   Effect on the existing homeowner

   Members asked what recording the notice would do to the owner of the one completed house. The chair said the notice only blocks permits for unsold lots, so that house is unaffected, and any claim the homeowner has against the developer or the estate is not the town's business. The board discussed whether that lot would become a back lot if the subdivision lines came out, and whether the half-built road could serve it.

5. 5:15
   Abutter notification and the power line

   The board recalled that in the original review a close neighbour was not notified because a power line meant they were not technically an abutter, and that there had been significant confusion over the status of the road, on which the town attorney had given an opinion. The chair said she expected more attorney opinions and did not expect a clean review if a buyer brings the subdivision back.

6. 10:30
   Votes on Granite Hill Farm

   Two motions were put and taken by roll call: a finding that the subdivision's infrastructure was not completed within 36 months and the plan is in violation, and a direction to record a notice of default at the registry. The chair said she would work with Kathy to draft and file it and send copies to the personal representative, the owner of the existing lot and the realtor.

7. 10:30
   Royalsborough Road subdivision: sketch plan opens

   The chair moved to the second item. Adrienne Fine (?) introduced herself as a civil engineer with Terodine Consultants (?), which has offices in Portland and at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, and shared a plan on screen after a delay getting screen sharing enabled.

8. 15:31
   Sketch plan presentation

   The parcel at 1334 Royalsborough Road is about 34 acres on the eastern side of the road; the current owner keeps roughly 18 acres and is selling about 16 acres to the developer, Vottor LLC (?). The survey was by Wayne T. Wood and Co. and the wetlands were delineated by Mark Cenci (?) Geologic, with only small pockets of forested wetland on the subdivision lot.

9. 15:31
   Layout of the six lots

   Six lots are proposed on an 853-foot private way inside a 50-foot right of way, the road 20 feet wide and paved with two-foot shoulders to meet the ordinance. All lots are at least two acres with building envelopes of an acre to an acre and a half, each with its own well and septic, underground electric in the roadway, roadside ditches, and cross-hatched areas set aside for forested and meadow stormwater buffers. The right of way runs to the back of the property for frontage while the built road stops short to avoid wetlands.

10. 20:44
    Wetlands, vernal pool and the DOT permit

    The engineer said no wetlands would be impacted, the full delineation was done in summer 2019 with the report written the previous month, and one potential vernal pool was assessed in April or May and found not significant because of its size. Asked about the entrance, she said the road is south of the for sale sign and higher on the hill with sufficient sight distance, and that the seller had obtained a DOT permit for the location, which the board asked to see a copy of.

11. 26:17
    Purpose of the sketch plan and road ownership

    The chair explained the sketch plan stage exists to flag problems before applicants spend heavily on engineering and become unwilling to change the design. The board asked who would own the private way and the triangle of land at the back, and the engineer said the back area is being reserved in case stormwater treatment is needed there and may be folded into a lot otherwise. The chair noted the applicant has 12 months from this date to file the preliminary plan.

12. 26:17
    Wells, aquifer and groundwater

    A member raised the aquifer and the effect of artesian wells, recalling a subdivision near his own home in Durham where neighbours had that concern. The engineer said the soil scientist's test pits for septic and stormwater will also inform well decisions and that state resources can indicate water availability and depth. Another member pointed to item 11 in the ordinance on not adversely affecting the quality or quantity of groundwater and said quantity is hard to measure.

13. 31:37
    Vegetative buffer, endangered species and flood zone

    The chair suggested blocking out a vegetative buffer on lot six between the new lots and the existing house next door, drawn onto the plan either as maintained common land or as a restriction on the homeowner, saying it goes a long way with neighbours. The engineer confirmed no outreach yet to state agencies on rare, threatened and endangered species, which will come with the DEP discussions, and said the site is not in a flood zone.

14. 37:17
    Fire protection and light pollution

    The board asked the applicant to reach out to the fire chief about water for fire protection and to bring a letter from him, noting that in past subdivisions with no fire pond or nearby source he has required residential sprinkler systems. A member raised light pollution from headlights turning off Route 136 and the lack of any setback requirement for a road, suggesting shifting the road twenty feet for a buffer, which the engineer said would have to be balanced against sight distance on a 50 mph stretch.

15. 42:22
    Board comment and public comment

    The code enforcement officer said the lots are conforming, setbacks and the turnaround look fine and he saw no major red flags, though the fire chief may want more for emergency vehicles. The chair opened public comment, no one spoke, and she closed it, noting that sketch plans carry no abutter notification but the next phase will.

16. 47:41
    Chip Bowie (?) firewood and recycling operation

    The chair reported on a firewood, mulch and materials recycling operation on Cushing Road, off the hollow just past the power line, that came to the board over a year ago, was sent back for more information and never returned. With half the board turned over since, she considered the application expired and directed him through Bob to reapply as a conditional use rather than a site plan, since no building is proposed. Bob (?) said DEP had approved the settling pond and the applicant was willing, and he was expected back in March.

17. 52:46
    February 8 public hearing on ordinance changes

    A public hearing is set for Monday February 8 at 6 p.m. on land use ordinance amendments covering roads, home-based business and miscellaneous items, for a June town meeting. The chair referred to an email from George saying some selectmen had questions and remarked that it would have been better had they taken part in the workshops. Alan (?) said he would be travelling and raised his objection to allowing a home-based business in an accessory structure, preferring the board decide case by case.

18. 52:46
    Next meeting and adjournment

    The next regular Planning Board meeting was confirmed for Wednesday March 3 at 6:30. The chair acknowledged a mix-up over circulating the agenda, and the board adjourned by roll call.

What was decided

• 10:30
  Moved to find that the Granite Hill Farm subdivision has not completed construction of the subdivision's infrastructure improvements within 36 months of the date of approval and signing of the plan, and that the plan is in violation of the Durham zoning ordinance, the approved roads and other infrastructure having only been minimally begun. Roll call: Alan yes, Ron yes, Wes yes, Juliet yes, chair yes.passed
• 10:30
  Moved that the Planning Board record a notice in the Androscoggin County Registry of Deeds stating that the plan is in violation of the Durham zoning ordinance, that the developer has defaulted under the plan, and that no development permits for unsold lots will be issued by the town until application has been made for reapproval of the subdivision and the Planning Board grants that approval. Seconded by Alan; roll call Alan, Ron, Wes and Juliet all yes.passed
• 52:46
  Motion to adjourn, moved by Ron and seconded by Juliet. Roll call: Alan yes, Ron yes, Wes yes, Juliet yes; the chair's own vote is cut off at the end of the recording.passed

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Motions the minutes record

The town's own written account of what was decided, taken from pb_2-3-21.txt. It owes nothing to the recording or to a model: the clerk typed it, with the vote. Where the summary above claims a decision this list does not carry, the summary is the part to doubt.

• find that the Granite Hill Farm Subdivision has not completed construction of the subdivision’s infrastructure and improvements within the 36 months of the date of approval and signing of the plan, and the plan is in vio…carried

  Moved by Anne Torregrossa, seconded by Allan Purinton

• the Planning Board record a notice in the Androscoggin County Registry of Deeds stating that the plan for the Granite Hill Farms Subdivision is in violation of the Durham Zoning Ordinance and the developer has defaulted …

  Moved by Anne Torregrossa, no seconder recorded; no outcome recorded

• Adjourncarried 5-0

  Moved by Ron Williams, seconded by Juliet Caplinger

Worth knowing

• 0:02
  Granite Hill Farm was approved in October 2017 and the developer has since died. The board's recorded notice blocks development permits for the unsold lots until someone reapplies and gets a new approval; the chair said the one completed and occupied house is unaffected.
• 5:15
  In the original Granite Hill Farm review, neighbours below a power line were never notified because the power line meant they were not technically abutters. The board expects that and the disputed status of the road to resurface if a buyer brings the subdivision back.
• 26:17
  The Royalsborough Road proposal puts six lots on about 16 acres, each with its own drilled well and septic system. Board members raised the effect on neighbouring wells and noted that the ordinance requires no adverse effect on the quantity of groundwater, which one member said is hard to measure.
• 52:46
  A public hearing on the land use ordinance amendments was set for Monday February 8 at 6 p.m., covering roads, home-based business and miscellaneous changes ahead of a June town meeting. The chair noted that selectmen had raised questions by email after not attending the board's workshops.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 2 passages of motion language, against 3 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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